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River Report - November 19, 2015
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report.
We’re in the thick of November and things are really starting to heat up.
The unseasonably warm weather made for a fairly slow beginning to the firearm, white-tailed deer season, but the recent cool down and weather shift has the critters out and on the prowl. Since the initial opening, weekend push has ended, deer sightings for me have tripled. And the woods are nearly devoid of hunters. I sat out the evening hunt on the fourth day of the season and took an extra-long drive. In a couple hours of bouncing down two tracks, I only saw a half dozen trucks parked in the woods. Do your best to get back into the ridges and thickets of Northern Michigan for one more try at a trophy. There are lots of deer left.
The late Fall steelhead fishing is picking up pace as well. Now is the time to get on that program. One of our fishing guides, Donnie, has been finding a few and fooling them with flies on the swing. You’ll be able to catch steelhead all winter long while fishing with indicators or bottom bouncing, but your best chance for success with an actively swung fly is from right now until the water temperature plummets into winter.
Brown trout fishing on the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers is also starting find its stride. The boys have been out slapping streamers against the banks and are find some nice fish. Jointed flies with some white or yellow have been moving a fair number of trout but never discount the value of black or olive. Those colors truly are the workhorses of streamer fishing.
As the weather changes it’s also time to start thinking about fly tying. Not only is crafting your own feathered fishing lures a great way to fill your fly box, it’s a fine way to pass the winter. The first fly tying event at the shop will be a Mason-Griffith T.U. sponsored class and demonstration with expert fly designer Dennis Potter on December 12th.
Then on every Saturday and Sunday beginning in January, we’ll be hosting free tying classes, demonstrations, and open tying sessions throughout the rest of the winter. Stay tuned for details.
Good Luck out there and don’t forget make your Christmas list at the Old Au Sable.
Andy
The unseasonably warm weather made for a fairly slow beginning to the firearm, white-tailed deer season, but the recent cool down and weather shift has the critters out and on the prowl. Since the initial opening, weekend push has ended, deer sightings for me have tripled. And the woods are nearly devoid of hunters. I sat out the evening hunt on the fourth day of the season and took an extra-long drive. In a couple hours of bouncing down two tracks, I only saw a half dozen trucks parked in the woods. Do your best to get back into the ridges and thickets of Northern Michigan for one more try at a trophy. There are lots of deer left.
The late Fall steelhead fishing is picking up pace as well. Now is the time to get on that program. One of our fishing guides, Donnie, has been finding a few and fooling them with flies on the swing. You’ll be able to catch steelhead all winter long while fishing with indicators or bottom bouncing, but your best chance for success with an actively swung fly is from right now until the water temperature plummets into winter.
Brown trout fishing on the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers is also starting find its stride. The boys have been out slapping streamers against the banks and are find some nice fish. Jointed flies with some white or yellow have been moving a fair number of trout but never discount the value of black or olive. Those colors truly are the workhorses of streamer fishing.
As the weather changes it’s also time to start thinking about fly tying. Not only is crafting your own feathered fishing lures a great way to fill your fly box, it’s a fine way to pass the winter. The first fly tying event at the shop will be a Mason-Griffith T.U. sponsored class and demonstration with expert fly designer Dennis Potter on December 12th.
Then on every Saturday and Sunday beginning in January, we’ll be hosting free tying classes, demonstrations, and open tying sessions throughout the rest of the winter. Stay tuned for details.
Good Luck out there and don’t forget make your Christmas list at the Old Au Sable.
Andy