West Branch of the Ausable River
Just got back from a few days on the west branch fly fishing Ausable river with Rob McKay~what an amazing river! It was a little different from previous years, but just as awesome a place to be!
With the fall colors painting the hills and mountains, we rolled into the Adirondack region of NY around 11:00 am Sunday morning. If you’re driving from Toronto as we were, its an easy 6-7 hour drive~two thirds of it in the rolling hills of up state New York. Rob was a willing participant in most of the routine that I follow when I go down there. About 20 minutes after crossing the border (off of exit #342 from Interstate 81) there is an amazing greasy spoon called the "Longway Diner." Exit #342 takes you around the massive Fort Drum military base, easy explanation for the number of soldiers that frequent the place. Always hopping, a worthwhile stop. (hungry or not) Lots of very pretty, small, lake-side towns later we rolled into Lake Placid.
From there, Wilmington is only an 8-10 minute drive and BOY does the scenery change!
The west branch of the Ausable river follows the road for a good portion of the way between Lake Placid and Wilmington. Deep, dark swirling plunge pools…long flat sections where you can challenge yourself with fussy rising trout at night…its a high elevation and boulder-strewn river that’s quite intoxicating. It takes a while to absorb the notion that a river like this could be so close to Toronto!
On to get our licenses, local "what’s going on and where" info. and…of course….a whack of flies!
We set up camp at the local State campground called Wilmington Notch. If you’re into camping, this is the place to go. No gift shop, a professional staff, very clean bathroom/shower facilities…all for a whopping $12-$13 dollars a night. This time of the year things are a bit quiet in this campground. Another thing (and if you do any camping in Ontario, you’ll find it to be the same) nobody ever messes with your belongings while you’re out fishing. Common sense applies of course~you’re not leaving your fly rod out in the open or food where an animal can rip into it. You CAN expect to find things as you left them though. Peace of mind.
By 3:00 pm, we had visited all the area shops, purchased the libations, fire wood, visited Fran Betters’ at the Ausable River Sport Shop, had the camp and tent set up and were finally pulling on the waders and stringing up the fly rods.
A side note:If ever there was a "you’ve gotta" see it to believe it" applied to any trout river, this would have to be it. Rob easily matched my stubborn attitude by simply refusing to buy a wading staff. I did the same thing the first time I fished this river. Not wanting to see him lay it out like I did the first time I fished it, I told him I’d buy the thing FOR him if he didn’t buy it himself. Rob is as competent at wading rivers as most, probably better than many. I knew he wouldn’t let me away with that~he bought one. Like everyone who fishes that river, he soon realized its not an option. The water is that dark, tannic-stained type that looks like the color of dark tea. Even with polarized glasses it can be almost impossible to see the bottom, and that’s the next point. There are large, submerged rocks you don’t see, drop-offs…. The wading staff is a third leg. You almost always need two points contacting the river bottom when you’re moving or changing spots. The wading staff also allows you to "prospect" the spot you’re planning to put your boot next. There are lots of places where the river bed goes from 3-5 or more feet instantly. Not a place to be careless. Another familiar refrain you’ll hear about that river is "felt soles." The rocks in this river feel like they’re greased without felts. So, take the "felt soles and wading staff" suggestions seriously if you plan to go. Now….what about the fishing?
The fishing was quite challenging this year, and we were on a tight schedule. We explored allot of water I’d never fished on that river but I didn’t have the time to show Rob some of the smaller, but equally nice streams in the mountains. As in previous years, the trout preferred to eat on or near the surface. I hooked the majority of mine on either the "Adirondack Isonychia Parachute" (posted as my first fly on O’Reilly’s Tying bench) or a heavily weighted white/silver Zonker minnow. At several points there were browns taking BWO emergers in the slack water~a Dandelion Fly (another one from the bench) proved to be the right medicine. In fact, to fish that fly I was using 7X tippet. I didn’t take the time to remove that tippet when I switched back to the parachute. Then….it happened. A very large brown came up and attacked the parachute at the head of a deep run an took off down stream. In my experience, if I keep a good-sized trout on for more than 30 seconds I figure I’ve got him. WRONG! It charged back upstream and wrapped itself around a rock. The tension stayed, the trout was gone. Lesson learned~light tippet or not, don’t fool around trying to land a trout~get it done! Oh well, I managed to get the fly back. At least the fish did his part~trout:1 fly fisher:0 On one of the new stretches Rob and I hiked down into a small gorge beside the road. Rob was quick to spot a trout rising quietly in the middle of a rather quick run. Wasting no time, he got into the river just down and across from it and placed an Isonychia parachute upstream of the rise perfectly. The brown launched an attack on the fly clearing the water in the process! Nice. In the plunge pool at the head of that same run 10 minutes later I hooked a brown in the tailout on a white Zonker. And so it goes…. Covering water is often the key, though difficult at times. We were told by a local fly shop that nearly 25% of the fish caught this year were wild fish born in the river. Though stocked with browns, I’ve NEVER seen evidence of the fish having ever been caught, mangled fins from a hatchery etc. If they’re stocked fish, that’s just fine with me. They were beautiful, fat, and FULL of fight.
A few particulars…
Bugs:There were great numbers of Isonychias around and the fish were on them in the faster water. The insects we saw most often were either BWOs or what they call "grey caddis." I had a few come up and bump some of my finest Grand River Caddis patterns, but they were just not eating them. Didn’t matter, they liked the Iso. parachutes enough. There were some smaller, yellow/rust-colored mayflies I couldn’t identify….about a size #16 if you were tying one. Again, the fish seemed to ignore them.
Tackle:I fished a 9′ 3wt. the most, Rob an 8′ 4wt. We both brought/fished 5wts. too, but with the fish hitting dries as much as they were the lighter rods made a bit more sense. Playing the feisty browns in the fast water was great fun on the lighter gear.
Another great trip to the Adirondacks, an incredible place for sure. The rain gods held off this year~that alone makes a fishing trip down there a great one. If you’re planning a trip down there you’ll find the area shops very helpful and well-stocked. The biggest part of their business is visiting anglers and they treat you that way. You’ll always leave the shops with a few tips and a good feeling. Buy a few flies, take some time to chat and just soak-up the pace of things. You might never want to leave!
