It’s winter and while that means ice in the rod guides for some, it certainly means fly tying here at the Old Au Sable Fly Shop. We will be hosting open fly tying once a week at the dates and times listed. I’ll be doing proven, production patterns and folks are welcome to watch, ask … Read more
The best month of the year is here. I wish October stretched into Spring. The undisputed king of the calendar offers everything outdoors folk could want. Winter has snow, Spring has showers, Summer has sunshine—October has all of that and more. Sure, it might be short of wildflowers and swimming and snow skiing, but … Read more
Where has the Summer gone!? It won’t be long and kids will be filing back into schoolyards. My clan has been camping a lot. We’re weekly bivouacked in the tent or some lakeside, summer camp style cabin. Jack has learned to swim this Summer. He’s made a lot of one-day campground friends. It’s amazing how … Read more
It’s full-blown Summer here in Northern Michigan and the weather is spectacular. We’re running a little cooler than normal, but all that means is that “the water is fine”. Lakes are plenty warm enough for a plunge and the River is keeping cool enough for pretty decent trout fishing. In fact, July has offered up … Read more
This one is straight from the hip. There’s a time for fun language and indulgent writing, and then there’s Drakes in June. I love May more than any other month in the Au Sable flyfishing world. I live here for May and June and for October. May was tough for me. I fished exactly where … Read more
I live by the Au Sable River mostly because of May and June. Those two months are hatch match time – the time of the year when water-born insects like mayflies and caddis flies emerge and live out the adult part of their life cycles (even while sandal wearing fifty-year-old fly anglers with Peter Pan … Read more
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report. Windshield wiper smeared bug guts mean fishing is getting good. We’ve been lurking on the top of the basement steps of water temperature – peeking through the door but, now, the forecast warm weather is about to karate-kick-splinter the opening of Hendricksons. Things have been hovering just … Read more
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 … Read more
This is the weather we’ve been waiting for – Spring is breaking. We’ve moved the clocks and the kids will steal a week away from school. There’s a change settling into Northern Michigan. Spring creep is kindly welcomed. Temperatures move from twenties to thirties and thirties move to forties and each marker sheds a layer … Read more
March toward Spring I say. Even though this month often serves up some of our most ferocious winter weather, it’s nice to turn the calendar page. Days are getting longer and the sun’s angle stronger. There’s no more going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. We can look forward to … Read more