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The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The terrible thing about working in a fly shop is that when the weather gets nice, you get busy. We had a fine, sunny day in the fifties this week and, of course, I was locked in the shop. When the clock ticked five, I broke through the door like a kid waiting for recess. The temperature was already dropping and the hour was too late to pull on waders and take a lap in a likely streamer fishing loop, so I contented myself to taking a drive in the lingering sunshine to inventory our area streams. It’s an important job. After all, you’ve got to know what’s going on if you write fishing reports. And being April, I’m thinking I just may be able to write off the miles.
Anyway, I turned onto the Mason Tract Pathway to survey the South Branch and the road was thick with little midges hovering windshield high. Now midges are only important to trout here in the early season as nymphs, but they are important to me as a harbinger of things to come. They are water born bugs that are hatching. They are the beginning of the progression.
The water, system wide, is high but seasonal and carefully wadable and with the clarity that exists now puts streams right on pace for good April fishing. If big rains come wading anglers may be sidelined, but the ground has broken loose and an extended warm spell will certainly get us polishing our dry fly rods.
After my scouting mission I came home and went directly to the stone-rimmed fire ring in my backyard and had a campfire. A fire pit is one of the staples of any good home Up North. It’s like a water feature in fancy downstate homes or a bathtub Mary in the older neighborhoods of my good old hometown. As the light fell, Gloria and I were slapped with the sounds of the birds singing. The birds are back. They break winter’s silence like nothing else—sounded like Africa out there.
Fishing season is now. New fishing licenses are required as of April first. Prices haven’t changed but with a mild winter and a slow run-off the value will be added in trout numbers.
Rumor has it that trout are starting to sporadically rise on our sister rivers. I’m going to stretch the floating line this week whether the fish are rising or not.
Get your stuff around—fishing season is here.
Andy
Anyway, I turned onto the Mason Tract Pathway to survey the South Branch and the road was thick with little midges hovering windshield high. Now midges are only important to trout here in the early season as nymphs, but they are important to me as a harbinger of things to come. They are water born bugs that are hatching. They are the beginning of the progression.
The water, system wide, is high but seasonal and carefully wadable and with the clarity that exists now puts streams right on pace for good April fishing. If big rains come wading anglers may be sidelined, but the ground has broken loose and an extended warm spell will certainly get us polishing our dry fly rods.
After my scouting mission I came home and went directly to the stone-rimmed fire ring in my backyard and had a campfire. A fire pit is one of the staples of any good home Up North. It’s like a water feature in fancy downstate homes or a bathtub Mary in the older neighborhoods of my good old hometown. As the light fell, Gloria and I were slapped with the sounds of the birds singing. The birds are back. They break winter’s silence like nothing else—sounded like Africa out there.
Fishing season is now. New fishing licenses are required as of April first. Prices haven’t changed but with a mild winter and a slow run-off the value will be added in trout numbers.
Rumor has it that trout are starting to sporadically rise on our sister rivers. I’m going to stretch the floating line this week whether the fish are rising or not.
Get your stuff around—fishing season is here.
Andy