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River Report - July 17, 2019

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 more last cast.

I fished the least of my life when I lived by the Western Mountains. We always knew if we didn’t go today that there’d be another day in the long Summer to cast hoppers along the grassy banks.  There’d always be another good day and another chance at good fish.

It’s different here on the Au Sable. We are very much a hatch match dry fly fishery.  The hatches put a lot of bugs on the water and tempt big fish to the surface in the lowering, evening light.  Each different insect emergence and mating flight fools nice trout into nosing the shimmering surface.  And each bug event passes in a fortnight whether we’re there or not.  It creates a special kind of urgency that compels fishing hungry anglers down sandy two tracks to root worn trails that lead to remote stretches of streams.  We hope for that one epic night that every hatch produces and once you’ve seen it, you have to chase that great night again and again and again.  Missing a day just isn’t an option.

Iso’s are still hanging on nicely and light cahills are rounding out a pretty solid evening feed. As the moon rises, you may just have that last spit of Hex spinning in slow eddied circles and that last, inconsistent rising leviathan.  And if not, it’s time to knot on a mouse and slink down the river fishing methodically and deliberately.  The mouse bite can produce a fish of a lifetime.

Tricos are hatching in the lonely mornings. There has been absolutely zero traffic on the rivers early.  Water temperatures will be best in then and you’ll have the fishing to yourself.

Book a guide if you can. Trips start at $300 and instructionals at a mere $200. It’s money well spent for a great day on the River.

Hope to see you all soon,

Andy