July 19, 2018 The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Wayne Exploring a New Creek It’s hopper time on the Au Sable and Mani...

By: Andy Partlo   Category: Brook Trout, Dry Fly Fishing, Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing Community, Michigan Reports, River Reports, Trico, Weather Tags: Au S, Dry Fly Fishing, Au Sable, Manistee

It took close to a week but the rivers are receding and clearing more each day. Streamer fishing has not been easy but it has been good. On most days the fish are not charging hard for streamers but they are coming for them and nipping. This is not uncommon behavior in receding water. When the water rises it is comparable to sitting at thanksgiving dinner and putting on a major feed. A few hours after thanksgiving dinner you may start picking at leftovers but you are usually not ready for a s...

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

We’re just over a week away from the opening day of Michigan’s trout season.  We’re fortunate in this great state to have a couple of hundred miles of specially regulated trout stream that remains open for the entire year to catch and release fishing.  But...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: River Reports Tags: Renovations, Opener, Stonefly, Trout, Au Sable, Manistee

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 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

A winter warm-up over the Holidays gave eager stream anglers an excellent opportunity to pull on waders and slip around in the stream.  With multiple days above freezing and the mercury even pushing into the forties, even the most reluctant winter fly fishers were at least thinking about a trek to the creek. The fishing ended up being pretty okay by winter standards, which essentially say that if you catch anything you did well.  Winter trout fishing can be great with good numbers of...

By: Aaron Dexter   Category: Uncategorized Tags: Winter, Au Sable, Manistee

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