The Taj Mahal of Trout Flies
By the Mountain Home Staff

The eastern Catskill region of New York is often called the “Birthplace of American Fly-Fishing,” and its streams, such as the Beaverkill, Willowemac, and the Neversink, are some of the most famous trout waters in the world.

This is a pilgrimage site for fly fishermen, and it stands to reason that there should be an appropriate focal point in this mecca. And there is. The Catskill Fly-Fishing Center and Museum sits in Livingston Manor, New York near the Beaverkill and Willowemac, and Roscoe, New York, which bills itself as “Trout Town USA.”
Simply put, this is a fly-fisherman’s paradise, a place where he or she can spend a day on the stream in the morning, stroll through the museum in midday, and hit the Neversink in the late afternoon when the trout are biting.

Along with the thousands of colorful fly patterns on display, current exhibits include The Women of Fly-fishing (1400s to present), Garrison the Rod Maker, and Fly Lines Past and Present.

Flies of the Year 2000 was part of their Millennium Program that included over 1,800 flies from all over the world. Jim Krul, the museum’s executive director, explained where the exhibit currently rests.

“[The flies] went into archive and photography and then buried, as planned, on our twenty-fifth Anniversary in a time capsule with all sorts of other equipment,” said Krul.  “We have requested that time capsule remains undisturbed until 2100 for the next generation of fly fishers to have an exhibit one hundred years later.”

The capsule holds a fly made by Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, resident, Paul W. Brown. His fly, along with the 1,800 others, was also the inspiration for Poul Jorgensen’s book Dry-Fly Patterns for the New Millennium.

Jorgensen also served on the Flies of the Year 2000 committee and won seven categories for the flies he entered in the museum’s competition.

“Flies 2000 was just the start of our fly exhibits,” said Krul. “Following Flies 2000 we initiated flies from different countries. We have had Flies from Poland, Flies from New Zealand.”

Flies from the British Isles (FBI) is on display now, and Made in Japan, flies from Japan, said Krul

“In addition to these flies on display, we are also recipient of Fly Tyer magazine’s Worlds Biggest Fly Tying Competition flies that will be completed in October,” said Krul. “The total program was designed to have the CFFCM become the largest repository of contemporary flies.”

Catskill Fly-Fishing Center & Museum
Where: 1031 Old Route 17,
Livingston Manor, New York
Hours: April-October 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; November-March: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
Information: (845) 439-4810  or www.cffcm.net

NY TROUT SEASON OPENER
Season: April 1 through October 15
License: $19; seniors $5
Limits: Five of any size.
Lake trout must be twenty-one inches