50 Best Places Fly Fishing the Northeast. Bob Mallard
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they would know—or figure out—what to do when they got there. Sure, some basic tackle and fly information was useful, but to try to delve into too deep a level of detail without consideration of the current weather, water levels, water temperatures, and so on, seemed futile, and worse, potentially misleading.
While working on Terry and Wendy Gunn’s 50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish, I realized that I had finally found a format that worked for me. In addition to telling the angler where to go and why, the book provides information about local fly shops, guides, lodging, and food that would be useful to the visiting angler. The book is not burdened with a level of minutiae that was as likely to be wrong as it was right.
It did not cover waters for the sake of covering waters—there was no room for filler. It focused solely on the best.
Next was the author/editor vs. solo author approach used in the book. Tapping fly-shop personnel, working guides, lodge owners, and others to contribute chapters wherever possible would allow me to create a veritable all-star team of regional expertise. This would in turn increase the value of the information in the book, and make it more interesting to read. It would give me a chance to share the limelight with friends, acquaintances, peers, and even competitors. It would present a real challenge to try to pull it all together— far harder, in reality, than writing everything myself.
When the same publisher, Stonefly Press, contacted me about the possibility of writing a book about the Northeast, I jumped at the opportunity. Finally, a format that worked for me and a publisher who understood that more is not necessarily better, and that less detail is better than inaccurate detail. The folks at Stonefly Press have brought a fresh and modern view to the fly-fishing where-to book. They have breathed new life into a genre that had become a bit stale. They have set the bar higher than it has ever been set before. I commend them for helping to reinvent the fly-fishing where-to book.
Blueback trout. James Prosek
The Northeast
COMPRISED OF THE SIX New England states, plus New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the Northeast represents a relatively small part of the country from a geographic standpoint. No state ranks higher than 30th in the nation in regard to size. Six are among the 10 smallest—including the smallest, Rhode Island. Eight of the 9 are within the 20 smallest.
Conversely, four of the states are within the top 10 in the nation in regard to population. Six of the 10 most densely populated states are in the Northeast—including the top four, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Population densities range from a low of about 40 people per square mile in Maine to over 1,000 people per square mile in New Jersey. The Northeast is home to roughly 20 percent of the nation’s population—and within a short drive of about another 10 percent.
The History
While the focus in regard to fly fishing has shifted west over the years, it is important to remember that the Northeast is where it all started. From the historic hotels and sporting camps of Maine, to the hallowed waters of the Catskills, to the fabled limestone creeks of Pennsylvania, the Northeast has a rich fly-fishing history.
The Northeast was a hotbed for early fly design. From Carrie Stevens and her fabled Grey Ghost streamer, to Bill Bennett and his groundbreaking Pontoon Hopper, to Theodore Gordon and his delicate Quill Gordon dry fly, much early fly innovation came from the Northeast. In recent years, tiers such as Fran Betters, Dick Talleur, Dick Stewart, David Klausmeyer, Don Bastian, Ed Muzzerol, and David Mac have been torch bearers for classic fly tying.
Many early fly-fishing tackle manufacturers came from the Northeast as well. From Orvis—founded on the banks of the Batten Kill in Vermont—to Thomas and Thomas in Massachusetts, to Cortland Line Company in New York, to outdoor giant L. L. Bean in Maine, to the numerous early bamboo rod shops scattered across the region, the Northeast accounted for much of the fly-fishing tackle available in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Northeast was also well represented on the literary front. From Arthur R. MacDougall, Jr., famous for creating the fictional character Dud Dean, to the classic writings of Alfred W. Miller—aka Sparse Grey Hackle—to the technical genius of Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, and Ed Koch, to the insightful writings of Ernie Schwiebert, to the conservation prose of Ted Williams, to entomology guru Thomas Ames, Jr., the Northeast has produced some of the most important and groundbreaking fly-fishing writing in history.
Then there is the celebrity. From the time when the first Atlantic salmon caught in Maine each season went to the president of the United States, to the local ramblings of baseball legend Ted Williams and his friend, sportscaster Curt Gowdy, to TV personality Gadabout Gaddis and his 1970s show, The Flying Fisherman (filmed on the banks of the Kennebec River in Maine), the Northeast has been highly visible in the world of fly fishing.
Finally are the ambassadors of the sport. From Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby (1854–1946)—Maine’s first registered guide, to Leon Chandler of Cortland Line fame, to Leon Leonwood Bean of L.L. Bean fame, to George Harvey’s Pennsylvania college teachings, to Cathy and Barry Beck’s endless promotion of tackle and techniques, to Tom Ackerman and his resurrection of the classic American Sportsman show, the Northeast has always been at the forefront of fly-fishing promotion.
The Waters
The rivers, streams, brooks, and creeks of the Northeast can be divided into three primary categories—tailwater, freestone, and limestone. What constitutes a river, stream, brook, or creek is less clear. Some rivers are smaller than some streams. There is no identifiable characteristic that differentiates a stream from a brook. Most—but not all—creeks are either limestone or coastal.
A tailwater is a section of river downstream of a dam. Many expect tailwaters to be cold, clear, and rich in nutrients, with specific types of plant and insect life. Very few rivers in the Northeast fit this description. While some tailwaters in the Northeast have consistent and cold flows,
many do not due to low dams, shallow impoundments, or mid-depth releases from high dams.
Most Northeast rivers are what would more accurately be referred to as freestone—even many that originate at a dam. On freestone rivers, the bottom is usually strewn with rocks and boulders of various sizes. Slower sections are often covered with sand and gravel—and even mud or silt. They tend to warm up as the season progresses. Flows are inconsistent and often unpredictable. This is the classic Northeast river.
The Northeast’s streams and brooks are mostly freestone. There are, however, meadow streams, estuary brooks, and the aforementioned limestone creeks. Most freestone streams are relatively infertile and subject to radical flow changes. Many of these suffer from low water in the summer. Some get too warm to hold trout throughout the year. But many do hold trout—even wild trout.
Limestone creeks are to the Northeast what spring creeks are to the West. They get their water from underground springs. Limestone creeks are found primarily, but not exclusively, in Pennsylvania. They have consistent water temperatures and flows, and robust plant and insect life. They are as tough to fish as any waters in the country—and some would argue the toughest. If you can catch fish on a limestone creek, you can catch fish anywhere.
While not as popular with fly fishers as moving water, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs offer some unique, challenging, and fun opportunities for those willing to try them. Like the differences among rivers, streams, brooks, and creeks, the difference between lakes and ponds is murky at best. There are ponds that are larger than some lakes—so it is not a size issue.
Saltwater fly fishing in the Northeast is done offshore, in the surf, in estuaries, and on the flats. Like our tailwaters, our Northeast flats do not fit the classic definition. Thinking of saltwater flats conjures up images of white sand, turquoise water, and boats with poling platforms. While some flats