[dropcap]O[/dropcap]nce again the USA Fly Fishing Competition came to Lake Placid. Some of the top fly fishing guys from around the country, gathered to test their skills and try their luck on the West Branch of the Ausable and Mirror Lake. This year the Saranac River was added to the repertoire, to form a triad of fishing waters with shorelines, pockets, riffles, runs and pools to fish.
Both the calm waters of the lake and the fast boulder waters of the Saranac and Ausable made for a real challenge.
This was the second year of this event and some of the guys I met last year came back to try once again. Sean Crocker, a Physician’s Assistant, (P.A.) from the Philadelphia area and, Andy Szofran, from Montana, were both back for another try, along with some new faces like Josh Miller from the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area.
![By Knepp Timothy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://flylifemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Screen-Shot-2015-06-17-at-9.11.12-PM.png)
By Knepp Timothy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Some of the controllers from last year were there, along with some newbies’. The volunteer controller’s job is to measure the fish, record the catch time, plus, we keep the fishermen within the confines of the designated beat and make sure all the rules of the competition are followed.
The first day out I teamed up with fellow controller, Ellen Jenson, for Ken Crane, the organizer of the event. He fished a West Branch Ausable beat, 100 meters long, for a 3 hour period. It wasn’t long before he had his first Brown Trout, a nice 27 centimeter Brown caught at 8:03, three minutes into the action. His last fish was taken at 10:59, a 30 cm Brown, caught on a nymph. Ken caught 15 fish that first 3 hour period.
After lunch, I worked with the P.A., Sean Crocker, who had his own prescription for getting fish. Sean worked his way through the boulders and runs like a professional. He had his surgical skills out as he sliced his way through the pocket water in search of trout! His prescription for the day was size 16 and 18 bead head nymphs called “Frenchies” along with a 3 weight 10 foot fly rod and 18 feet of leader. That was the medicine Sean used to tempt the trout.
