April 25, 1908 ] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
659 
It is to the Catskill Mountains, however, we 
must turn for the finest streams and the best 
(fishing. Practically every brook in the hills con¬ 
tains trout, and we have such famous waters 
as the Beaverkill, Willowemoc, Neversink, East 
Branch, West Branch, Rondout, Esopus and 
Stony Clove. Unfortunately for the casual 
angler there is a great deal of preserved water 
which is religiously guarded. This applies to 
practically all of the West 
Branch, the upper Beaverkill, the 
Rondout and parts of the Wil- 
lowcmoc and East Branch. Good 
■fishing, however, and lots of it. 
can still be had on free water at 
Lew Beach and Davison’s on the 
Beaverkill; DeBruce, on the 
Willowemoc; Hasbrouck, Hall's 
Mills and Claryville on the 
Neversink; Denning, on the East 
Branch; Chichester, on the Stony 
Clove ; Palenville, on theKatters- 
kili and Oliversa, Big Indian. 
Shandaken, Phoenica, Mt. Pleas¬ 
ant and Shokan on the Esopus. 
Any and all of these waters 
should afford the careful angler 
•fine sport if he strikes the stream 
when the “signs are right.’’ 
The Neversink has, to my 
mind, a charm which others lack: 
for, below Hall’s Mills, around 
the famous Big Bend, one may 
fish for miles without viewing a 
single human habitation. It is a 
big stream, though, and is diffi¬ 
cult to fish except late in the sea 
son when the water is low. The 
Beaverkill affords many beauti¬ 
ful stretches of water and fine 
fishing, both above and below 
.Lew Beach. It is ideal for wad¬ 
ing and is fine for fly-fishing, as 
most banks are low and clear. 
The East Branch, too, has many 
enthusiastic devotees, as has also 
the Willowemoc, but I prefer the 
Esopus to them all. The upper 
stretch lies in the highest and 
most rugged part of the Catskills, 
the scenery is a perfect setting 
for a trout stream, and the fish¬ 
ing never fails'me. My favorite 
stretch of water is between Big 
Indian and Shandaken, but good 
sport and huge trout are had 
further down. 
Really, there are trout in this 
stream big enough to scare one, 
but they seldom rise to the fly. 
This is a broad, rapid stream and a perfect one 
for the fly-fisher, as a good caster can easily 
cover every foot of it. At or near any of the 
places mentioned the fisherman will find fairly 
comfortable quarters at country inn or board¬ 
ing house, and, if desired, native guides who 
know the waters. As a rule you will find it 
worth while to employ the native guide on your 
first visit, as he is generally familiar with the 
best fishing waters, knows the places to skip, 
what flies the fish are taking and knows the 
idiosyncrasies of the trout peculiar to that par¬ 
ticular stream. In most cases you will be amply 
repaid. 
dare and see that they, as well as your flies, are 
of the best quality. Flies larger than No. 10 
will seldom prove effective, except in big water, 
nor smaller than No. 14. 
I find No. 12 a favorite size. They raise fish 
well, hook securely and are wide enough in the 
bend to hold hard. For bait hooks I like No. 
6 sneck for small fish. No. 5 sproat for medium 
and No. 2 sproat if they run larger. It is best 
to carry an assortment. 
Snelled flies are generally used, 
although there is a steadily grow 
ing tendency toward the eyed 
English flies without snells. The 
latter are somewhat fussy to 
handle, however, and the average 
American fisherman seldom has 
the time or patience to bother 
with them. They are exceedingly 
delicate and lifelike, though, and 
come in a number of patterns not 
made in this country and which 
are generally great killers. 
When making up your stock of 
flies it is well to have a good 
assortment, for old fishermen will 
tell you of days when the trout 
would take readily one particular 
fly to the exclusion of all others. 
The same fly, too, should be car¬ 
ried in at least two different sizes, 
for when a larger fly will fail a 
smaller one of the same pattern 
will often fetch them. If, how¬ 
ever, your purse or your inclina¬ 
tion is against a large assortment, 
it is far better to have several 
flies of ,a pattern rather than a 
large assortment of one or two 
each. 
For early fishing the flies in the 
following list will be found re¬ 
liable and should give good re¬ 
sults under most all conditions: 
Brown hackle, Cahill, March 
brown, downlooker, coachman, 
black gnat, willow, professor. 
queen of the waters, orange spin¬ 
ner, quaker, coivdung, grizzly 
hackle, McGinty, gray fox, gov 
ernor, alder, brown hen, stone, 
Beaverkill, evening dun, brown 
spinner, Gen. Hooker, hare’s ear. 
If you want to cut the list still 
further take those given in italics. 
Later in the season add to the 
list: Gray drake, green drake, 
Darling’s fancy, yellow may, white 
moth and a few floating flies, like 
floating may, summer duck and 
gauze wing may. When the grasshoppers begin 
the katydid, Ferguson and Benny, which simu¬ 
late the green, yellow and red grasshoppers, will 
often prove effective. 
Three flies to a cast are too many; they are 
hard to handle, make too much fuss in the 
water, and are apt to foul your cast. Two flies 
are far better in every way and many crafty 
old fishermen use but one, especially in the sum¬ 
mer when fine fishing is at a premium. 
Generally speaking it is better to fish down 
stream in rifts or rapids and up stream when 
fishing pools. We will take the pools first. 
Here are nearly always found the largest fish 
SUCCESS. 
or Canada will generally result in a mighty slim 
basket. Bear in mind that these fish are edu¬ 
cated and that a little local knowledge, con¬ 
siderable skill and unlimited patience have a 
great deal to do with a good catch. Do not 
attempt to use a stiff rod or coarse, heavy 
tackle. You will find a stiff rod cannot be 
handled with any degree of nicety on short casts 
and your strike is apt to be so sharp as to tear 
the hook away from the fish’s mouth. Coarse 
tackle, except at night or when the streams are 
roily, will bring disappointment, for these fish 
are very keen and exceedingly quick to detect 
any palpable cheat. Use as light leaders as you 
It is impossible, of course, to lay down any 
hard and fast rules which will not, at one time 
or another, be at fault, but there are a few 
which generally apply. 
In fishing the Catskill streams, which are by 
far the best, one must take into consideration 
the fact that the waters are nearly always clear 
and bright. The clumsy, haphazard styles of 
casting seen so often in the woods of Maine 
