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Reviews

VINCENT KURZROCK, The Sullivan County Democrat

“I never thought I would write a book about my own trout fishing experiences, despite having spent the greater part of my life fishing for trout and seeking information about trout and trout fishing, both pragmatic and historical.”

These are the words uttered by the late Ed Van Put, renowned fly-fisherman and conservationist.

Through his new book published posthumously, “A Flyfisher’s Revelations: Practical Tips, Strategies, and Wisdom from Fifty Years Experience”, Van Put shares over 50 years of hard-earned knowledge, strategy, and personal anecdotes in his book, which was released last Tuesday by Skyhorse Publishing.

A longtime resident of the Catskills, Van Put has worked as a fisheries professional with New York State and is considered one of the region’s foremost voices on the history and evolution of fly-fishing. His new book is a blend of memoir and practical manual, offering insight not only into the techniques of fly-fishing, but also the values of humility, patience and appreciation for the natural world.

According to Skyhorse Publishing, Van Put explores in detail “which flies have produced most effectively; how to choose and tie flies that work best; when and how to fish the dry or wet fly, nymph, midge, or streamer; the importance of approach and presentation.”

“My earliest efforts in fly fishing began by casting where a rise had appeared and then I would “nick” the water with a fly, a couple times, then drop the fly at the same location,” Van Put describes in a passage. “Often as soon as the fly landed a fish would take it, and the fun started.”

The book also includes a special chapter on the Adams fly, his personal favorite and responsible for catching over 70 percent of his trout on a dry fly.

Armed with a half-century of experience, Van Put has also authored several respected books on the region’s fishing history, including “The Beaverkill”, “Trout Fishing in the Catskills” and “The Remarkable Life of James Beecher”.

His articles have appeared in The Conservationist, Trout, Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel and Kaatskill Life.

MARK STURDEVANT, BRight waters catskill

The name Ed Van Put is truly legendary in these Catskills and along the Delaware River. An angler of these rivers for sixty years, our region was saddened by his passing in December. As fellow members of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild expressed our condolences and support for his wife Judy, she told us that he had reached a final goal, one that was most important to him, before his death. Thanks to Ed’s perseverance and the work and support of his family and friends, he has shared that goal with all of us.

“A Flyfisher’s Revelations” (ISBN: 9781510783331) will be released by Skyhorse Publishing on July 8th. Copies are available in Ed’s hometown of Livingston Manor, New York at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum.

As an author, Ed Van Put has contributed greatly to the history of our region. His previous works: The Beaverkill, Trout Fishing In The Catskills and The Remarkable Life of James Beecher represented a monumental amount of research driven by Ed’s love for the Catskills and their people. Revelations is the product of his love of trout fishing and his decades of time spent along Catskill rivers both as a remarkably effective angler and as a fisheries professional.

This is the book that many Ed Van Put fans asked for, an opportunity for him to share the knowledge acquired in his decades of work for New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation as well as his fifty years spent studying and chasing the magic of trout and fly. Ed kept journals of his fishing, detailing the locations and conditions of all of his fishing days, and recording the flies used and the number, species and origins of the trout taken.

Part of the Van Put legend comes from the fact that he caught remarkable numbers of trout using a very small selection of flies. He was known as the champion of the Adams dry fly, catching seventy percent of the trout taken on a dry fly on that favorite pattern. To begin this book, Ed examined thirty years of his journals in detail to answer his own questions as to what made him so successful in catching trout, taking time to consider these memories and reevaluate the conclusions that shaped his angling techniques.

A Fly Fisher’s Revelations is a lovely read, full of the honesty, honor and humility of a true gentleman angler. Van Put appreciated the beauty and mystery of Nature and never tired of the magic of his immersion in the beauty of a Catskill trout stream. There are lessons to be learned here for each and every angler. They are offered gently, with the kindness and grace of a gentleman. There is no sales pitch, no insistence that this master’s way is the only way to catch a trout. Revelations is more like a quiet, friendly talk with a mentor, one willing to share his passion without any overbearing airs.

About the Author

Ed Van Put, an avid fly fisherman for more than fifty years, worked as a fisheries professional with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for over forty five years and has written extensively—including several essential books—on fly fishing and its development in America.  His first book The Beaverkill: The History of a River and Its People—released in 1996 and later expanded & revised in 2016—is the definitive book on the famous trout stream. The follow-up Trout Fishing in the Catskills received similar acclaim as a must-read expansive exploration of the development of the Catskills as America's premiere fishing destination. He was a founding member of the Beamoc Chapter of Trout Unlimited, as well as a founding member of the Catskill Fly Tiers Guild. He learned to tie flies from Harry and Elsie Darbee, the noted Catskill tiers. His articles have appeared in The Conservationist, Trout, Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, and elsewhere. Ed lived in the Catskills with his wife Judy until his passing in December 2024. His final book, A Flyfisher’s Revelations, was published in July 2025.