Fly Fishing New York: The AuSable River

The Ausable River
The West Branch of the AuSable River

I truly have been blessed this summer with tons of fishing all over the country. After my trip to Oregon and Alaska, Michelle and I had a day or two in Arizona before we hopped back on a plane and headed back to New York and Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks to see my family.  We headed up to my hometown in the Adirondack Mountains and I was able to take a couple days to visit some of those classic Eastern streams and find some willing trout.

Tony on the water...
Tony on the water...

My good friend, Tony, and I met up early in the morning and made the drive up through Keene Valley, past the closed doors of Fran Betters’ old fly shop in Wilmington and pulled off next to one of the most beautiful rivers that God created. The West Branch that we spent our day on is full of boulders and classic pocket water that is full of browns and rainbows. I tied on an orange mini-hopper and a copper john (is anyone tired of me fishing this rig?) and hooked up in the first run, when a slim brown trout rose to the dry fly.

Brown and Mini
AuSable Brown Trout

From about 7 am to noon, I had consistent action on dry/dropper rig with fish feeding on both flies. Most fish were in the 8-12 inch range although I lost one or two that were a little bit bigger.

Brown and Copper
Brown and Copper

It truly was a glorious morning working about a mile stretch of water with fish extremely active. I did have an unfortunate incident with a guide who thought it would be a good idea to park his client 20 yards up the river and cut in on the run I was fishing up. With no one else on the river mid-week, I felt his choice of location was extremely poor to say the least. I swallowed the intense anger that welled up inside of me, finished fishing what I could and moved on to some other water.

Brown Trout and Sierra Net
Brown Trout and Sierra Net

We fished till about noon, with many more browns coming to my Sierra Net made by Greg Madrigal. (A couple of net reviews will be showing up in the upcoming weeks.) With the mid-day sun climbing higher in the sky, we opted to get some lunch and visit one of the newer shops in town, the Ausable River Two Fly Shop. The shop was great and full of gear. The atmosphere was spectacular with everyone saying hi and introducing themselves, while several guys were seated just tying flies. It had the feel of a group of friends hanging out rather than an actual shop. I highly recommend a stop here if you get a chance.

A&W
A&W

It is not really an AuSable River trip unless you stop at A&W for a burger. Tony and I sat around enjoying the wind in the pines and talking about life and our plan for the rest of the day. Unfortunately I had to take off around 6 p.m., right when the hatches start to turn on in the evening. During the heat of the day, the water warms and the fish move into the deeper pools and are not very accommodating.

Working a Foamy Run
Working a Foamy Run

Without a whole lot of options we sought out shade, deep runs, and foam in search of some mid-day fish. We were disappointed in the fishing but the scenery was magnificent. There is no doubt as to why the Adirondacks is so sacred.

The AuSable River
The AuSable River

After fishing a couple of hours with no activity, spirits were low. I had worked my way into some faster water and was swinging a Adirondack pattern called the AuSable Ugly. After several passes, I saw the flash of a fish and felt the line go taut. A large rainbow in breached the surface and ran to the head of the run, but after playing him for a minute, he begrudgingly came towards my net. As I dipped the net in the water, he gave one powerful flop and came off the hook and disappeared into the black water in front of me. Although I missed a fine photo, it was a perfect spot to stop for the day.

Until next time...
Until next time...

It saddens me to know that I never took full advantage of this river when I lived in New York in my early years. It took me until my mid-20s and living in the desert to find fly fishing. There is always something special about going home to see family and friends. Now the AuSable gives me one more good reason to hop a plane back to New York…

13 Responses to “Fly Fishing New York: The AuSable River”

  1. mr blur

    great stuff. I love that river and the adirondacks in general.
    too bad you didn’t stick any of those big boys in there.

    I have been dying to get back up there, for now vicariously will have to do.
    thanks for that.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Yeah. It was great being back up there. I’ll get that big one next time I’m up there. I have to plan it better so I can fish the more productive evenings too. Thinking about hitting your ponds tomorrow. I’ll shoot you a text…

      Ben

      Reply
  2. Tony Tenda

    Great stuff Ben. Two Saturdays ago, above the infamous guide incident, I cast a hares ear and a dropper into a deep boil and hooked a large, 20″ or so brown. Brought him to the surface twice, then he broke the 5x tippet. Many fond memories of our day on this beautiful river. Tight lines my friend.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Tony,

      That’s awesome. I look forward to getting back up there and fishing again. It was great getting out with you and thanks for showing me around. Let me know how the rest of your summer goes…

      Ben

      Reply
  3. Bruce

    Looks like a classic northeast fishing trip, and let me say those mini hoppers don’t just rule the waters in AZ, but they rule anywhere there are hungry trout.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thanks Bruce. It sure is great water. Makes me miss NY…

      Ben

      Reply
  4. Chris

    Great report, some of those waters look familiar. I fished the West Branch in June of 2004 and was amazed at the beauty and the fishing. We caught the green drake hatch, met Fran Betters, and caught a couple of 18+” browns on one of Fran’s Ausable wulffs.

    Beautiful area!

    Chris

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      That’s awesome. Betters is a legend. I have a couple of his hand tied wulffs as well. I don’t fish those anymore. Sounds like you had a great experience there. Thanks for the kind words.

      Ben

      Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thanks Bill. Don’t I know it. Soon enough I’ll be standing out at bus duty in 105 degree temps. Thanks for the kind words.

      Ben

      Reply
    • azwanderings

      For sure. I should have been more prepared and given you a heads up. I was bummed it didn’t work out but we’ll figure something out for next time…

      Ben

      Reply

Leave a Reply