"Willows on the Schoharie"- Presented by West Kill Brewing & Trout Unlimited
Art Flick, a man who left a legacy of mammoth proportions, remains high on the list of Catskill figures celebrated around the world today. Among his many gifts to the fly fishing and fly tying worlds, Art was integral in securing the first Public Fishing Rights for angler access in New York State and further educated the angling community with his in-depth study on the diets of trout, “The Streamside Guide to Naturals and their Imitations” as it was originally titled in 1947. Art’s Streamside Guide was born from his extensive time spent studying the mayflies (and their appeal to the trout) on his local home water, the Schoharie Creek.
Fly anglers and fly tyers today still reference the guidelines and groundbreaking macroinvertebrate photography that Art offered in his book. Beyond the gift of his trout studies, Art also welcomed a massive list of anglers, authors, and artists for a first hand experience of the Catskills with fine hospitality and accommodations at his West Kill Tavern.
As recounted by local friends of Art’s, he noticed that industrial progression and massive storms were degrading the wooded habitat on his beloved Schoharie Creek. In an effort to make a small but meaningful impact, Art would regularly collect Willow Tree stakes by the bucket, and plant them along the bare and widening Schoharie Creek stream banks before fishing.
Please join us on Sunday, October 22nd for an informal gathering of local anglers who would like to help celebrate Art’s legacy and take a page from his playbook, by planting Willows on the Schoharie. We will meet at 10 AM in Prattsville, NY at the Art Flick Memorial site, created by the Catskill Mountains Trout Unlimited Chapter in 1986. After a brief discussion, we will make our way to the designated planting site for staking willows. Once we’re all wrapped up, we’ll head to the modern day West Kill Brewery, on Spruceton Road, for pints and Flick stories. For more details, contact Jesse Vadala of Trout Unlimited at jesse.vadala@tu.org or 845 549 0064.