LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — Talk about some fishy lessons. 

On July 13, the internationally renowned Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum (CFFCM) conducted a two-part educational event for those interested in the sport of fly fishing: a fly-casting development day under the watchful eyes of master instructors from Fly Fishers International, and a continuation of the fly tyers series featuring Tom Mason, a Catskills Legend and founding member of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild.

“These programs help the center to advance its mission and provide accessible education of fly fishing arts and techniques, creating a space in the community where all ages can learn and enjoy, in the birthplace of American fly fishing,” said Ali Abate, executive director of the CFFCM.

Taking a page from the popular fly tyers rendezvous, but in a smaller and more intimate setting, this edition of the fly tyers series showcased the talents of Mason. Helping to set the tone for those folks gathered around a table was a well-thumbed and carefully preserved tome titled “A Book of Trout Flies,” by Preston J. Jennings, illustrated by Alma W. Froderstrom and published by Crown, NY.

Mason, 72, said he really didn’t know why he picked up the sport of fly fishing and crafting alluring flies, but when he was living in Massachusetts as a 23-year-old, “I heard about the Danvers Fish & Game Club. It had 2,000 members and about 50 of them fished… It was a bunch of old guys sitting around a table talking flies.”

He recalled that after a rather chilly reception at first (“What do you want?”), Mason told them he wanted to learn how to tie flies. The initial response was, “You’re 23; you should be out chasing women,” and he recalls replying, “It’s only 6:30, so teach me, and then I’ll go out.” 

The oldsters told Mason that it would cost him $10 to show him how to create each fly. “That was a lot of money back then,” he said now. Then they added, “If you come back a week later with a dozen flies, you get your money back.”

As an example of the adage that sometimes folks put the cart before the horse, Mason said that he learned the craft of tying flies before picking up the art of casting. “So I started all over.”

These days, the Catskill Legend focuses on creating what he referred to as “old school flies, the Catskill-style dry flies, North Country flies.” Those were first fashioned by some of the region’s most illustrious fly tyers. 

In addressing the question as to whether tying flies is an art or a craft, Mason replied, “I’m not an artist. It’s a craft. I just have a good mechanical aptitude with an eye for proportions.”

As one of the masters of creating flies, he noted that when he was first learning it, “you listened and asked questions” of the likes of Poul Jorgensen, known for his artistic mastery of the Atlantic salmon fly.

Jorgensen,  a 2001 inductee of the CFFCM’s Fly Fishing Hall of Fame, passed away in 2004 at home in neighboring Roscoe.

As to his philosophy of fly fishing, Mason said, “It’s a deep hole you crawl into, and if you like it, you stay in that hole. It brings me peace of mind. I like the people and it calms me. It’s not like going to the dentist, because there’s no pain.”

In attendance at the small table where Mason was holding court were others members of the CFFCM and Catskill Fly Tyers Guild: Dave Catizone, Ed Walsh, Phil Street, Christina Muller and Mark Williams. 

Like Mason, Catizone is a member of the CFFCM’s archival committee, a group dedicated to preserving the past for future generations.

“In fly fishing you have the stream environment where you’re actively trying to catch fish,” Catizone said. He added that other aspects of the sport include “photography, writing, fly tying, rod building,” and involve thousands of devotees  in North America and around the globe.

“You can get totally invested in it,” continued Catizone. “At times it gets to be a little bit of an obsession… We feel very privileged to see the rods, reels and flies; we’re like individuals who work in museums.”

The Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum is located at 1031 Old Rte. 17, Livingston Manor, NY 12758. For information, call 845/439-4810; visit www.cffcm.com; or follow the center on Instagram @catskillflyfishingmuseum.

For information about the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild, which was founded in 1993 to “promote, preserve and embrace the Catskill fly-tying heritage,” visit www.catskillflytyersguild.org.