I’m glad March came and glad it’s gone. Streamer fishing has been solid on the best days and will just keep getting better with more of those best days to come. I love pitching meatbugs and stripping flies from the bank and pausing them into the streambed contours, and jolt-strikes, and a leviathan, thick-sided brown trout rolling cold-water lazy over a streamer like a python. I love trophies and article worthy adventures.
But fishing isn’t always swipe though social media fantastic and Spring isn’t all trucker hats and winter flip flops and one-dimensional angling.
April means Brook trout come back with silent stream promises and brim hats and campfires and warm whiskey. There’s more Au Sable and trout fishing in that. I’m married to this River and that relationship demands respect.
Days are long here this time of year. It isn’t dark in the North until eight now. That leaves plenty of time to get to the sun-warmed water for a few hours even after work is done. That is truly one of the greatest blessings of living next to the trout stream. And April is the first kind month for that.
It won’t be long now before we’re talking about dry flies and opening day parties, and brook trout.
So, get planning for our return to normal and the Old Au Sable’s Day Before Opener Party at the end of April. And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for great sales, promotions, and events. We’ve had enough laying about and can’t wait to see everyone this Trout Season!
The new Sage R8 line of fly rods are on the racks and for you to try, but I warn you, don’t cast it if you don’t want a new rod. As most of you know, I don’t get overly excited about many products new to the fly-fishing world. This is different – this rod is the real deal.
Veterans in the fly world know that Fly Rod technology and design is truly the most exciting advancement in our weird, little world. No longer are rods either willowy, small stream, dry fly rods or soulless broomsticks that don’t load without half a fly line stretched across the river.
It started with Rods like the Scott Radian and the Helios and the Sage One and each company has continued to tweak designs to continue to create rods that are “fast with feel”. They’ve softened rods that were too fast and beefed up rods that were too fragile and we’re getting to what we have here with the Sage R8 – the most versatile fly rod on the market. This is a rod that can do it all.
I don’t buy rods by brand or even line weight. I buy rods when I’m testing when I fall in love with one.
I own the R8.
I have a friend that loves to say, “Cheap stuff ain’t good and good stuff ain’t cheap”. Now, I don’t necessarily agree with that all of the time, but that fact is that this rod ain’t cheap.
That’s where our trade-in program can help. As always, we want your used gear and will give you the best value around. Simply bring in gear that you no longer use or that you’d like to upgrade and we will transform that dusty, unloved stuff into a shop credit that you are welcome to use on anything we sell from flies to waders to rods. Anything is fair game except for guide services.
It’s April and it is time to fish.
I’m sure we’ll see you all soon!
Take care,
Andy