October so far

The Ausable has been way to high for most fishermen this past week. I have managed to take a few clients to some local spots with some luck. Mostly with streamers and heavy nymphs. I also have been able to get out on my own a few times here are a few pictures of a nice brown I caught on a size 6 Zonker.

My new 9 foot 5 weight

I finished a new rod a few weeks ago and have fished with it almost every time I have been fishing since and even let a few clients try it as well. I used a Batson 9 foot 5 weight Rx7+ Blank. It is a medium fast action rod with plenty of backbone. I love its overall feel. My next project is going to be the Rx7+ blank in the 8 and a half foot 4 weight. I cant wait.

Great fishing

The cooler temperatures over the past few days have provided some excellent fishing on the Ausable. I am going to head to the Ausable River Two Fly shop to pick up a new net tomorrow.

Big or Small

Fishing tiny dry flies (sizes 20-28) can be a real challenge; when the only trout you see on the river are selectively feeding on tiny tricos it is silly to toss anything even barely visible from 20 feet away, right? Wrong! Trout feed on beetles, grass hoppers, crickets, damsel flies, stone flies, and whatever else happens to land in their feeding lane. Big flies catch fish even during the hottest days of the summer, especially in pocket water, along undercut banks, and beneath overhanging trees and bushes. It doesn't surprise me to hook into an aggressive trout even in white water so turbulent that it is nearly impossible to get more then a ten foot drift. I am more likely to fool a fish if I am fishing for trout that have to strike quickly to fill their stomachs. I understand the appeal of fishing an early morning trico hatch on a glass-smooth stretch of river using the most delicate flies, tippet, and presentation to fool trout that seem to be studying the slowly passing flies waiting for the perfect one to strike; however, I find that moving from pocket to pocket, covering a lot of water, and using a relatively big dry fly is the method I use most often with the most success.

Sulphurs

Last night I fished one of my favorite spots on the river. I managed to catch a few small trout subsurface on caddis nymphs and one on a stonefly dry. As the sun was going down, the dry fly action picked up; light cahills, tan caddis, blue winged olives, and the sulphurs were all on the river, but none in great numbers. I switched to a size 14 sulphur parachute and caught my biggest fish of the night (about 16 inches). As my eyes tired and it got darker out, I switched to a larger cahill parachute emerger, size 12 (I tied it with an extra large parachute). I fooled a few more fish and walked home. Oh yeah one more thing next time your out on the river bring bug dope.

Recent activity

On the river last night there were tan caddis, some march browns a few coffin flies and some stone flies. It rained hard today and the air temp was cooler then it has been lately. The river is in good shape. I have been fishing mainly pocket water using large dries (stimulators or bombers) if I notice the trout rise to the fly but refuse at the last moment I tie on a smaller more accurate imitation. I also caught a few nice trout just before dark last night on a coffin fly spinner. I am anxious to see the hatch activity on the river now that we have gotten a good blast of rain.

Early Morning

I went out fishing on the West Branch of the Ausable early this morning with Tom, the owner of the Ausable River Two Fly Shop (a new shop in Wilmington). We fished from about 5am until almost 11am. It rained lightly for most of the time we were on the river. There were a lot of tan caddis, some yellow sallies, and a few green drakes on the river. All the trout I caught were on a size 10 stimulator, except for one brown on a size 16 olive bead head caddis; I had it tied on as a dropper. The river was low and we could really use the rain. The water temp is in the mid 60's. If you are going to be in the Adirondacks, you should really check out the new fly shop in Wilmington and buy some local patterns, some of which are tied by yours truly.