The Pool:  Long before Ed Van Put’s excellent book, Trout Fishing in the Catskills, was published I explored, wandered, and fished the upper reaches of the West Branch of the Neversink River.  As the title suggests, Van Put's work reveals details of the history of trout fishing in these Catskill Mountains.  And with regards to one stream Van Put wrote, “The valley of the West Branch has long been known as Frost Valley and has a wild and rugged landscape that has been a deterrent to early settlement.”  And even today pristine parcels of the Catskill forest flourish while the cold, clear West Branch remains home to wild brook trout.

One such image graces a portion of the dust jacket of Trout Fishing in the Catskills.  It is a pool on the West Branch lost in the Catskill Forest Preserve, which I was lucky enough to have found and enjoy for many years now.  The seasons and time have changed this hidden treasure a little, but for the most part it's the same today as it was decades ago when I first came upon it.

Trout Fishing in the Catskills by Ed Van Put:

The Pool, West Branch Neversink, 11x14: