AN ICON PASSES

September 10, 2009 - In the event you are unaware of the events of this past weekend, Ausable River icon Francis Betters passed away at the age of 78. Fran was responsible for creating and popularizing the Ausable Wulff and Usual dry flies, along with a number of other Adirondack region staples. As a young married man I had the opportunity to meet and converse with Fran on a number of occasions while taking up our traditional weeklong residence at the Wilderness Inn, a double-haul from the entrance to his legendary Adirondack Sport Shop in Wilmington, New York. While never achieving a close personal relationship, I always found the man more than accommodating both from an inspirational and informational point of view. All anglers that in some way touched his life will dearly miss him. He now fishes pools he could only dream of while on this earth.

THE MILLERS
In the previous few days I've had the pleasure of interviewing a few anglers that have been directing their attention to the Millers River in Wendall Depot. Their purchases, almost identical, suggested that they are no strangers to area, at least as far as fly selection is concerned. Tom White, of Worcester, as well as a rather friendly chap (sorry I didn't get his name) both left with a handful of Usual dry flies of both natural and sulfur design. While not in the least boastful, our unknown angler seemed to be a resident of western Worcester County and quite knowledgeable of the watershed and it's secrets to achieving success. The interesting thing that I derived from our brief conversations was that each angler has been catching rainbow trout, along with an impressive number of brown trout. While brown trout are known to withstand extreme temperature variations, rainbow trout very seldom survive the torrid summer months this system often endures.

As we have preached in past reports, while trout zealots have had to tolerate high water conditions from late spring throughout the entire summer, the reward will be the when water begins to subside and watersheds return to more normal flows. We are on the cusp of some really outstanding angling opportunities, not only on the Millers but on the Deerfield and Westfield as well.

Good fishing and safe wading,
JB