LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — On Saturday, April 12, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum (CFFCM) continued its series of fly tying demonstrations with guest fly-tier Christina Muller.

According to the center’s director of operations, Laura Colangelo, Muller started to tie flies at the same time she learned to cast and was “captivated by the creativity of imitative materials to translate what she saw on the water into effective patterns.”

“These days, she packs more fly-tying mterials than clothing when embarking on her fishing adventures,” Colangelo penned as an introduction. “After a day on the water, Christina’s way to relax is at the vise with a bourbon in hand, recreating the day’s observations.”

A former resident of the Garden State, Muller recently relocated to Hancock, NY. In addition to sharing a passion for fly fishing with her partner Mark Williams, the couple are actively involved with Casting for Recovery (CfR). The volunteer-staffed project provides healing outdoor retreats for women with breast cancer. 

Another cause with which they are involved, Project Healing Waters (PHW), was originally founded to serve wounded military personnel and service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has since expanded to assist all eras of U.S. Veterans.

While Muller was busy tying a few flies, Williams shared an experience he recently had while volunteering with PHW. He was told the tale of “Tiger Mike,” a Vietnam War recon soldier who, while on patrol with his unit, heard noises in the bush—sounds that at first signaled a deadly ambush.

But in reality, it was a tiger that “came running out… and they opened up.” Today, “Tiger Mike” still has the tiger’s pelt, although it has a lot of bullet holes to mark the memory.

As Muller continued to tie a fly, one of her own variations—in the words of Colangelo, “drawing inspiration from the western patterns of Montana and Utah”—she told this sports scribbler, “I fashion them together in an authentic way on a hook and go catch a fish.”

“When I tie a fly, I envision pioneers going out in the country, tying flies in the winter and catching fish in the spring,” she added.

Her goals in the near future include exploring the fabled Charmed Circle, a historically significant area of local waterways framed by the Beaverkill (“the birthplace of American fly fishing”) and the Willowemoc. The latter was described in 1969 by Cecil E. Heacox in Outdoor Life, “I call this region charmed because its fine fishing in wild, forested settings has survived… the story of the Charmed Circle is touched with a mystical quality, trademark of the Catskills since the days of Rip Van Winkle.”

On the table, next to her array of fly-tying equipment and materials, rested a 1935 first edition of “A Book of Trout Flies: Containing a List of the Most Important American Steam Insects and Their Imitations” by Preston J. Jennings and illustrated by Alma W. Froderstrom.

An early classic in the world of fly-tying, it’s sort of a “Who’s Who” in the realm of bugs turned lures.

The CFFCM Saturday Tyers Series, offered in partnership with the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild, continues on May 3 (with Tyler Moorehouse), May 10 (Mark Sturtevant), May 24 (Mike Stewart), May 31 (John Robbins), June 7 (Mike Stewart in a second visit), June 14 (Seth Cavarretta), June 18 (Chuck Coronato) and others to be announced later in the season. The series concludes at the end of November.

The CCCCM is open Friday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 1031 Old Rte. 17. 

To contact the museum, call 845/439-4810, email office@cffcm.com or visit www.cffcm.com.