Ramblings of a Catskill Flyfisher

Jamie’s parachute Hendrickson nymph

When Jamie called and invited me to meet him on the river, at first I declined—there were several projects that needed attention. But during our conversation, especially when he explained …

Striped-bass fishing in the Hudson River

Without going into a lot of detail, suffice it to say that striped bass, like other species of coastal, pelagic fishes,* suffered periodic, yet significant population declines. The first decline …

Opening day when we were young

When we were young men, still in high school, I recall that opening day for us actually began in February. By that time, catalogs from Herters, Sears and Read Tackle had arrived, whetting our …

Old friends

I met Frank Mele one late April day along the East Branch of the Delaware. He was standing at the guardrail along Route 30, looking at the river as I approached. It was Hendrickson time in the …

Schoolhouse Brook

Every year as winter begins to wane, and the snowdrops bloom, my thoughts turn to fishing and for some reason, seasons past. In my formative years, when trout fishing became a weekly pastime, …

Is there an evolution in trout feeding behavior?

When I begin tying flies, the folks who mentored me followed the Catskill School. By that, I mean that they subscribed to the techniques used by the Darbees and Dettes, by Rube Cross and Art Flick, …