
A steelhead, one could argue, is a rainbow trout on steroids.
Gary Dodson
A steelhead, one could argue, is a rainbow trout on steroids.
Let us open the Tangled Lines mailbag and see what the populi is voxing about.
Agnes Day of Spore City, Ohio writes:
You keep talking about wet flies. Aren’t all flies wet once you cast them into the water?
I could go into a detailed explanation of how the wet fly imitates a transitional stage in an aquatic insects life cycle but I won’t, because this is a family newspaper.
I will offer this anecdote:
I was about 14 and fishing Woodland Valley Creek, a tributary of the Esopus in the Catskills. Dries only. I was having some success but occasionally my fly got waterlogged and provoked strikes, especially when I was trying to retrieve it when it was submerged downstream.
I was working a pool right by a cabin. The building was so close to the stream you could fish from the porch. As I puzzled over how to get that fish that was hanging out by the lower part of the pool, the old-timer on the porch was watching me. I didn’t realize it.
He scared me out of a year’s growth when he spoke up. He asked what fly I was using. “Royal Coachman,” I said. He asked if I had a wet version. I replied, Agnes-like, “A what?”
He came off the porch and made his way to where I was perched at the top of the pool. He borrowed my fingernail clippers and cut off most of the hackle on the Royal and left the white wing.
Then he advised adding a couple of feet of finer tippet, waiting 10 minutes for things to settle down, and flopping the thing into the current, allowing it to swing through the tail out.
I did this and after a couple of false starts caught the fish that had been tormenting me.
Afterwards the old-timer said I should try fishing wet flies upstream just like dries. When I objected that I wouldn’t be able to see the fly he said “Yeah but they’ll see it, and if they see it they’ll let you know soon enough.”
Fester Karbunkle of Potzrebie, New Jersey wants to know:
Do you ice fish?
No I do not. Ice fishing involves walking gingerly out on a frozen pond or lake, cutting a hole in the ice, and staring at it for indefinite periods of time.
I want no part of it. Especially the cutting the ice part. The ice is all that is between me and a cold, watery grave AND WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP CUTTING THE %$@# ICE!
Linus J. Scrimshaw of West Cornwall inquires:
What was your best trout in 2024?
This was a difficult year, with way too much rain at some points and none to speak of at others.
So the most satisfying catch was on the East Branch of the Delaware around Margaretville, New York. The stream was very low and I had to hoof it a couple hundred yards through inhospitable terrain until I found a pool deep enough to justify the term.
I could see the trout, and they could see me. So it just turned into a grim battle. Who would give up first?
After considerable time, and several “look but don’t eat” moments, I finally got a fat brown on a Bread and Butter nymph fished naked and alone. (The fly, that is. Not me.)
Then I had to go a couple hundred yards through inhospitable terrain back to where I started. My buddy Gary had wisely stayed put and was yanking a fish in when I fetched up. His fish was better than mine.
Honolulu Jones of East Drizzle, Wyoming objects:
Wait a minute. Didn’t you catch a steelhead back in April?
Yes, and you could argue that a steelhead is a rainbow trout on steroids.
But that trip to Pulaski and the Salmon River was so completely out of the usual run of events that I think of it the way other people think of significant milestones, like marriage, or the first arrest.
I forgot half my gear, sprained my wrist turning the knob in the shower, and almost lost an earlobe when a gust of wind blew a size 4 black Wooly Bugger (with rubber legs) back into my personal face.
And after fruitlessly flogging the water for two days, I absently flipped the Bugger into a deep hole, just trying to get some line out, when the steelie loomed up and chowed down.
So no, my first and only steelhead wasn’t the best fish of 2024. It was a happy accident and nothing else.
Webutuck's Olivia Lopane-Wickwire, no. 2, eyeing a pitch as she steps off first base.
FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. — Webutuck High School softball defeated Housatonic Valley Regional High School 14-9 on Thursday, May 15.
The non-league game was played in Falls Village, Connecticut, in what is a becoming an interstate rivalry. When these teams met last year, Housatonic won 16-3.
The match was paused in the second inning due to a lightning delay. At the time of the delay, Webutuck led 5-4.
Housatonic’s Madison Dewitt tied the game with a homer to center field once play resumed.
Webutuck pulled ahead as the game went on. Bella Milano led the team offensively. She drove in six runs for the Wildcats and hit 3 for 4 at the plate with a triple.
Pitcher Madison Krueger earned the win for Webutuck with 10 strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings. Her performance put the team total for strikeouts this season at 103.
For Housatonic, Kylie Leonard hit 3 for 5 with two RBI. Freshman Payton Wagner pitched six innings for the Mountaineers.
The annual Columbia County event draws hundreds of bargain hunters to Hillsdale’s Hamlet Park.
HILLSDALE —The town of Hillsdale’s flea market returns Saturday, May 24.
Dozens of vendors will be selling things at Hillsdale Hamlet Park, southwest of the intersection of routes 22 and 23 in Columbia County.
Items expected to be on sale range from the practical — kitchenware, furniture, toys, garden tools and clothing — to unique hand-made items, antiques and collectibles.
Vendor spaces are available. Spaces cost $50 for a 15-by-15 foot space or $30 for 10 feet by 10 feet. Vendors must bring their own tables.
