If you haven’t noticed by some of the posts over the last year, the whole fly fishing history of the Catskills fascinates me. Which is weird because I’ve never actually fished there before. I just geek out over historical minutiae of the subjects I enjoy. It’s a sickness I tell ya.
Yesterday I received an email from Dette Flies, a fly shop in Livingston, New York. They actually claim to be the oldest family run fly shop in the world! For those not familiar, the Dettes (and the Darbees) are families that were the were probably the last of the original Catskill dry fly tyers, building on the platform that famed Catskill anglers such as Theodore Gordon, Roy Steenrod, Herman Christian, and Rube Cross started well over 100 years ago.
At first glance the email wasn’t really anything new, an advertisement for some upcoming fly tying classes, some new feathers and fly tying tools they were carrying at the shop, but then they slipped in this brief paragraph about “The Dette Project” toward the end.
Printed in 1929, our first Catalog featured 100 dry flies commonly offered, with 25 that were original Dette Patterns. Some of the patterns are still in use today, with or without modification. Most fell out of use many years ago with some being almost forgotten. Tied by Joe Fox, the goal of the Dette Project is to digitally compile information from the Dette family archives as well showcase patterns that have fallen out of modern popularity.
Gallery of some of the flies recreated by Mr. Fox:
(images taken from detteflies.com)
Now that’s really cool! Preserving and sharing fly tying history for the rest of us to enjoy. I can really get behind that. While they just started, I hope they’re able to continue to build out this centralized resource of photos and material recipes for posterity’s sake.
Plus, something tells me even though some of those patterns may have fallen out of favor by modern fishers, they’d probably work just fine on the trout of the Catskills today, just like they did a century ago.
I have a book signed by the Dettes and several of their flies. These have always been
a special place in my collection. They were amazing fly tyers.
Absolutely, respect the history of the sport. Sounds like you’re doing just that!
I’ve been fishing the Catskills since the early 80s. Been purchasing from the Dettes for just as long. I have many dozens of flies tied by Walt, Winnie and Mary, still fish them on the Beaverkill and Willow. Some of the flies are presentation grade which I framed/shadow box with Dette business cards from the 80s that I asked all three Dettes to sign for me.
Oh wow, what a wonderful collection! What a piece of history. I’d love to see photos if you wouldn’t mind sharing.