Recently, six of us fly fishermen headed to Wilmington, NY (near Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain) to fly fish the world-renowned Au Sable River. Included in our group were Marc Hoechstetter and John (Burnsie) Burns of West Cummington, Paul Knauth of Hinsdale, Henry Sweren of Lanesborough, Fran Marzotto of Pittsfield and me. Henry had negotiated a package deal with the Hungry Trout Resort in Wilmington which included a two night stay along with two dinners and breakfasts. The Hungry Trout Inn and Restaurant sits on the riverbank and overlooks the Flume section of the river.
The area experienced dry conditions this year, but recent rains had brought the river water level up to near ideal conditions. Shortly after our afternoon arrival and check-in, we donned our fishing gear, grabbed our flyrods and were off fishing. We wanted to fish until dark, but the restaurant closes at 8:00 pm, and we didn’t want to miss a great dinner there. (Their lobster bisque and roasted duck are something to die for). So, we decided to fish until 5:00, go back to the lodge and dine and get back to fishing from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. (That worked well for me because I wouldn’t be eating late and then going to bed only to experience serious acid reflux). We fished in pairs, Burnsie and Mark, Fran and Henry and Paul and me. Weather conditions were a little drizzly and cloudy. Some guys caught fish that first day and some didn’t.
We returned to the lodge around 9:30 pm, got out of our fishing duds, and congregated at Henry’s room to discuss the day’s fishing and talk some Taconic Chapter Trout Unlimited business. We are all serious, dedicated TU members – of the six of us, four are former Taconic Chapter presidents, one current president, Burnsie, and a board member. Two of us are former MA/RI Council chairmen with one, Henry, the current Chair. That night, we discussed the demographics of our chapter, the aging membership and the lack of replacement by new, younger members. As most readers probably know, it is a problem experienced by most clubs – garden clubs, veterans’ organizations, sportsmen’s clubs, etc. MassWildlife is trying to tackle this problem, too, with its soon to be released R3 Initiative (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) to counteract the shrinking numbers and increased age of Massachusetts hunters and fishermen.
After an hour or so of discussions, we didn’t resolve anything. Every suggestion for recruiting younger members or increasing their membership participation had already been tried before. So, we all returned to our rooms and hit the sack.
The next morning, after a tasty breakfast at the Adirondack Mountain Coffee Café in Upper Jay, NY, we headed for the river. Paul and I went to a spot where we had tried for hours last fall to catch a nice trout. Readers may recall from my October 4, 2020 column how that fish harassed us by rising and showing itself about every 15 minutes or so all day long. We never caught the fish. This time, Paul was determined to catch it and bring this matter to a closure. During the winter months, he thought about that fish, tied up flies which he believed would work and perfected his Czech-style nymph fishing. On this trip, he was a man with a mission, to catch that trout. He snuck up to the hole with gritted teeth and squinted eyes (like a combat veteran with a 1,000-yard stare). Paul knew exactly where that fish should be and he was determined to catch it.
Not wanting to get in the middle of this, I fished a run a short distance away. After a half hour or so, I saw Paul kneeling by the riverbank, with camera in hand. A little while later, when we rendezvoused, he told me that after an epic battle, he caught and released a big fish which he believed was the one that harassed us last fall. He showed me a picture of a big, beautiful brown trout which measured about 18 inches long. He caught it on a size 16 Gold Ribbed Hares Ear nymph (a tiny fly about ¼ inch long).
The area where we fished was beautiful and the warm, sunny, late spring day just added to our pleasure. It was exactly the kind of day and place I had pictured so many times while working in an office before I retired. We sat on a bank, under a tree and took it all in. At one point while sitting there having lunch some kind of object went flying over us. We could see its shadow as it passed by. Incoming! was my first thought. It turned out to be a hen turkey which flew over us and landed nearby on the other side of the river. Once she saw us, she scurried away. While eating lunch, we commented how our wives would be proud of us for eating such healthy food, like the raw vegetables and dip that we were munching on. Ok, so perhaps there was some cooked Kielbasa there, and maybe some chunks of cheddar cheese, too.
Fly fishing is a sport steeped in tradition and part of the thrill is fishing with old equipment. In my case, one day I fished with an Orvis Pace Changer bamboo rod that was made in 1968 and an old Orvis Battenkill reel (probably made years ago in England by Hardy). I don’t know how many people fished with that rod before me, but I was determined to catch one more fish with it, which I did. Paul fished with an Orvis Battenkill bamboo rod made in 1974 by Wes Jordan and a Battenkill Click Pawl reel. However; he caught the big fish on a graphite Winston rod. Henry fished with a Thomas & Thomas Special Trouter which was made in 1978, and two reels, one a 3-inch Hardy St. George and the other a 3 1/8 Hardy Spitfire Perfect, both made in the 1940’s. He caught quite a few trout with them.
The AuSable River is very slick and the use of wading staffs is recommended. The river has changed somewhat due to the pounding it took from Hurricane Irene back in 2011. Some of the good holes and runs are not there anymore and it experienced some serious silting in places as a result. But it still is a very good river in spite of it all. The surrounding scenery including Whiteface and the surrounding mountains is simply captivating. I have fished this river for over 40 years now, and going there is like a pilgrimage to me. How well Marc and I remember stopping in to see and buy a few flies from the late Francis Betters, renowned fly tier and author who lived on the banks of the river. He developed several famous trout flies including the AuSable Wulff, AuSable Caddis, the Usual, the Haystack, and others. On this trip, Fran caught trout on the AuSable Wulff, perhaps Better’s most famous fly.
How well I remember the good times we Berkshire anglers had up there. Some of those anglers have since passed beyond the riverbank over the years, but they are not forgotten.
We dined at 5:00 pm again the second day and went fishing until dark. After returning from fishing, we once again, piled into Henry’s room to discuss the day’s events, carve into my wife Jan’s upside-down cake and have a nightcap. It was kind of comical, as we all stood up to leave, the room was filled with the sounds of clicking joints and of “oohs” and “ows” caused by achy backs, shoulders and legs. Hey, none of us are getting any younger, you know.
We decided to get up earlier the next day, check out, fish until 10:30 am, grab breakfast and head home. The successful flies on this trip were golden stoneflies, caddis emergers, yellow sallies, pheasant tail nymphs, gold ribbed hare’s ears, and AuSable Wulffs, to name a few. (All familiar names to fly fishermen).
It was nice that during the entire trip no politics, insurrections or pandemic whatsoever were discussed.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip, good weather, good fishing (everyone caught fish), good food, good comradery and now, good memories.