For Catskills artist Steven Weinberg, fly fishing grew out of the same Upstate life that gave him a landscape to paint. After moving from Brooklyn with his wife, Casey Scieszka, to open the Spruceton Inn, he began painting nearby Rusk Mountain, then found fishing offered a restorative break from painting—and eventually another subject for his work. His illustrated beginner’s guide, The Fly Fishing Book: An Artful Guide to Angling, grew in part from inn guests who were curious about fishing but intimidated to start.
How the Catskills became part of Weinberg’s work
Weinberg is a writer, illustrator, painter, and angler based in New York’s Catskill Mountains. His studio biography says his work has appeared in books, on beer cans, and at the Smithsonian.
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In an interview published May 6, 2026, Weinberg told Field Mag that he and Scieszka moved Upstate from Brooklyn almost 14 years earlier to open the Spruceton Inn. He wanted to be outdoors and expected art to be part of the move. The first time he took in Rusk Mountain from home, he recognized it as a landscape he would paint repeatedly. By the interview, he said he had painted it countless times and that it was central to a forthcoming children’s book, I Am The Mountain.
Fishing became a way to step away from painting mountains. Fish, in turn, joined the subjects of his art. Weinberg also said the inn’s artist residency, which began in its first year, had hosted “over 130 artists and counting” by the time of the 2026 interview; that is his reported figure, not an independently audited total.
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Why he made an illustrated fly-fishing guide
Some Spruceton Inn guests were interested in fly fishing but felt too intimidated even to hire a guide, Weinberg told Field Mag. He had guide friends who welcomed beginners, and he began explaining the basics to guests: the rod, line, fly, fish habitat, and practicing a cast in the inn’s meadow. That effort to make the sport approachable became one reason for The Fly Fishing Book: An Artful Guide to Angling.
The book uses Weinberg’s watercolor illustrations to introduce the subject visually, rather than relying on photographs alone. Trout Unlimited’s overview of the book describes its breadth: gear, casting, habitat, insects, fish species, flies, knots, painting, angling history, fish behavior, finding fish, etiquette, and preparing a catch. That range gives it room to serve curious newcomers while also bringing in advice from experienced anglers.
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Weinberg has cited Thomas McGuane’s The Longest Silence and The Curtis Creek Manifesto as inspirations; he also created cover art for a re-release of McGuane’s book. The combination points to his interest in both the culture of fishing and practical instruction.
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What Weinberg says to beginners
Weinberg describes fly fishing as learning a new language. His advice to people who are “fly fishing curious” but hesitant is to make the first step small: “Just give it a go. Borrow a rod, bug a friend, hire a guide, whatever it takes.”
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That is not a gear prescription. It is a way to lower the barrier to trying the sport: borrow equipment, ask someone experienced to help, or book a guide if that feels more comfortable. In his own Catskills fishing, Weinberg describes wet wading streams with a seven-foot 3-weight rod. He recounts carefully casting around overhanging branches before catching a large brown trout on an elk hair caddis in a small tributary; it is a personal story, not a general recommendation for beginners.
Brook trout, painted and pursued
Brook trout are Weinberg’s favorite fish to paint, in part because they live in the creek behind the inn and their vivid colors stand out against the Catskills setting. He told Field Mag: “Brook trout are far and away my favorites as they’re the fish in the creek behind my inn, and hey, they might not always be massive lunkers (see below), but they are absurdly colorful—the colors seem more at home in a coral reef than a northeast forest.”
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He has not caught every species he painted for the book. Among the fish he has painted are sea-run trout and Arctic char, which he says he painted in Iceland after an invitation to Heidarvatn with writers David Coggins and Darrel Hartman. His personal dream destinations include Mongolia for taimen, Bolivia for dorado, South Africa for yellowfish, and Patagonia; these are aspirations he shared in the interview, not claims about current fishing conditions.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The book also pushes beyond a trout-only idea of fly fishing. Field Mag quotes Tom Rosenbauer, identified there as Orvis’ chief enthusiast officer, advising: “It’s not all about trout in fly fishing. Find a place close to home and fish for bass or panfish.”
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What to know about the book’s listed length
Contemporary descriptions do not agree on the page count. Field Mag lists 176 pages, while New York City Trout Unlimited’s May 14, 2026 event listing describes a 200-page guide and more than 50 watercolor fish. The listing records a past event, not current availability. Check the specific edition or publisher listing before relying on a page count.
Read the Field Mag interview for Weinberg’s full account, the Trout Unlimited overview for the instructional structure, and the NYC Trout Unlimited event listing for its contemporaneous book description.
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