Fishing

Latest Fishing Report

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On the woods and water

Josh Greenberg September 21, 2023

I was chatting with a couple hunting buddies the other day and we all noted that on precisely 9/15 — the opening day of grouse season — our various pooches were clairvoyantly excited.  It could be that dogs are smart, but not mine (“she’s pretty dumb,” Jake noted of his).  But dogs are natural empaths, and I’m sure I had a spring in my step that didn’t go unnoticed.  I’m happy to split my time between the woods and the

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Stream Flows

Hatch Chart

Hatchchart

Click Image to Enlarge

Lost and Found

Guided Fishing Trips

Our guides are full-time fly-fishing professionals who know the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers intimately. Our rivers are not type-A rivers, and neither are our guides.

These guys are on the river from the last snowfall to the first, and every day in between; and their experience is to the benefit of their clients. From basic instruction to midnight trophy hunting, our guides are the best of the best.

We float all the branches of the Au Sable, as well as the much of the Manistee, in the famous Au Sable riverboats. We also offer float trips in McKenzie-style drift boats where appropriate, including the lower reaches of the Au Sable. Wade trips are available, along with four-hour on-stream instruction sessions that give beginning anglers one-on-one time with a guide.

Mayfly

Trips We Offer

Click trip type for more information:

2023 Guide Rates

Due to uncertainties in gas prices and other expenditures, guide rates in 2022 are especially susceptible to change.

A $100 Fee is charged for trips canceling less than five days from the scheduled float.  Trips canceled within 24 hours are charged the full rate of the float minus our expenses.  Guide rates are subject to change.

  • Full Day $550 (2 anglers), $500 (1 angler)

    Includes lunch or dinner.

  • Half Day $375 (1 or 2 anglers)

    Timing varies by season.

  • Half Day Mouse Fishing $450 (1 or 2 anglers)

    Available July, August, and September.

  • Wading / Instruction (4 Hours) $325 (+$50 per additional angler)

    Timing varies by season.

  • Winter $425 (1 or 2 anglers)

    Typically 11 am start time. Includes snack.

What to Bring

Anglers should bring layered clothing, rain gear, and appropriate rod and reel outfits. Our boats can easily carry extra equipment. We supply flies, leaders and tippet.  Rental waders and equipment are included in the price of the trip.

What to Expect

Please contact the lodge if you have any questions regarding our trips. We put special effort toward making your guide trip with us the best that it can be, whether it be tailoring a float to a particular request, or matching you up with the proper guide, we’ll go the extra mile here so you have a better experience out there.

Fishing Guide Trip Request Form

Please fill out the form below, or call us at 989-348-8462 for immediate assistance.

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Au Sable - South Branch

Stream flow data for the South Branch of the Au Sable. Click here to visit the USGS page for further data.USGS Water-data graph

Au Sable - Parmalee

Stream flow data for the main branch of the Au Sable at Parmalee. Click here to visit the USGS page for further data. USGS Water-data graph

Au Sable - Mio

Stream flow data for the main branch of the Au Sable at Mio. Click here to visit the USGS page for further data. USGS Water-data graph

Manistee - M-72

Stream flow data for the Manistee River at M-72. Click here to visit the USGS page for further data.

USGS Water-data graph

Manistee - M-37

Stream flow data for the Manistee River at M-37. Click here to visit the USGS page for further data.

**Please note this gauge is over 45 miles West of the Manistee River at M-72 near Grayling! It may not represent an accurate depiction of the river flows in between.**

USGS Water-data graph

Spring Dry Fly Trips

Usually by April 15, we mix our streamer fishing with what the Au Sable is most known for: hatches and rising trout!  This is our specialty, and what many anglers think of when they think of the Au Sable.  Our guides are some of the best dry-fly guys in the state.  

As the spring warms up, the bugs begin hatching earlier and later in the day.  By May 1, we’re in match the hatch mode.  A dry-fly trip on May 1 may leave at 10 am.  By June 1, it’s 2 pm.  And by the end of June, we may be leaving at 4 pm or later and casting at rising trout at midnight.  By July 10th, we’re back to chasing morning bugs.

Attractor Fishing / Hatch Matching Trips

With the start of the July BWOs and tricos, are fishing turns toward the small bugs, and the big terrestrials.  While the tricos can be maddening, the BWOs offer sulphur-quality fishing with a fraction of the anglers.  

We love this time of year and believe it the most underrated, offering perhaps the best all-around dry fly fishing of the entire season.  The trout we catch are smaller through the middle of the day, but good fish are caught…especially for those that stay into the evening rise.

Night Fishing Trips

No region has more night fishing associated with it as the Au Sable/Manistee area.  We recommend our half day option, and we’ll meet after dinner and take you deep into the night, flinging a variety of big bugs imitating mice, frogs, moths and some creatures more mythological in nature.  

This is trophy hunting…some of the finest of the year, in fact.  We like the dark nights the best.  Expect to start at 8-9 pm.  Includes snack and drinks.

Fall Dry Fly and Streamer Trips

From August through November, we fish the pre and post-spawn stages of the brook and brown trout.  This is some of the finest brook trout fishing of the year, and the brown trout fishing isn’t too shabby either.  

The rivers are low and clear and beautiful.  The leaves are turning.  And the fish are chasing small and easy-to-cast streamers, or rising to BWOs.  The finest in scenery, and the finest in trout colors.

Trophy Hunting Trips

Come late October and through the end of November, we’re chasing big browns, preferably the hungry post-spawn browns that are feeding like crazy before the winter settles in.  

This can be brutal fishing.  It can be great fishing as well.  And it is the perfect bookend to our season, offering comparable fishing to March and April…that is, the chance at the largest trout swimming in the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers.