Raindrops

For the most part, the prognostication has exceeded the reality.

This western end of the Catskill region has found a little rain, this where a bold TV weatherman revealed his map late yesterday predicting an impossible four and a half inches for Deposit. The Central and Beaver Kill watershed took the brunt, with the river touching the margins of the mildest of flood stages. The East seems similar in scope as seen here in the west. So goes the unpredictability of rainfall in these mountains! There are remainders of storm warnings here, but this as yesterday appears not to be a fishing day.

I wrote last autumn about the most recent turn in my own study and curiosity in the legends and historical tales of Catskill rod making. I researched as best I was able to learn more of one of those icons, the H. L. Leonard Model 66 ACM flyrod. Recently, the gracious owner of an amazing private collection has provided some answers, actual facts not legends, taken from the preserved records of a company that was so tightly woven into the fabric of the craft of fly rod making.

It seems that the Mills company, owners, set about compiling a book containing everything about the making of a Leonard fly rod in the early 1950’s. That book was the magic key to enable Mills to rebuild Leonard after the disastrous fire, and among those pages are the specifications of the mystical Leonard ACM rods, including indeed, an eight-foot 2-piece Model 66 ACM. My hand told me it was real with my first cast, but now my faith has been bolstered by history!

I have recounted my own rebirth as an angler, deliverance sprung from that remarkable staff! May the spirits among the legacy of H. L. Leonard ever shadow these Catskill rivers and watch over we anglers of the noble reed and artificial fly.

We are fortunate that some few among us, caretakers, authors and scribes, have done what they may to ensure the history and traditions of the art of fly fishing and the classically simple and beautiful artifacts of the tackle which allow our entry to the worlds of the mists and bright waters.

Summerfest arrives on Saturday, and it is one of my favorite days of the year. The Catskill Museum welcomes all of us touched by this magical art of fly fishing and wild trout, and may the waters of her fair Willowemoc may recede, and there be good cheer and sunny skies!