“The Hillsdale Flea is a great excuse to gather up all those treasures you have laying around your house and give them a new home,” said Tim Stookesberry, a co-organizer of the event. “I’ve had a blast selling at the market the last couple of years — and have made some decent money, too.”
The market will open at 9 a.m. for early-bird shoppers during the first hour, with a suggested donation of $10 for the Hillsdale Fire Company no. 1. The market will continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Fire Company will also be raising funds by serving breakfast sandwiches and coffee at the event. Other food vendors also are expected to be on hand.
As this is an outdoor event, a rain date for severe weather is set for Sunday, May 25, with the same times. Notice of a rain delay will be posted on Hillsdale’s various Facebook pages as well as the town website, hillsdaleny.com, and other social media outlets.
For more information on the event, contact the organizers at hillsdalenyparks@gmail.com.
Producing a blizzard of bubbles, the Bubble Bus delighted visitors to the annual Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17.
AMENIA — Outdoor and indoor fun activities awaited area families who attended the Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17. The popular annual event was co-sponsored by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the Webutuck PTA.
In addition to outdoor displays including a car show, large trucks, a helicopter, a state police water rescue vehicle and a bubble bus producing blizzards of bubbles, the indoor displays numbered more than 60 local and area organizations, vendors, demonstrations and volunteer opportunities, nearly all giving things away for free.
Last-minute coaching was in order before the start of an old-fashioned sack race. Millerton Village Board member Matt Hartzog was ably coordinating each race and cheering all contestants onward at Webutuck Community Day on Saturday, May 17.Photo by Leila Hawken
Old-fashioned sack races for kids were a popular outdoor feature organized and managed by Millerton Village Board members Matt Hartzog and Lisa Hermann. They provided information about the upcoming 175th anniversary Millerton’s 1851 founding. A significant celebration is being planned for next year between July 11 and 19, 2026. Volunteers are being sought now.
“We’re looking for people and organizations interested in helping out,” Hartzog said, adding that organizations might contribute an event to be scheduled within that celebration week.
“We want to fill the week,” Hartzog said. “It’s a work in progress,” Hermann added.
For information about the celebration, go to www.villageofmillerton-ny.gov/175th.
Little Kinsley Kelly from Dover, who recently celebrated her first birthday, attended her first Webutuck Community Day on Saturday, May 17. Eager to try the sandwiches being prepared in the high school cafeteria, she found the burger held by her dad to be to her liking.Photo by Leila Hawken
The Millerton Fire Company was represented by members volunteering to hand out fire safety kits, plastic helmets and baked goods, while providing fire safety information.
Second Grade teacher Sydney Cipriano was looking after the PTA Book Fair display. The Book Fair is an ongoing PTA activity. Community Day organizer and PTA President, Anna Kall, busily came and went from the Book Fair display ensuring that the event ran smoothly.
Faith Bible Chapel offered information about their Vacation Bible School, scheduled for June 23 to 27. Pastor Bill Mayhew said that the free-of-charge program for kids 2 to 18 has steadily grown in numbers over the years.
Bee Bee the Clown of Milan, an area favorite, made balloon animals.
Delighting youngsters with balloon creations, Bee Bee the Clown paused for a photo with Third Grade teacher Sydney Cipriano in the PTA book booth.Photo by Leila Hawken
Local libraries were there. The Amenia Library’s program assistant Megan Marshall had been kept so busy, she said, she had given away all of her cookies, but still had a few handcrafted bookmarks made of recycled materials to give away. NorthEast-Millerton Library children’s librarian Naomi Schmidt was distributing stickers to children who shared a poem.
Outdoors, not far from the bubbles, the New York State Troopers had brought along an air boat used in underwater rescue or recovery emergencies.
“We get to give back to our communities,” said Recovery SCUBA team member Michael Polishuk, adding that they were there to talk to children about water safety.
Funding for repairs to the NorthEast-Millerton Library were secured Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106).
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to receive a facelift thanks to a $125,000 grant to support overdue repairs and necessary upgrades to the library’s Annex.
NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said the repairs are scheduled to begin around mid-June and conclude in early August. The grant will be used to repair structural and cosmetic damage, including rotting wood, chipping paint and damaged siding. Leo-Jameson said if there is any budget remaining, the library will replace an exterior door and window.
But it’s not just about paint and repairs. As outlined in the library’s strategic plan, which runs through the end of this year, a primary goal of the library is to “bridge the divide in our community” using the Annex to host events, meetups and offer the space to organizations looking for a place to gather.
“The Annex has become a community hub,” Leo-Jameson said. “The community deserves to have a place that is well-maintained and attractive.” The Annex is utilized by the library, community members and local organizations six days a week. It has also served as the polling location for the Town of North East.
This funding — secured by Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106) — comes at a critical moment, as libraries across New York face uncertainty amid significant cuts to federal support. Barrett, a longtime supporter of public libraries, said the threats to funding streams from the federal government “will, without question, impact the libraries in our district.” She said libraries like the NorthEast-Millerton Library, which generally operate on shoestring budgets, will feel these funding cuts deeply.
“It’s a critical dynamic in our country right now,” Barrett said, adding that the public has a role to play in the sustainability of libraries. “I think now is the time for the community to step up and become members, look at ways to be supportive, teach kids about programs at the libraries and get involved.”
Barrett has visited the library over the years for meetings, political events and talks. “I love that the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex is a hub with energy and a sense of community and when it’s a newly refreshed building I know it will be super exciting for the community.”