July 22, 2023

Time is the greatest gift you can get, and my relatively new retirement has afforded opportunities that I never had time for while working a full-time job, owning a small business, and also having another part-time job. One thing that I’ve found more time for is fly fishing on Blue-line brook trout streams in the Adirondacks.

Crawling up on a plunge pool in eager anticipation, then making the perfect cast, soon to be rewarded by a feisty brooking grabbing your fly is great fun during the times when it all comes together. Just getting to these streams and fishing them is its own reward.

When I was younger, there really were not a lot of wild brook trout streams with decent populations of fish. Now the native brookies are more widespread and with a little research, it’s possible to find them. In general, I like to find a stream on the map that is at least four miles long or so, and from there you just get out and explore. I certainly don’t find brookies in every one that I try, but have found some that were great.

Flies and gear are easy. A box of attractor dry flies, like my favorite, the Ausable Wulff, plus a few foam Chubbies to fish dry/droppers with, and a couple of beadhead nymphs like the Pheasant tail, Frenchie, and Perdigon and you have everything. I bought a new rod for exploring these streams, a 6.5 foot 3 weight, which has been ideal.

These trout don’t have a ton of food in terms of hatches. They largely rely on whatever washes into the stream, and typically are going to eat any fly that comes by them. The challenge is in getting a shot to present the fly. They see very well and you have to wear colors that blend in and position yourself downstream where you won’t be seen when you cast.

I generally find there is a point on the streams where you start catching  mostly  small trout. Usually the lower couple of miles from the mouth of the stream upstream are where the bigger fish will be found. On these streams a 7-incher is average, and a 12-incher is a monster. 

If you do try this sort of fishing, please keep a couple of things in mind. These streams and the trout that are in them are pretty delicate. They can’t handle a ton of fishing pressure. Also, have a plan for releasing fish before you catch one. I have a rubber coated net, but I usually wet my hands and just wiggle the hook out and let them go without touching them.

Water temperature is the key to when you shouldn’t fish. This season we’ve had a lot of rain in July which has cooled these streams, providing more summertime fishing than usual. In general, try and fish when they are 65 degrees or less and the trout will be in good shape when released.

The Adirondacks are a gem, and the wild brook trout are a treasure that are doing well on a lot of streams. Backcountry fly fishing for them is a challenge, and while not every stream is going to yield good numbers of trout, it is great when you find one that does!