Theodore Gordon is widely regarded as the father of American dry fly fishing, and his influence on the Catskills is immeasurable. Fishing the nearby waters like the Beaverkill and Neversink, Gordon realized that the popular British dry flies of the day didn’t match American hatches. They were also designed for slow moving chalk streams, not the faster, tumbling, freestone waters of the Northeast. A quiet, introspective observer of nature, Gordon popularized “matching the hatch” through fly-tying and casting techniques.
George La Branche, was equally instrumental in establishing dry fly fishing in America and is often credited with giving the movement it’s intellectual framework. After casting his pink lady in Junction Pool he became an lifelong advocate of the advantages of dry fly fishing in the Catskills. He was part of a small circle that believed fly fishing should reflect the natural rhythms of the river rather than overpower them, and his seminal book was aptly named “The Dry Fly and Fast Water”.
Gordon and La Branche shared ideas, correspondence, and water. Together, they helped establish what became known as the Catskill School of Fly Fishing—defined by elegant dry flies, precise casting, and an almost spiritual respect for trout and place.
