Ramblings of a Catskill Flyfisher

Blue-winged olives are hatching in the Catskills

With summer on the wane, and fall just a few short weeks, away, the little blue-winged olive mayfly hatches are beginning in earnest on most Catskill rivers. I actually saw the first emergence in …

Cutting Cane

I’ve taken considerable pride in my ability to make fishing rods. By “make,” I don’t mean actually making the rod blank itself, but making the cork grips, installing reel …

Observations and determinations about fly selection

As most of you know, if you have followed this column since its inception, I’ve a been a big fan of the Rusty Spinner dry fly. In fact, I wrote a column about the fly for the June 15 edition …

Bass on the fly

When I was in high school, my friend Tony and his father had a routine when it came to outdoor sports. Fortunately, they included me in that routine. When trout season opened, we fished for trout …

Persistence pays

My notes reveal that there had been no fishing since June 30, so it was time to go to the river. Since my friend, Rod, left for Montana on July 6 to chase trout around the “Big Sky,” …

The vagaries of the little sulphur mayfly hatch

As a longtime angler, I’ve had trouble finding rising trout during almost every mayfly hatch that occurs each year along rivers in the Catskills. All species, it seems, provide their own set of …