Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum

Agnes Van Put is going to be 100 years old in August but you wouldn’t know it after a busy morning of following her around the spacious grounds of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum as she and all the other volunteers prepare for the center’s 35th anniversary gala and auction.

The hop in her step and spring in her voice was damn near intoxicating and I couldn’t help but take a big old sip of the Kool Aid as she went on and on about the rich tradition and history of fly fishing in Sullivan County New York.

Rick Miller was busy installing ramps for easier access in and out of the buildings when I offered a penny for his thoughts and after a 20 or so solid minutes in the bamboo rod workshop a nickel would have been much more appropriate.

Dette Trout Flies

Joe Fox grew up on Long Island but is about as local to Sullivan County as you can get. Dette Trout Flies had been in the family since 1928 and Joe is the enterprising steward of the beloved and trusted brand.

The store is in a house. Or rather the house is in a store. Joe’s family house. Joe’s family store. If it’s all sounding a bit too Seussian for you know this: 

a fly can be tied 

but some ties cannot fly 

but never a Dette, oh my.

It was Joe Fox who suggested I meet with Nick Rubicco because unlike a lot of other guides he does not operate under a strict set of objectives or a my way or the highway mentality which suited my interests well.

The Catskill Angler

Apple and Google could not agree on the best way to reach Nick’s house. But I found my way eventually and within minutes was on the porch with a cool refreshing PBR in my hands. The start of a beautiful friendship

Life is less complex since Nick removed himself from the hustle and bustle of NYC. He regards his choice to leave behind a lucrative life in commercial real estate as an important one for both his mental and physical health. And he has no regrets, at least none that he is willing to discuss publicly. Business is good and he’s staying busy. On the river or in his bamboo rod shop which for him, adds up to a lot more personal fulfillment than the life he left behind.

When we had finished our beers it was time for a lesson. A lesson in futility for as I discovered casting is easy (just think the hands of a clock from 10 to 2) but casting well is hard. Nick was exceedingly patient but I wasn’t much of a pupil.

Over the road and through the brush to the river we went where the water was much too warm for the fish and flies on which they feast.

Nick was still nice enough to wade out waist deep and show me how a real angler gets it done.

Precision and patience.

It turns out Catholicism and the Big East Conference go hand in hand, or rather high five to high five, and as I discovered after a few days of skulking about Madison Square Garden visibility is important to these team chaplains who see their job as much more than as a spiritual conduit. 

Nearly all whom I spoke to willingly espoused the virtues and ethos of the Big East conference using phrases like leadership, scholarship and community. To be fair, it doesn’t take a religious affiliation for a college or university to talk openly about it’s commitment to the entire student-athlete but hearing it come from these men of faith made it all sound so earnest and genuine that even a skeptic like myself must consider the possibility that competing in the Big East Tournament is not the most important thing these players will experience in their lifetimes.

- Don’t call futsal indoor soccer. It is distinctly NOT indoor soccer. The only similarity is that it is soccer played indoors. That’s it! In all sincerity, Adrian Rodriguez was quite sincere in his appraisal of futsal as an entirely different brand of “room soccer” and was quick to point out that unlike the indoor soccer that the majority of Americans are familiar going back to their time in middle school gym class, in futsal you cannot play a pass off the wall. But there’s more...

- As for other rules specific to futsal...I’ll need to revisit Westchester Futsal sometime in the near future, perhaps when they are holding one of their popular youth clinics, because as of now things are a bit fuzzy for me, specifically how the game incorporates elements of basketball like the 5 fouls before a violation and no back court passes once the ball has been advanced into the offensive zone.

- Under normal circumstances, when a steady stream of rainwater is not cascading across the court like the glacial melt off the coast of Greenland, futsal is played at a very fast pace. But on this tonight, because of the slick surface, players proceeded with caution. I caught glimpses of a higher gear and to me, the most impressive talent was the ability of some players to fit the ball into the back of the goal from incredibly tight angles. Plus, the really good players had a frustrating knack of scoring a ridiculous golazo just as I would put my camera down.

- Futsal goalies do not wear any protective armor other than knee pads which is disconcerting given how the ball is hard and most shots are of the point blank variety. When defense is optional as it often was on this particular evening, it can turn into a shooting gallery and I wouldn't have blamed a goalie one bit if they had sought refuge outside in the storm.

- I remain fascinated by the footwear. Most participants, those that were there solely for the free play and not part of N.Y.E.F.C., wore sneakers. But some of the really good players, like Alan and Julian, had on what looked like a cross between wrestling shoes and Marty McFly Nike’s from Back to the Future Part II.