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7/1/09 Josh G Here’s one of many, many
beautiful trout that were caught and released over the past week.
And as much as I cherish tricos and olives and daytime attractor fishing,
and small streams, and lonely nights throwing big flies, the hex – and all
that it entails – aren’t done yet. We certainly got hot.
The bugs didn’t start until eleven, or twelve, or…and the fish just
wouldn’t start rising until they were good and ready.
This meant that the dry fly fishing was for the werewolves among us.
I enjoy looking at the time display at the bottom of digital pictures.
It goes a long way in explaining why some people are looking so very
strange in the flash of a camera. Last
week I took my buddy Tank Ron and his son Little Tank Ron (Ronny) out for a hex
fish. Well, Ronny did very well for
a nine-year-old. He waited.
And waited. The bugs began to
fly, and kept flying, and didn’t come down until a quarter ‘til twelve.
Ronny began asking what time it was.
He started to yawn. We
started hunting for risers, trying to make the most of the time we had left with
the young man. Finally, at the mouth
of a cool feeder stream, we found four or five nice fish rising.
By this time Ronny was asleep in the front seat of the boat.
We had to wake him up between casts, or even halfway through his drift.
His words, hours before so ebullient, were now half-dreamt mumbles from
childhood fantasy and here he was, ten feet from enormous trout crushing hex, in
and out of sleep with two overeager adults on each of his shoulders going
“cast Ronny cast” and he’s nodding off right after the mend!
He hooked three. Landed none. He then fell asleep in the bottom of the boat under the condition that we wake him up if we caught one. We tried, but even the light of the camera couldn’t bring him from his slumber:
Well I love chasing hex and like
I said, it’s not done yet. This
week has been cold, which has stalled the hatch more or less just on the other
side of halfway done. On Monday
night the hex hatched from Mio pond up through the lodge even though the air
temperature was right around fifty degrees.
A few lucky people hit it, and many more didn’t.
Then, on Tuesday – daytime highs around 60 – the bugs came right in
the middle of the day. Rusty was out
at his secret squirrel hideway and called to let me know that he’d caught a
nice fish on a hex and was contemplating catching another before taking his
afternoon nap. After today, daytime
temperatures begin to climb upward and I would anticipate a few good spinner
falls on the mainstream and many more on the Manistee before this craziness
ends. I’ve spent more than one
July 4th looking for rises in the red light of fireworks.
But I think it’s worth
remembering what else we’ve got coming. There
are now two sizes of blue-wing olives on the water, #18s and #22s, along with
the Isonychias and stoneflies. Attractors
are going to start catching fish right through the middle of the day.
These trout have been spoiled. They
are fat, and as satiated as they are now, just give them a few days without hex
and see how they’re feeling. Ever
tried to diet after the holidays? The best skunk/attractor fishing I’ve ever
had were the first two weeks of July – it’s like standing by the window of a
fitness center with a double Spike burger with wedges.
No contest. Here’s another big one, if only because I got pictures to spare. Way to go Clayton! These guys come from New England's Battenkill to fish here (and to compare and contrast the success of Large Woody Debris projects on the Au Sable with some new and exciting projects on the Battenkill). This year was particularly kind. Even the day they took "off" they still hit bugs and fish.
Lost and Found: There are some new entries on our lost and found page. Please be sure to check them out... Pigeon River: We were buoyed by the news that the State of Michigan is seeking compensation for the disaster on the Pigeon River. Bravo! The long and short of this story is that a private dam failed on June 22 of 2008, sending a load of silt down the Pigeon for the third time in the history of that dam. Massive fish kills and streambed damage on blue-ribbon trout streams are very big deals. The dam needs to go! More info at the Anglers of the Au Sable website listed below. Big, Big News: Anglers of the Au Sable scored a huge victory in the Kolke Creek Case. Check out their website: www.AuSableAnglers.org Orvis Grant: We are pleased to have Orvis step up to the plate and lend a helping hand to our conservation efforts. This is for stream habitat on the South Branch. Orvis and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation will match funds donated for this project. This is a three to one match, tripling your donation. If you send us $100, Orvis will send $300 to fund this project. Your money will never go further than it will now...it's time to donate. You can make your donations to Anglers of the Au Sable. Please write "Orvis Grant" on the bottom of the check. This automatically makes you a member of Anglers of the Au Sable. You can also tap on this link:
2009 Fishing Licenses are available on line, starting April 1st! Your 2008 license is good till then. Simply tap here to go the Department of Natural Resources site and purchase your fishing license. You will print this valid license on your home printer. This will save you valuable time to hit the stream....once you are up north. The are also available in the fly shop.
Grayling 10 Day Weather Forecast
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