THE FLY-FISHER'S CLUB OF BROOKLYN, N. Y. 



BY WILLIAM C. HARRIS. 



On the picturesque Beaverkill, a few 

 miles above the town of Rockland and 

 the State Hatchery, a little club of fly 

 fishers have made unto themselves a 

 cosy home with trout pools in front, 

 above and below. There are clubs and 

 preserves of multifiplied forms and for 

 all purposes, but this small but earnest 

 coterie of anglers seem to have hit upon 

 a plan that ensures the fullest enjoy- 

 ment. They are content with modest 

 creels, and have selected this section of 

 the Beaverkill because of its scenic 

 beauty and the assurance of, at least, 

 a few trout daily to the rod in the many 

 and deep pools within their territory, 

 the riparian rights of which for a mile- 

 stretch on either side they have bought, 

 in fee simple. Actuated by the true 

 spirit of the craft they reasoned in this 

 wise : 



When trout are so numerous that it 



is no trouble to fill your creel, the charm 

 of angling ceases to exist ; that the full- 

 est enjoyment of fly-casting and catch 

 ing trout can be had in large waters ; 

 that a club with small membership gives 

 the greatest comfort and delight in the 

 intimate fellowship of domesticity ; that 

 a small stretch of water can be belter 

 preserved and protected than a li)ng 

 one, and that by owning outright the 

 lands on both sides of the stream their 

 rights would be in perpetuity, and such 

 permanent improvements as decided 

 upon would not be subject to the fiat of 

 a fractious lessor. 



Impelled by these motives this little 

 band of anglers have organized under 

 the corporate name of " The Fly-Fish- 

 er's Club of Brooklyn," and bought from 

 B. F. Hardenburg, of Rockland, all tliat 

 part of the Beaverkill river running 

 through his farm and one rod of land on 



