Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report

 

adam spence brown
Nice fish Adam

 

April 13, 2017

The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report

Here we are riding the chutes and ladders of Spring weather.  And we love it because the cold days are getting just that much warmer and the warm days are flat beautiful Northern Michigan Weather.

And trout fishing is underway and seems especially perfect on sixty and seventy degree days.  Streamer and nymph fishing has been good to very good on the right days.  The streams are running a bit high but even on the too high to safely wade South Branch, water clarity looks great for this time of year.  Naturally colored flies in black, olive, brown and tan have been the streamers of choice but bring the whole box as conditions can always change.

Keep your nymphs heavy and sized in twelves and fourteens and there’s a good chance you’ll find some tight line.  The fish on the end will likely be a fine Au Sable specimen.  The guides are seeing quite a few three and four year old fish on their trips so far this year.  That means teen-sized trout.  This is shaping up to be a fine season—could be the best in years.

And the dry flies are near.  We’ve been talking about blue-winged olives and black stoneflies for a fair number of weeks now, but we’ve also seen the first of the hendricksons.  Now I wouldn’t call the hendrickson hatch started, and we have not had those bugs in fishable numbers just yet, but we have seen one here and there.  With peak water temperatures for the day hovering around fifty degree mark and the progression of the stonefly and bwo hatch moving right along, it is time to pack your Hendrickson patterns in the old fly vest.

There is nothing quite like an early Spring on the Au Sable River and we haven’t had one in a few years.  Keep your eye on the fishing reports and social media and keep glued to the weather forecast.  This kind of Spring fishing may just warrant an extra day off.

We’ll be hosting our tenth annual Trout Opener’s Eve party on April 28th at the Old Au Sable and everyone is invited.  It’s hard to believe that this will be our tenth season.  Please swing by and join in the tradition.

Hope to see you soon,

Andy

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