Evan Bottcher, owner and guide at the Hungry Trout Fly Shop, grew up next to the river, swimming and fishing the summers away. Bottcher’s family has owned the Hungry Trout for decades, and he grew up immersed in fly fishing — it’s just what people did. Now, for the first year, he’s helping organize the annual AuSable River Two-Fly and hopes to grow the challenge into a bigger event that includes locals, fishers or not.

Part of what makes the Two-Fly special is the unique nature of the AuSable River, which provides a type of fishing not really available anywhere else on the East Coast, Bottcher said. It’s full of boulders and is on a relatively steep gradient. There are lots of areas with “pocket water.”

These present a number of challenges for a fly fisherman, mainly when it comes to choosing flies. It also means that it’s easy to lose a fly, and that’s where the main challenge of the Two-Fly comes in. Each fisherman can only choose two flies, and they have to commit to them for the day.

“People contemplate that for hours leading up to their choice,” Bottcher said.

Participants from the AuSable River Two-Fly. (Provided photo — Whiteface Visitors Bureau)

If they lose both of them, they will be out of the competition — although people are welcome to keep fishing for fun. That’s an important point for Bottcher. This is primarily a challenge, not a tournament. While some participants get really into it, lots of people are just there to have fun.

“You’re really challenging yourself, what you can do with a limited assortment,” he said. “And we want to emphasize that, because no one here is very competitive.”

Over the years, the Two-Fly has been through many iterations, often with different emphases. Some years were more about fundraising, others had an emphasis on fly tying.

Colin Lohr, operations manager and events coordinator for the town of Wilmington, is in his first year at the Whiteface Visitor’s Bureau. A longtime resident of the area, Lohr said he is learning a lot as he coordinates each event on the calendar for the first time in his new role.

“I’m really excited because I’ve been working hard to plan events for my community that I’ve raised my family in,” he said. “This community means so much to me.”

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Event details

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The AuSable Two-Fly Challenge takes place Thursday, May 15 until Saturday, May 17, with some extra offerings on Sunday, May 18. Participants can register anytime until then, including during the opening celebration on Thursday.

For more information about the event, visit tinyurl.com/mts4cmh7 or tinyurl.com/2s4zkmhe, which includes a brochure with challenge rules, schedule and registration form. Fishing licenses can be bought online at tinyurl.com/4rj8tpyh. For those who want to attend the banquet and not participate in the challenge, there is a “banquet only” option on the registration form.

Cost of entry is $150 for adults and $40 for juniors, which covers the cost of the banquet. The cost to attend the banquet only is $40.

The weekend will kick off on Thursday with a party that’s free and open to the public on the Wilmington town beach starting at 6 p.m. There will be refreshments from Common Roots Brewing, Dubb’s BBQ and live music by Mallory’s Bush, a six-piece rock/Americana band.

On Sunday, following the official end of the competition, there will be a clinic by rod developer Joe Goodspeed. There is a separate registration for this event.

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Plans for future

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Lohr and Bottcher have plans to grow the Two-Fly into a fly fishing festival that caters even more to locals with a broader focus on celebrating the AuSable River. They envision a greater emphasis on education and stewardship, including a river clean-up and youth clinics.

“It’s kind of like a fresh start,” Bottcher said.

They also hope to shift the event earlier by a week, since the current timing means that many guides and members of the fly fishing community are busy with their business. The goal is to add another week to the season, and create a community for new fly fishers to learn the craft.

For a river like the AuSable that, at least for now, is not in danger of being overfished, Bottcher said it’s important to get people involved with the sport so that there are people to advocate for its preservation. The river has a lot of challenges and it’s been hard for advocates to get the resources and support needed for things like erosion studies.

“If you don’t have people involved, nobody’s lobbying or caring for the resource,” he said.

The town is lucky to have a resource that is free and accessible, so they also have a responsibility to care for it, Bottcher said.

“We don’t have to blow snow to go fly fishing,” he said. “You don’t have to maintain hiking trails. You really don’t have to do anything, but what we do have to do is protect it.”

In many ways, Bottcher’s life has revolved around the river. In fact, much of life in Wilmington does, so it only seems appropriate to dedicate a week to enjoying and protecting it.

“You’re sitting on the side of it, enjoying the river go by, you’re swimming in it, you’re jumping off cliffs into it, you’re paddling on it,” Lohr said. “It’s a part of the fabric of our life, and we’re celebrating that river.”