by Ed Van Put

$29.99 200 pages. Published by Skyhorse Publishing, www.skyhorsepublishing.com

Ed’s swansong tells how he caught 70% of his fish on one fly

ED VAN Put has left a wonderful legacy of his life and work on the water in the Catskills in NewYork state. Like the man, his book is direct and understated, with an air of quiet authority.

Perhaps best known as the author of the most influential historical accounts of Catskill fly fishing, including The Beaverkill,Trout Fishing in the Catskills and The Remarkable Life of James Beecher, Ed’s final work is a deeply personal one.

His love for and fascination with Catskills trout has yielded a classic filled with both art and science. Based largely on his personal diaries and journals written over 50 years of fishing and working as a fisheries professional, it is perhaps the most complete record of a fly fisherman’s life in print.

Ed draws an impressive narrative from all ofthe decades of creel census, river temperature and pattern tracking data. He reveals a simple truth: a vast majority of one’s catch can be made with a single or at most a handful of patterns, as long as the fly is delivered skilfully and with confidence to the fish in a manner in which it can be positively received.

Some flyfishers will find the fact that Ed caught more than 70% of his fish on a single dry fly, the Adams, downright hard to accept. They will insist that trout are much more complicated, that matching the hatch is more science than art, and that the Van Put method is just too simple – which could only ruin their fun by deflating decades of elaborate theories, methods and experimentation. Well, if there is one person who can pull this off, it is Ed. A lifelong expert angler and conservationist, he has the standing to present these simple truths while challenging fly fishermen to work harder on their casting and presentation.

His advice on fly fishing tackle seems spartan. Ed fished with a single 8ft Vince Cummings rod, a Hardy Princess reel and a double-tapered line most of his life.Yet he tied his flies and leaders, focusing his attention on how he employed these tools at the delivery end of the mission.

Whatever your level of skill, you can’t help but be impressed with Ed’s record-keeping, rigour and commitment to the Catskills fishery. His book makes a solid contribution to increasing everyone’s ability to understand trout behaviour and the tips, tactics and strategies that will reward an angler.

With accounts from fishing the Delaware, Beaverkill and Willowemoc, he includes chapters on fishing dry flies, midges, wet flies and nymphs with accounts of fishing these classic waters, is focus on what makes a well- balanced dry fly, and how it should be presented and fished, provides a refreshingly accessible approach that is backed by solid expertise.

His many anecdotes are beautifully recount- ed and skilfully selected to make his key points. Even his stories about fishing with luminaires like President Carter and his wife are related with characteristic modesty and good humour.

We all miss him since his passing last year, but Ed’s life of humility and good-natured interaction with both fish and fishermen provide a lesson for us all.

Steve Woit