The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report It’s actually Fall in Northern Michigan. Seems like it’s all too early. But the weather keeps reminding me that we have to put up our winter wood. And the maple trees are already turning red. Plus, it’s grouse season. Happy bird day, I say! The best thing about living in Northern Michigan is the season change. I couldn’t live somewhere that doesn’t have these stark moves. Our air conditioners are packed back into garages ...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Grouse Hunting, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Tourism, Weather

July 24, 2020 The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report The height of the Summer trout fishing season has settled into the Au Sable River Valley. And our waters are in fine shape. Tricos and blue winged olives define the hatch match dry fly fishing opportunity now. Go early and you won’t miss the action. Anglers that hit the water before breakfast won’t miss the morning rise. The hatches should coincide with the sun touching the tree tops around seven a.m. Every brook ...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Blue Gills, Brook Trout, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Holiday, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Tourism, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Hey Folks, I’ve been running ragged working the shop and guiding and have been a little behind with the reports I know you are all looking for. So, here it is.  Hex are winding down on the Au Sable and are all but over on the South Branch.  There should be some shorter spinnerfalls and hatches left in the Au Sable’s lower reaches as the hatch sputters to an end. We’re waiting on the Manistee to hold up its end.  Hop...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Hex, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report We’ve got our last cold front of the season behind us—we hope.  Fishing shut down for a few days, but now we should be back on track for the goodness of June. The Manistee has some fine brown drake nights in the bug forecast.  And the Au Sable is looking forward to quality evenings spurred on by Iso’s and Suphlurs.  In fact, every angler should have a healthy dose of those patterns in their boxes for the next couple of weeks....

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Tying, Hex, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Tourism, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report. The River just keeps on flowing unconcerned about what we’re doing and unconcerned with what we want to happen. Hendricksons have largely moved through the system, but I surely wouldn’t go to the river without some parachutes and I’d be looking for Hendrickson spinners at dusk.  We’re moving toward Sulphurs and popcorn caddis.  And we’re especially moving toward the time of the evening rise. As much as the afternoon, E...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Hex, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Streamer Fishing, Tourism, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report For all of the most obvious reasons this has been the strangest Spring ever witnessed on the Au Sable River. We’re all in lockdown and our lives are dynamically changed. And though I am in no way tone deaf to the situation, I was doing my best to look at the world through glass half full lenses. Lots of time with my wonderful family. And a lingering early Spring; the first in many years where fish would be eating dry flies and we’d ha...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report This has been the finest August I can remember - cool nights and warm days. Michigan has the best weather in the country right now.  And fishing is, well, really pretty good for late Summer.  Water temperatures and flows are solid, so daytime angling is alright.  Tricos and olives are hatching every morning with young trout taking notice and we’re picking up some fish throughout the rest of the daylight hours. You should be able to p...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Holiday, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Streamer Fishing, Tourism, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Somehow the world has turned enough to put us right into August.  Understanding where Summer started to slip away is a head scratcher.  Seems like we just got started and already we’re only weeks from September. I guess it’s because everything in our trout fishing world took so long to get rolling.  Our season was significantly pushed back. We’re set to reap some benefits from that now.  Cool nights and good rainfall has ...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brook Trout, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Streamer Fishing, Tourism, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Well I guess we have to call the Hex Hatch finished for 2019. Sort of anyway.  Our insect hatches never turn of like a light switch; instead, they sort of linger and nag at anglers like a leaky faucet.  It’s hard not to pull on damp, mildewed waders and trudge into the currents one more time hoping for that last spit of bugs and the last late night slurps of just one more jaw snapping brown trout. Just one more last time. Just one mor...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Blue Gills, Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Hex, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Tourism, Trico, Weather

June 25, 2019 The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Hex are imminent. They have been for the last week. We saw the big fish-flies blow up  in enormous number on Lake Margrethe and have been waiting for the big mayflies to make an appearance ever since.  It normally takes about a week of eager angling before we see the glory hatch show up on the early parts of the Au Sable.  But this year has been anything but normal. It’s been over a seven days now by this ...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Blue Gills, Brook Trout, Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Fishing School, Fly Tying, Hex, ISO, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Streamer Fishing, Thunderstorms, Tourism, Weather