Ins & Outs: Fishing the Adirondacks
If you are fishing the Ausable, you can do what I did. Stay at the Hungry Trout Motel on Route 86—the river runs right through its backyard, so you can just walk out and fish. The motel is owned by Jerry Bottcher, a very knowledgeable fisherman, who also owns the adjacent and well-stocked fly shop called, you guessed it, the Hungry Trout (518-946-2217). My room was $89 for a single per night in early May. The Hungry Trout has two fine restaurants, one called (surprise) the Hungry Trout, which is a little more formal, and a pub downstairs. But you can get the same food at each place, at least in early spring.
When I fish the Ausable, I usually check into Fran Betters's Adirondack Sport Shop a couple of miles down the road, just because I respect a man who has fished the same river for 65 years and written 12 books on the Ausable and fishing—and who has created at least four unique flies (the Ausable Wulff may be the most famous). Fran's a legend but not a snob; he'll talk to you about what's going on along the river, and he'll tell you what flies to use. You can get a guide there for $150 for a half-day or $195 for a full day, but be sure to book in advance at (518) 946-2605. Fran and his guides are happy to teach beginners and run free fly-fishing clinics (combined with barbecues) at least once a month from May through October. They also offer children's instruction, one-day schools for adults, and a full-day pontoon boat trip with fishing and BBQ on Lake Placid for $450.
In Lake Placid, after a hard day on the river, I ordered a 6-ounce filet of steak with broiled scallops for $23.50 at the Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood Co. on Lake Placid's main street and sat at the bar and traded yarns with the owner-manager, Rob Kane, a funny and friendly transplanted New Jerseyite. Rob let me try two beers the restaurant brews itself that are named after Fran Betters's flies: the Ausable Wulff Red Ale and the Haystack Blonde. And after a very long and cold and rainy day on the Ausable, a day on which we caught some fine trout nonetheless, it seemed a perfect ending to schmooze with Kane and munch on a steak and drink Ausable Wulff Red Ale. If you do the same, you will sleep well. -Peter Cary
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