There truly is perhaps no more sublime experience in all of fly fishing than Fall on the Battenkill. The river is cooler, the fish are fattening up, and the riverbanks are just bursting with the burgeoning colors of Fall.
The Battenkill is said to be “the toughest brown trout fishery in North
America” (Fly Fisherman Magazine, 1997.) where the trout have “earned
their PhD.’s” in how to avoid being caught. The river is gin clear –
they can see you coming! – and the fish are very experienced – they’ve
been cast to before! – and extremely finicky. Catch a brown or a
brookie, America’s native trout, on this stream and you’ve got bragging
rights you can tell your grandkids about. But even if you don’t catch
anything, it’s still a sublime experience just being there. The
Battenkill Valley has lots of public fishing access to this most
beautiful of rivers, and the summer pressures of vacationing fishers
and floaters are mostly gone. Go out and enjoy yourself. You’ll never
forget it.
