An Overview of “Land of Little Rivers”
A stunning photographic portrait and rich, lucid narrative of the hallowed streams where American fly fishing had its beginnings.
The Beaverkill, Willowemoc, Neversink, Esopus, Schoharie and Delaware (the rivers of angling pioneers Thaddeus Norris, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, Theodore Gordon, and many others) are celebrated in this gorgeous book of photographs and text. In three major sections, Land of Little Rivers presents historical and physical profiles of the rivers; classic rods, reels and flies; and engaging stories of the people, events, and developments that constitute the Catskill fly-fishing tradition.
Complementing its photographic beauty, Land of Little Rivers is a book of substance, filled with fascinating stories, anecdotes, and nuggety captions, including:
- a profile of the Catskills' award-winning fly-fishing museum and education center
- how a series of geologic and glacial events gave distinctive character to these rivers
- the socio-economic forces that defined American fly fishing
- what motivated wealthy anglers to form exclusive private clubs and fishing preserves
- the story of Ed Hewitt's Big Bend preserve, home of the Neversink Rods
- the persistent conservation fights by legions of dedicated anglers to save their beloved rivers
- how innovative bamboo rodbuilders modeled their rods on the requirements of Catskill rivers
- the patterns and histories of classic Catskill trout flies
- a contemporary's view of women anglers in the 1890s who dared to wade into male-dominated streams
- how the world's first female fly-fishing club got started in the Catskills
- the beginnings of artificial fish propagation to restock barren Catskill streams
- extraordinary photos of the moment a trout breaks free of its egg sac
- exclusive action photos of the world's only trout-herding dog
- the epic tale of New York's water system, from the shallow wells of the 1600s to today's billion-gallon Catskill reservoirs
Land of Little Rivers is the product of author Francis's 35 years of research and writing about Catskill fly fishing, and of photographer Ferorelli's more than 13,000 images, from which has been selected the most evocative portfolio of photos ever made of these historic rivers. Together they have produced an exquisite, museum-quality work, one that captures magnificently the beauty and passion so central to the sport Izaak Walton called “the gentle art.”
