![\"MGFTU](\"https:\/\/www.oldausable.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/MGFTU-Fly-Tying.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nJanuary 19, 2017<\/p>\n
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report<\/p>\n
Ice fishing season continues to blossom here in Northern Michigan.\u00a0 Nearly all of the inland lakes have at least some fishable ice conditions.\u00a0 Although, the extreme warm-up has the surface a mess.\u00a0 And the largest bodies of water and rivers should be treated with extreme caution.\u00a0 On frozen rivers or on big lakes like Higgins, it\u2019s always best to check with the local bait shops for the latest information before hitting the ice.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been finding a little time on the hard water.\u00a0 My ice fly experiment is coming along nicely.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult to get off the bait program, so I\u2019ve been dipping into it slowly.\u00a0 My standard bait rig is a light teardrop knotted a foot and a half above a heavy Hali.\u00a0 After watching fish on the Vexilar move to empty hooks previously pecked clean, I replaced the top teardrop with a nymph.\u00a0 Short-shanked, size 14 nymphs seem to be the most consistent producers, but I have yet to truly dial in color\u2014both natural and bright colors occasionally work.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure it produces as well as bait, but I do seem to catch some better fish on the fly.\u00a0 At the very least, I like the idea that there is always an offering on my line when I\u2019ve missed a strike.\u00a0 I\u2019ll definitely keep at it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also been sticking to some tricks that have served me well in the last couple of years.\u00a0 Firstly, I drill multiple holes as soon as I get to likely area.\u00a0 Finding fish that are willing to bite just makes sense and mobility is the key.\u00a0 I\u2019m also leaving some slush in the holes to limit light pollution from the surface.\u00a0 It seems to help.\u00a0 Having a handful of rods rigged is also a fine technique.\u00a0 Ice fishing rods are inexpensive and it\u2019s great to be able to simply toss a tangle aside and grab a fresh set-up when the fish are biting or to quickly drop a different rig down the hole when fish are finicky.<\/p>\n
Try some of this stuff.\u00a0 It keeps it all interesting and versatility is always the best bait for anglers.<\/p>\n
This is also a fine warm-up for trout fishing the rivers\u2014reminds me of the good old days.\u00a0 I mean if it looks like Spring and it acts like Spring, I say treat it like Spring.\u00a0 There will be some fun days on the River this week.<\/p>\n
Lastly, don\u2019t forget about our Fly Tying Saturday\u2019s that start January 21st<\/sup> and running until the Spring Thaw.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be offering a free beginners course from 10 a.m. until noon and an open tying session from more experienced bug twisters from noon until 3 p.m.\u00a0 Materials will be provided for the beginner\u2019s class, but not for the open tying session.\u00a0 Bring your questions during open tie and we\u2019ll be happy to demonstrate any pattern or technique you may want to learn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n See you soon,<\/p>\n Andy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 19, 2017 The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report Ice fishing season continues to blossom here in Northern Michigan.\u00a0 Nearly all of the inland lakes have at least some fishable ice conditions.\u00a0 Although, the extreme warm-up has the surface a mess.\u00a0 And the largest bodies of water and rivers should be treated … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201,156,84,160,154,165,166,167,5,150,1,158],"tags":[71,74,56,59],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1974,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions\/1974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldausable.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}