Date: 4/13/2023

Stream: West Branch Ausable River

Flow: 

Main Stem: 3790 cubic ft/sec

East Branch: 2290 cubic ft/sec 

West Branch: (Main – East) 1500 cubic ft/sec

Clarity: slightly off

Hatches: Early Brown Stone, nothing to write home about 

Fishing Outlook: Early season conditions continue with high, cool water due to run off. The warm nice weather has sped up the snow melt on the Ausable so I would hit the northern rivers and lower lying streams that have more suitable flow. One of the guides, Reed Atkinson, @atkinsonrods, caught a 24” brown recently on a Tan Mop Fly. It was one of the only flies he was having success on during the day, and caught what will most likely be a seasons best catch. Unreal trout!  ! We had a brutal rain the other day with over an inch falling in some nasty thunderstorms. This time of year our area is generally quite slow fishing in the rivers and your best opportunity is going to hit the iced out lakes and ponds. Some of the best Stillwater fishing of the year can be had in the early weeks of April into May. If you are dying to hit the river, fish streamers and attractor nymphs all fished slowly and vary your color choices. A favorite early season fly of mine is the Sparkle Minnow, dead drifted or slowly swung, twitched etc. But taking as much time as you can in each seam and pocket is ideal.

Upcoming Events: We have a very exciting year ahead of us, with an expansion into our partner shop at the old Two Fly Shop location. We purchased the building and will be unveiling a lot of new happenings in the coming weeks. We will continue to run the Hungry Trout Fly Shop as we have for the past 30 years, and in addition we will expand into our partner shop in the center of Wilmington and offer a new mix of fly and tackle. Stay Tuned! Fish On! Shops will be opening full time on May 1st!