Ramblings of a Catskill Flyfisher

A fly rod story

For fly-fishing anglers, fly rods are part of the equipment we use for a day of fishing. In general, fly rods are inorganic objects, with the most recent versions made from graphite, boron and most …

The flies

Although anglers have been fishing with thousands of different flies, both wet and dry, for many, many years, fly fishing as we know it is a product of merry old England. Around the turn of the …

Fall fishing the Esopus Creek

Historically, the Esopus Creek was famous for its early spring runs of large rainbow trout, as well as some of its local personalities. Ray Smith was a local fly tier and sometimes a guide. It is …

Fly fishing the tailwaters

I’m guessing that some of you who read this column fish the East and West Branches of the Delaware and the Neversink Rivers below the reservoirs. The tailwaters. At the outset of …

Moon of the pumpkin dun

In his book “Cache Country Almanac,” John Roland cites a Cree Indian chief on how the Native American people described the different months of the year. The chief called the month of …

Some interesting differences in trout feeding

Those of you who regularly read this column know that I have written extensively about the little sulphur mayfly. Ever since the implementation of the water releases legislation in 1976, the time and …