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River Report - June 9, 2016

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
I go fishing every day. It’s not some selfish rule or credo.  And it’s not because I’d be a fake in the fly shop if I didn’t, and it’s not for some ego issue; it’s because I have to.  It’s because something tugs at my guts and makes me.  Things make more sense when my feet fall to the river bottom and I melt into stuff bigger and more ancient than myself.  When you get it right and fool a trout on your fly you’re part of something more real than the bills in the mailbox or price of gasoline or things that went on at work.  You’re a part of nature and the wild piece of you gets fed.  It’s the reason I live here in Grayling, Michigan near the banks of two of the finest trout streams in all the world.

I skipped a night last week. I knew it was going to be too cold to catch trout - too cold for the brown drakes to mate and spin.  But, as it turns out, the insects weren’t playing the game by the rules according to Hoyle. The bugs followed more primal urges and mated and fell spent to the water and the fishing was great.  I guess there’s stronger pulls in nature than what weather can predict.  I was wrong to skip.

I don’t regret not going because I didn’t catch some fat-bellied brown trout that I could hold for a picture, but I kick myself because I was arrogant enough to think I had it all figured out. Catching a fish is just some silly end game anyway.  The measure of a good fisherman is in figuring out the angles and, really, there’s only one - slide into the wild and the rest will take care of itself.

Brown Drakes are system wide on most of the streams in Northern Michigan and the Iso’s are right on their heels. Sulphurs, Caddis, and little olive and yellow Stoneflies continue to round out the menu.  Hex are on the gas stations and fast food places to the South of Grayling and on the horizon for our area. We should see the first of the big bugs right about the middle of the month.

Hope to see you all soon—It’s JUNE!

Andy