Good grief!  What a week.  Woke up to negative degrees far too often in the last couple of weeks. It’s been so cold that I think every school in Northern Michigan was closed just so those poor kids didn’t have to stand at the bus stop. I think it’s safe to say that an...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: cold, Winter, Au Sable, Manistee

I’ve logged some serious ice time this season.  I spent more time on the hard water last week than I have in the last two years and, even with some pretty serious sorting, I cleaned about seventy perch as a result.  A lot of knife work for sure, but it’s really not that bad when you get in the groove.  Sure the smaller ones take some careful surgery and a steady hand but it’s amazing how much pride you can get from producing a couple of mouthfuls of fresh perch. Most of that a...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Higgins Lake, Ice Fishing, fly tying

I caught a mudpuppy!  No kidding.  I hadn’t even seen one of these lengthy salamanders since I was kid and that was in the shallow muddy banks of the Thunder Bay River backwaters.  But I caught this critter while perch fishing on Higgins lake in 60 feet of water. I was on a pre...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Black Lake, Mudpuppy, Perch, Ice Fishing, Au Sable, Manistee

Boy, I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I sure am happy we’re getting some snow.  Not only do the businesses that rely on snowmobile tourism need it, but things were getting pretty crusty and icy out there.  Plus the roadside snowbanks were getting sorta dirty and dingy and our little towns were starting to look like something out of a Southern Michigan winter. And we certainly don’t want that—a good part of the reason we live Up North is because it is so beautiful...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Higgins Lake, Ice Fishing, Winter, Steelhead, Au Sable, Manistee

The relatively mild winter temperatures have made for some nice angling opportunities this past week.  When the mercury pokes into the mid-twenties and even thirties, afternoons are actually pleasant outdoors and a dose of fresh air sure helps the winter slide by. River fishing on the Au Sable has been pretty slow, but is certainly an option when you see water dripping from the eves of your house.  My main indicator to hit the river is when the snow avalanches from my metal roof.  ...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake, Perch, Streamer, Ice Fishing, Nymph, Winter, Trout, Au Sable, Manistee

Here in Grayling we've settled in to a full blown Michigan winter.  You could measure it by the ten inches or so of snow on the ground or by the cold, sub-zero temperatures, but in the North you know you've really arrived when the schools are closed for a snow day and last week we had two! I hear lots of folks bemoan the idea that there’s nothing to do in the winter.  That it’s sort of a time to hibernate.  While that may be true for bears and the like, it’s just not true for ...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Good Decisions, Ice Fishing, Winter

So you want to be a fisherman? Well it was one tough week to do that.  Subzero lows and single digit highs dominated the weather, and fly fishing area streams was totally out of the question.  Maybe someone snuck out somewhere, but if they did, they’re probably still there, stuck in ice up ...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: cold, snow, fly tying, Winter

I just got back from a presentation to the Michigan Fly Fishing Club http://mffc.org/. The MFFC, based near Detroit, is one of the biggest fly fishing clubs in the state and a generous supporter of our area rivers. When they first asked I refused - not because I didn’t want to do the presentation, but because for some strange reason, the last time I did a large public speaking engagement, I got the jitters for a bit at the beginning of the talk. It was ...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Public Speaking, Au Sable, Manistee

Seems like we’re on course to have a pretty much typical Michigan winter.  Right now there’s not a lot of snow in the woods and the thermometer is set to push the mercury into the thirties and even forties over the coming week and without much snow in the forecast. The stage is set for a fun week here in Northern Michigan. There’s just enough ice out there to get guys inching onto area lakes one step and one spud hole at a time.  The ice is thin and I certainly don’t r...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Pere Marquette, Nymph, Deer, Steelhead, Grouse, Streamer Fishing, Au Sable, Manistee

The world keeps turning and the eclectic weather of Northern Michigan swings us into yet more outdoor seasons.  We’ve had cold and snow and we’ve had warm relief as well.  It looks like we’re in for another bout of almost pleasant weather as we slide into the whitetail muzzle loader season and the late grouse season. So far this fall our area has seen record and near record snow falls, below average temperatures and then some above average, nice weather that melted nearly all t...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Winter, Deer, Au Sable, Manistee