By
Spider
Rybaak
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| Fred Betts with the cream of his collection. |
Fishing museums
are rare. Of the handful in existence, NY boasts two of the finest, both
located on world famous trout streams. Oswego County has the most complete: The
Salmon River International Sport Fishing Museum.
Truth be
told, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingston Manor, on the
banks of Willowemoc Creek, a tributary of the Beaverkill, which flows into the East Branch of the
Delaware River, is more famous. That’s mostly because it’s been around for
about 20 years longer, is located in the Catskills, the cradle of American
fly-fishing, and is only about 50 miles from New York City.
But the
Salmon River is rapidly becoming the top salmonid stream in the world— it’s
already the most famous in the Lower 48 states. Another, equally important factor
that’ll propel the SRISFM into the front of the pack is its inclusiveness; it covers
all aspects of fishing, everything from casting and spinning reels, to trolling rods, eel spears, lures and
trout creels.
In fact,
Fred Betts, a Central New Yorker who boasts one of the finest creel collections
around, gave a lecture on their history last Sunday, February 16. He brought
the cream of his collection to show the evolution of fishing baskets, and how
each change benefited anglers.
Betts’
talk was part of the facility’s newest program, “Afternoon at the Museum.” An
open house held every third Sunday of the month, the series will feature
speakers on a litany of fishy subjects.
The next
talk, given by Mike Riordan, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on March 15, and will
cover the history of fishing line, from the braided horse hair lines of Ancient
Rome to today’s super braids.
Riordan,
president of the museum, says it’ll by open at 2 p.m., giving folks a little
time to wander through the exciting displays before the speaker’s presentation,
which will be given at 3:30 p.m.
But
there’s more to the place than fishing equipment. The walls are plastered in
fine art. Everything from fanciful Romantic era fishing scenes to realistic
oils by greats like Maynard Reece is represented.
Run by
volunteers, the hours of operation aren’t set in stone. However, the lobby
contains loads of literature and is always open.
The
museum is located at 3044 State Route 13, a few miles east of Pulaski. For more
information, call 315-298-2213, visit www.salmonriverinternationalfishingmuseum.org. or www.facebook.com/pages/Salmon-River-International-Sport-Fishing-Museum/152643681444857.
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| Old time fly wallet. |
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| Fine art graces the museum's walls. |
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| Ice fishing and eel spears. |
