Adirondacks Report

Website · Post by **Mike Lennox** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:42 pm

Hey all,

Dragged my Dad down to NY last minute for some nice fall trout fishing with my good buddy Simon (thanks Dad!) . The plan was to wake up early, head to Malone then head to Wilmington to fish the fabled Ausable River and return home for a late dinner. In my fairly limited experience in New York State I have fished some more productive rivers than the Ausable but it remains my favourite. Such beautiful gorges and waterfalls coupled with smart brown trout make for a fun time on the water.

The morning started at a well stocked river downstream of Malone. The plan was to catch some fish before heading to the Ausable just in case it was slow. In two and a half hours of fishing I brought 26 trout to hand (all released of course) and was ready to pack up and head to Wilmington. It was a mixed bag of mostly rainbows (maybe 2/3) and some browns, wild and stocked. The biggest was a nice 14 inch wild brownie caught czech nymphing a fast run.

After scouting out the water it was both clear and low and we were a little worried. There was minimal surface activity, although we may have left too early to see any.
To my surprise in a few hours fishing I brought 16 trout to hand as well as quite a few lost, including a a nice brownie that got off from a jump. It was about 50/50 rainbows and browns. The rainbows were nicer than the ones caught in malone with nice jumps and runs. The highlight was a nice 16 inch brownie caught using a big ausable bomber close to the cliff, and 5 Minutes later seeing Simon catch a hen of the same size long lining a hare's ear nymph. Most fish we caught were about 10-12 inches long and stacked at the top of the pockets. Stealth definitely helped, and we stayed as low and as quiet as possible.
We high sticked nymphed using small tungsten pheasant tails and hares ear nymphs to fish the pockets. The closer to the access points the harder the fishing was, and a few trout I caught had hook marks in their mouths. Man those trout get pounded: I wouldn't want to live at monument falls if I were a trout

Can't wait to head there next year, and I would reccomend to head down there, definitely a nice time to fish as Ganman once said, the trout are stronger and smarter, and no bugs fall is the best time to be out!
Mike

Post by **joco** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:48 pm

coll report

keep those coming i love to read them.

is those rivers big anaught for kayaks or there only wading rivers.?

joco

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:48 am

Good report Mike!!

Hey Joco....you would have an awesome time on the Ausable with your kayak bud!!!!.....here's a pic of a section of the river and a "few" browns!!

Post by **Fishboy** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:02 am

TMH,

I've always found browns to be the least tasty trout. How'd you cook them?

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:17 am

Fishboy wrote:TMH,

I've always found browns to be the least tasty trout. How'd you cook them?

Fishboy, I've eaten browns that taste better than specks but I've also had some browns that tasted like mud!!...It all depends on the body of water and what the fish are eating...Most of the lakes and rivers around the Ottawa Valley, that hold browns taste muddy with the exception of one lake where the meat on the browns are dark orange and they taste sweet!!!

As far as cooking them, I prefer to leave the skin on, dredge them in some herb flour, and fry them in butter and peanut oil...butter is for the taste and the peanut oil stops the butter from getting brown and burning!!.....we've also had them wrapped in tin foil and thrown on the camp fire if we're tenting it...

Website · Post by **Mike Lennox** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:44 pm

joco wrote:coll report

keep those coming i love to read them.

is those rivers big anaught for kayaks or there only wading rivers.?

joco

Hey Joco, where I was fishing it was very fast with runs, pools and pocketwater (the catch and release section). If you can find a spot like where TMH fishes im sure there are some big browns and without a doubt much less pressure than most spots on the river. Kayak fishing is definitely fun, I can't wait to try mine on a little trout lake next spring.

Mike

Post by **Robert Goulet** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:39 pm

I made my first trip to NY State today by myself and I have to say that although I didn't spend much time there, I had a lot of fun.

I drove into Malone and picked up my day license as well as my license for next year seeing as I'd like to come back before Oct 15th.

Heading back towards Messina and the Canadian Border I stopped off at a bridge on what I believe to be the Salmon River and waded up and downstream for an hour and a half. In that time I managed to land 4 browns and I missed a few more...the buggers always hit when you're rubbing sweat out of your eyes or fixing your goodies...I swear they have a sense for that kind of stuff.

I didn't have a thermometer with me but I would guess that the water was in the 62-64 degree range. To complete my bone headedness for the day I forgot my fly pack so I had to fish with the only fly I could find in the back of my truck. It was a black/crystal bugger with a gold bead head...thankfully the trout were up for taking my my offering.

Now that I have a few maps and a better sense of what is around there I am looking forward to getting up there as much as I can before the close of the season.

It is definitely worth the drive.

Post by **DropShotr** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:34 am

Was down to Lake George a week ago with wife.

In the Keene, Keene Valley area of the Ausable the water was LOW

DropShot'r

Post by **Manfred** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:22 pm

Recent Adirondacks Report:

1236 Wed 1 Oct 08 [Henceforth all times refer to Wed 1 Oct 08] -- Left undisclosed condominium location in Centretown Ottawa.

1405 -- Left one of several Tim's in Cornwall, having consumed Turkey Bacon Club sandwich and chocolate dip donut.

1450 -- Pulled away from U.S. Customs (longer than usual wait -- time might be off a bit)

1520 -- arrived at a river downstream from Malone, similar to the one described by Mr. Lennox

Water tempurature: 58F.
Level: About normal.
Clarity: Good, just slightly brownish owing to scattered but apparently gentle showers.

1540 -- Commenced catching fish.

1715 -- [Time approximate] -- While attempting to check the water temperature again for my Fish-Hawk comrades, dropped digital thermometer, chased it, almost caught it three times, watched it float down almost exactly the path taken by one of my favourite hats last fall.

1800 -- Put on another jacket at car. Numbers and sizes to this point vaguely similar to those reported by Mr. Lennox, although I decided not to count after that one time in the summer. Decided to fish a bit upriver with a wulf before the light fades, having had a great time doing this about a week earlier.

1815 -- Nothing happening with the wulf in the same pockets that it worked so well on a week earlier and a bit earlier in the day.

1820 -- Small swim, enough to wet the inside of my chest-waders. Realize the light is fading fast and the whole balance thing seems to have abandoned me in the last 15 minutes.

1830 -- One last feisty and beautifully-coloured brown on a bead-head hare's ear nymph.

(By far most of the fish came on the same small bead-head pheasant-tail used by Mr. Lennox).

1940 -- Decide while finishing McDonald's supper that I don't feel like putting the cold wet waders back on and pursuing the big-uns tonight. Head back to Ottawa.

I wonder about another this year...