My Cart: 0 item(s)
River Report - July 22, 2020
July 24, 2020
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The height of the Summer trout fishing season has settled into the Au Sable River Valley. And our waters are in fine shape.
Tricos and blue winged olives define the hatch match dry fly fishing opportunity now. Go early and you won’t miss the action. Anglers that hit the water before breakfast won’t miss the morning rise. The hatches should coincide with the sun touching the tree tops around seven a.m. Every brook trout and all of the smaller brown trout and rainbows should take notice on the best days. It is some of our most consistent fishing of the year.
As the air warms, terrestrial insects like grasshoppers, ants, and beetles will become active and should keep fishing looking to the surface. Use the skills you’ve honed angling to the finicky trico feeding trout to keep your patterns tight to the fallen logs and swirling under the cedar tree overhangs and you may just find the next age class of fish. The trout lingering in the shadows will bend your rod to the cork. Just fish better than everyone else that’s tossed a fly into those tangles.
After dark fishing is always the best way to catch a big brown trout on our streams. We call it mousing. Sometimes we actually drag mice imitations slowly over the silvery surfaces. But just as often we use big stoneflies and frog flies to trick trophy trout. Swing them slowly and maybe twitch or blurp your bug to elicit and explosive strike. You can literally ply the river’s waters all night long. The best of it seems to happen in two waves. One bite window often occurs from 11 pm to about 1 am and the next from 3 am to 5 am. But it all changes every night. GO as much as you can regardless of time.
It’s also time to hit the small streams and tributaries. These arteries run cold and fish seek them out in the summer heat. Your fly pattern should matter little. If it’s tough fish wet flies.
Above all, it’s family time. Our guides can help with a trip on the Au Sable. Bring your kids, wives, husbands and cousins and show them how great it is to step into the woods and waters of Northern Michigan. The memories last forever.
Hope to see you on the River,
Andy
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The height of the Summer trout fishing season has settled into the Au Sable River Valley. And our waters are in fine shape.
Tricos and blue winged olives define the hatch match dry fly fishing opportunity now. Go early and you won’t miss the action. Anglers that hit the water before breakfast won’t miss the morning rise. The hatches should coincide with the sun touching the tree tops around seven a.m. Every brook trout and all of the smaller brown trout and rainbows should take notice on the best days. It is some of our most consistent fishing of the year.
As the air warms, terrestrial insects like grasshoppers, ants, and beetles will become active and should keep fishing looking to the surface. Use the skills you’ve honed angling to the finicky trico feeding trout to keep your patterns tight to the fallen logs and swirling under the cedar tree overhangs and you may just find the next age class of fish. The trout lingering in the shadows will bend your rod to the cork. Just fish better than everyone else that’s tossed a fly into those tangles.
After dark fishing is always the best way to catch a big brown trout on our streams. We call it mousing. Sometimes we actually drag mice imitations slowly over the silvery surfaces. But just as often we use big stoneflies and frog flies to trick trophy trout. Swing them slowly and maybe twitch or blurp your bug to elicit and explosive strike. You can literally ply the river’s waters all night long. The best of it seems to happen in two waves. One bite window often occurs from 11 pm to about 1 am and the next from 3 am to 5 am. But it all changes every night. GO as much as you can regardless of time.
It’s also time to hit the small streams and tributaries. These arteries run cold and fish seek them out in the summer heat. Your fly pattern should matter little. If it’s tough fish wet flies.
Above all, it’s family time. Our guides can help with a trip on the Au Sable. Bring your kids, wives, husbands and cousins and show them how great it is to step into the woods and waters of Northern Michigan. The memories last forever.
Hope to see you on the River,
Andy