Ramblings of a Charmed Circle Flyfisher

By Ed Ostapczuk

Book Overview

Ramblings of a Charmed Circle Flyfisher retraces over forty years of fly fishing the Catskill mountains first inspired by a two-part magazine article published in the spring of 1969. Cecil E. Heacox's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1477112006
• ISBN13: 9781477112007
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Secrets Of The Catskill Rivers And Access Points Revealed !

Me and my hound dog LOVED IT! From one obsessed lifetime fisherman to another, for me, a guy who had moved from a cubicle sized apartment in NYC’s Greenwich Village to rural Ulster county in the Catskills in 2019, this book is a treasure trove of hidden, Catskill Fly fishing secrets, spots and even the forgotton history of the Catskill fly fishing greats, and unlike many of the fishing books that I’ve read over the years, this is uniquely, updated material for modern times. From online stream reports circulating on the internet, fly fishing, forums, it seems, Ed is still stomping those streams in 2025. 

SECRET INFORMATION … LITTLE KNOWN ACCESS POINTS .. AND MORE !!!

 This is the fishing information the locals won’t tell you or, as I surmise from my numerous inquiries over the last 6 years, they don’t even know. Due to flooding, soil erosion, population increases, and the DEP (NYC Reservoir Department) water releases, these Catskill streams are constantly in a state of change. I’m no wallflower when it comes to researching. But in this area of the Catskills, before this book, I just ended up hitting dead ends. It’s AN ADVENTURE WITH ED!! 

Through the pages, I felt as if I was side by side, looking over the author’s shoulder, as he trampled through little used trails, craggy stream beds, NYC reservoirs, man made ponds, and pristine lakes ranging from miniscule 2’ culvert-sized tributaries containing brook trout that sprouted from the mountain tops like fingers, eventually draining into the Esopus Creek, traveling downstream and finally ending up into the mighty Ashokan reservoir. In researching Ed Ostapczuk, I found out the author, is highly regarded, a fly fishing legend, fly tier, a self acclaimed FISH-A-HOLIC who fell in love with the Catskills over 50 years ago.

Without this book, this area of the Catskills is quite intimidating. There are Miles of POSTED, Private lands. You can spend years trying to find the rare, public, access points on your own,

I’m on my second reading of this book. There’s so much I glossed over the first time around. It excites me every time I pick this book up.

If you’re a Catskill fisherman, grab a pen, a notebook and order some topographic maps. That’s what I’m gonna do. Can’t wait till opening day.