Fishing Report
Matt wanted me to post this picture of him. I don't know why.
09/01 The cool air is coming. Fifties on Saturday, just in time to ruin the canoeing! This Labor Day weekend will be a fishing weekend. Look for strong hatches of olives in the afternoons, and good attractor-style fishing in-between. The brook trout are beginning to color up, and seem to be gathering around the gravel drop-offs. Small streamers are drawing some fish from the cover, though the clear water means a lot of short strikes and refusals. There are salmon in the lower rivers now, and will be lots more after this cold weekend, leaving more trout for the rest of us.
Everyday in the north offers dozens of avenues for time well spent on the river. You wake up and start driving in any direction, and you’re bound to find trout water. On Sunday, I left work early, picked up Katy, and we headed up to the Pigeon River Country to fish the Black. The drive is beautiful through rolling hardwoods and low swamps of cedar and hemlock. There are elk here, though we didn’t see any this time. The road and accesses were empty.
A gem.
The stream where we went is small, graveled, low and slightly tea-stained. Sandals and lanyards were the outfit of choice (it was no less than 85 degrees). The fly pattern didn’t much matter so long as it floated well. There are no (or very few) brown trout in this water, so the brookies feel right at home holding beside log jams and other traditional brown trout spots. The banks are walls of tag alders, and casts have to be fairly long and the slack well managed. The trout were plentiful this day.
Katy with her favorite kind of trout: small and pretty.
There were some tough days as well this past week, days where the heat simply overwhelmed the fishing. The white flies have been nonexistent below Mio dam, and the water is again above seventy degrees. There will likely be another spurt of Epherons before October, but truthfully, Mio has been a hit and miss – mostly miss – fishery this very hot year. Until something changes, I’d avoid heading below the dam unless you’re helping with the ASBWPA’s river clean-up (www.asbwpa.org). Hopefully by next week things will be a back in shape. September can be an excellent month of fishing in that stretch of river.
All our rivers are low and clear. I’m crossing fingers for a decent rainstorm. A stained river means streamers. Think small. Coachman’s, gray and black ghosts, muddlers, small woolly buggers. An active retrieve means the difference between something and nothing. Casts have to be accurate, and land very close to cover. A very visual form of fishing. But good things can happen:
Jim with a midday beauty on his home water.
The fall Isonychia are hatching, and the forecast is perfect for a #12 or #14 parachute Adams. Even if the fish are eating olives, some will whack the bigger fly. This can be great fishing even if you never see an actual mayfly. The trout are hungry this time of year. Winters are long, and Isos are big. Winters are long for us too. Fish are wired to eat, and you are wired to fish.
Give me a call or send me an email if you'd like to help clean the river on September 11. It's a great excuse to come fishing. First for trash, and then for treasure... Check it out at www.ausableanglers.org.
A Photo Contest
We get a lot of wonderful pictures that capture exactly what keeps us daydreaming on our days away from the river. But hunting pictures instead of fish changes the game, makes you see the unique angles of angling. From big trout to little trout, from breathtaking river shots to hilarious snapshots, we see lots of good ones.
It’s time to have a contest, of sorts, just for the fun of it. From July 15 to October 15, we’re going to have a photo contest. There will be an informal judging panel. There won’t be a lot of seriousness. This is an honor deal: we’d like pics taken between these dates. We’d prefer that you don’t excessively Photoshop. Other than that, the camera and the river are yours, and the pleasure is ours.
For more details, as well as info on prizes (hint: the grand prize is a Winston fly rod), please visit the photo contest page here.
A Better-than-Free Fly-Fishing School?
[This class is now full, but look for more than one next year!]
Introducing Katy to fly-fishing wasn't the mistake Robert Traver famously said it would be!
Robert Traver once advised that if your wife wishes to go fishing, you should replace the bug dope with sugar water so that the mosquitoes will bring a natural and polite end to her fly-fishing dreams. Years later, Traver wisely corrected himself.
It's time to teach the family, or introduce yourself, to the sport of fly-fishing at the Orvis-sponsored free fly-fishing event. July 31 is the day. 9 am the time. With volunteers from both the Headwaters and Mason-Griffith chapters of Trout Unlimited, this class will cover basic casting, knots, theory and technique. Included in it is a free $15 gift certificate from Orvis, as well as a free $35 membership to Trout Unlimited. It's better than free! Everyone is welcome, and all necessary equipment is provided (please bring rods and reels if you already have them!)
For more information, please see the free fishing day page here.
Smoke Free: For a number of reasons, all of the indoor areas at Gates Lodge are now smoke-free areas.
Anglers of the Au Sable founder and president Rusty Gates passed away on December 19, 2009.
Memorial Contributions: Memorial contributions can be made to the Anglers of the Au Sable or Heartland Hospice, P.O. Box 667, West Branch, MI 48661. To make contributions to the Anglers, please go to their website at www.ausableanglers.org and follow the directions on the front page.
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