River Report October 7, 2016

October 7, 2016

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report.

It’s been a warm, wet Fall so far.  That makes for some soaked bird britches, bird dogs, and the never totally waterproof, and too expensive “waterproof” boots.  It has also kept the foliage thick.

A happy client fishing with OAFS guide Donnie
A happy client fishing with OAFS guide Donnie

That thick leave cover should start to thin soon, though.  The maple trees have kicked off the Fall Colors in our little corner of Northern Michigan with some trees slipping into gold and others even farther into red.  Poplars will turn yellow soon and brown ferns will fall with the jagged edged leaves dropping soon after.  The shooting will just get better in the grouse woods very soon.

Even better, woodcock are starting to drop into our covers and should thicken the flush rates just as the cover thins.  We’ve got some seasonal colder weather spinning our way, so the doodle migration will continue.  Our peak upland bird hunting will occur over the coming few weeks.

While the wet weather has hampered the wing shooting, it has greatly helped the trout fishing.  Daytime streamer fishing on those cloudy, rainy days has been just what you’d expect—great.  Small streamers are producing brook trout adorned in their finest Fall colors and just slightly larger flies have been relatively effective on browns.  Some trophy brown trout have fallen foolish, but the best

Jackson Partlo, just like his dad.
Jackson Partlo, just like his dad.

of that fishing if still in front us.

So upland bird hunting is about to get better and brown trout fishing is about to get better.  Add to that the fact that white-tailed deer bow hunting is coming into its prime—it’s hard not to be excited about time spent in Northern Michigan’s wilds.  Try to slice off some for yourself.

I was lucky enough to do just that with my friend Scott the other day.  We met early, hopped into the same car, and turned paved roads into gravel and gravel roads into sandy trails.  There were thorn apples dripping from even the young trees and Scott’s young Brittany did a pretty fine job of finding birds.  We shot a couple, missed more, and talked just a little too much to be focused on the task at hand.  Neither of us cared—it was simply good to share time and words with a friend.

Take care and I hope to see you soon,

Andy

 

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