Old AuSable Fly Shop River Report The Spring Peeper as peeping!  Those little frogs singing in the vernal ponds are truly the first and best signal of Spring.  They started screaming a few days ago and, shortly after, Hendricksons hatched on the River. That’s right the Hendrickson hatch has begun to trickle.  Fish have barely taken notice, but with more seasonable weather in the forecast that are highlighted by cloudy damp afternoons, trout will rise greedily very soon.  I...

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

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report The chives and garlic are sprouting in my garden, turkeys are strutting, and the fish are biting more aggressively all the time.  The Ides of March are past and April is upon us.  Of course, we woke up on April Fool’s day to a light covering of snow—fitting.  T.S. Elliot wrote, “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain”.  Well, that doesn’t sou...

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

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report It is sure acting like Spring here.  The snow is all but gone, frost is coming out of the ground, buds are popping on the trees, the Tom Turkeys are strutting with white and blue heads, and I saw one fish rise. Stoneflies and blue-winged olives are hatching on the best days.  Fishing has picked up plenty.  I still haven’t tricked one on the dry fly, but streamer and nymph fishing just keeps getting better. It seems every day t...

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, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report What a wonderful, mild beginning to March.  Temperatures have given us highs in the forties and even a beautiful stretch of fifties.  The trend has begun a slow melt of ice and snow that is much welcomed as winter winds down. Who knows what the coming weeks will hold? We could very well see snowstorms and big rains, but for now the promise of a gradual run-off is very much exciting.  We’ve had a nearly five year run of long, sustaine...

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

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report The miserable cold snap has finally ended.  It has been a beautiful, mild winter and the cold spell lasted just long enough to thicken the blood.  Mild temperatures are in front of us for a good while and after the toughening up, it’s going to feel like Spring when daytime highs reach the thirties.  As much as it was appropriate to hunker down in the depths of Winter, it is time to get outdoors now. Go outside and shake off the winte...

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, Michigan Winter Fishing, River Reports, Tourism, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Well, when you live in the North it’s only a matter of time before winter turns tough and Arctic air dumps into the Great Lakes Region. There’s a beauty of a deep freeze settling in. The snow will be squeaky when daytime high temperatures just tickle single digits. So, you do what you’ve learned over the years of living around the forty fifth parallel—you hunker down. You fill the wood box and the gas tanks and you dig out indoor ...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Brown Drakes, BWO, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Tying, Hex, Ice Fishing, ISO, Michigan Winter Fishing, River Reports, Trico, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Ice fishing is in full swing.  We have lots of hard water to fish and anglers have been taking full advantage. So many anglers are hitting the ice in Northern Michigan, that I could barely find a tub of waxworms to buy last Sunday night in preparation for a Monday morning excursion.  My buddy and I poked into five different places before we found a few dozen.  That’s flat nuts! People have headed to the woods and waters in dro...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Ice Fishing, Michigan Reports, Michigan Winter Fishing, River Reports, Tourism, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Wild weather swings are about to bend to more seasonable trends.  We went from an early season snowstorm to an incredibly warm Indian Summer. The summer-like stretch made fishing and hunting difficult.  Grouse hunting fell apart with the heat.  Whipped dogs lolled tongues over water dishes in the bird covers by mid-morning.  It felt more like September than November. Fishing changed starkly.  Most of the post spawn brown trout...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Bow Hunting, Brook Trout, Deer Hunting, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Tying, Grouse Hunting, Michigan Reports, Michigan Winter Fishing, River Reports, Streamer Fishing, Tourism, Weather

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Fall color is upon us.  We’re getting close to peak change in Northern Michigan.  This is easily my favorite season of the year.  Splashes of red and orange and gold pop against evergreen ridges.  And over every rise and in buried in every swale, drumming grouse and whistling woodcock and white-tailed deer hunker down. It’s hunting season and fishing season still, and the two merge together to make the Au Sable river valley a wond...

By: Jeff Gardner   Category: Blue Gills, Bow Hunting, Brook Trout, Deer Hunting, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Fly Tying, Grouse Hunting, Michigan Reports, Michigan Winter Fishing, River Reports, Tourism, Weather

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