Catskill Rivers: Birthplace of American Fly Fishing

Description

"Catskill Rivers" is the story of the "birthplace of the American fly fishing." Readers will discover this birthplace in such hallowed trout streams as the Beaverkill, the Willowemoc, the Neversink, the Delaware, the Esopus, and the Schoharie. While originally published in 1983, "Catskill Rivers" remains the definitive study of these fabled waters

Austin M. Francis is a noted angling historian and biographer as well as an acknowledged authority on the history of Catskill fly fishing. He has a home in the Catskill Mountains, where he has fished there for more than forty-five years. He is also the author of Land of Little Rivers.

"Here is a book that any serious trout man will find both useful and pleasurable. Well written and thoroughly researched, it belongs in the library of every American angler." Geoffrey Norman "More than a scholarly history, Catskill Rivers left me wading in nostalgia. I could smell the rhododendron blossoming on Dry Brook and even caught a whiff of the hairy armpits of Keener's Pool. Austin Francis has spawned a classic." A. J. McClane "Except in dreams, I've never fished these streams and I've always felt I never knew enough about them. Finally I do. This book is a jewel." Charles E. Brooks "In the 2014 edition, newsman Dan Rather, an avid Catskill angler, contributed a Preface. Francis wrote a new Introduction, which appears in the pages after his original Introduction. The last chapter, "Catskill Rivers Today," is extensively rewritten. the original chapter listed conservation organizations and fishing businesses. Francis updated these lists and also added an extensive list of licensed fishing guides in the Catskills. This chapter includes new essays by four noted Catskill guides on "how our rivers fish." Ed Ostapczuk, Judd Weisberg, Dick Smith, and Walt Ackerman consider, respectively, changes and constants on the Esopus, Schoharie, Beaverkill and Willowemoc, and the Delaware and its branches. "New and returning Catskill anglers will find something helpful in this third edition of Catskill Rivers. If you can't travel to the Catskills to fish, reading Francis's book is one of the next best things to being there!" -- Kaatskill Life, Spring 2015. "Here is a book that any serious trout man will find both useful and pleasurable. Well written and thoroughly researched, it belongs in the library of every American angler." Geoffrey Norman "More than a scholarly history, Catskill Rivers left me wading in nostalgia. I could smell the rhododendron blossoming on Dry Brook and even caught a whiff of the hairy armpits of Keener's Pool. Austin Francis has spawned a classic." A. J. McClane "Except in dreams, I've never fished these streams and I've always felt I never knew enough about them. Finally I do. This book is a jewel." Charles E. Brooks "In the 2014 edition, newsman Dan Rather, an avid Catskill angler, contributed a Preface. Francis wrote a new Introduction, which appears in the pages after his original Introduction. The last chapter, "Catskill Rivers Today," is extensively rewritten. the original chapter listed conservation organizations and fishing businesses. Francis updated these lists and also added an extensive list of licensed fishing guides in the Catskills. This chapter includes new essays by four noted Catskill guides on "how our rivers fish." Ed Ostapczuk, Judd Weisberg, Dick Smith, and Walt Ackerman consider, respectively, changes and constants on the Esopus, Schoharie, Beaverkill and Willowemoc, and the Delaware and its branches. "New and returning Catskill anglers will find something helpful in this third edition of Catskill Rivers. If you can't travel to the Catskills to fish, reading Francis's book is one of the next best things to being there!" -- Kaatskill Life, Spring 2015.