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River Report - October 3, 2018
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
October has finally arrived and is well underway. We’re settled nicely into Fall weather patterns and the trout and grouse and deer are doing exactly what they should be doing in October.10 (640x427)
The streamer bite has greatly improved with the current cool, wet weather trend. The brown trout clearly have spawning on their mind and are looking for big easy meals in preparation for the rigors of love and the battles over spawning gravel. They’ll need to beef up—it looks like there’s a good crop of nice-sized trout in the river this Fall. The males will have a knock down fight on their hands for the best segments of the stream. Expect them to be territorially aggressive as the mating season nears.
Until then they’ll make killing swipes at big, slow moving offerings in their quest for heft and bulk. So far tandem flies tied in yellow and white have triggered violent takes. Streamers weighted heavily at the head and dressed with naturally undulating materials like marabou and rabbit strips are the tools of choice. Slow strips with a pause that create a jigging motion will likely reward anglers. This is about as good as streamer fishing gets. Brightly colored flies and yellow sided slashing strikes make for a wonderfully visual affair.
We’re also experiencing a better than average Fall Blue-winged olive hatch in the afternoons. Fall olives can range in sizes—have an assortment of patterns from size 18 to 22. Those little flies are the last rise of the season. The fish that surface won’t be big but they’ll be colored up and make for a lively game on light rods and line.
The woods are alive too. Bird hunting reports are wildly mixed and the hunting is spotty. But, though some woodlots seem devoid of chicken, others have you covered up in grouse as soon as you get out of the truck. Regardless, shooting is tough at best. All of the leaves are still up and it’s nearly impossible to get a bead on a bird. Changing leaves and forecast thunderstorms should help knock down the cover. Migrating woodcock will be here before you know it.
I just can’t wait.
Hope you can find some time to enjoy Michigan.
Take care,
Andy
The streamer bite has greatly improved with the current cool, wet weather trend. The brown trout clearly have spawning on their mind and are looking for big easy meals in preparation for the rigors of love and the battles over spawning gravel. They’ll need to beef up—it looks like there’s a good crop of nice-sized trout in the river this Fall. The males will have a knock down fight on their hands for the best segments of the stream. Expect them to be territorially aggressive as the mating season nears.
Until then they’ll make killing swipes at big, slow moving offerings in their quest for heft and bulk. So far tandem flies tied in yellow and white have triggered violent takes. Streamers weighted heavily at the head and dressed with naturally undulating materials like marabou and rabbit strips are the tools of choice. Slow strips with a pause that create a jigging motion will likely reward anglers. This is about as good as streamer fishing gets. Brightly colored flies and yellow sided slashing strikes make for a wonderfully visual affair.
We’re also experiencing a better than average Fall Blue-winged olive hatch in the afternoons. Fall olives can range in sizes—have an assortment of patterns from size 18 to 22. Those little flies are the last rise of the season. The fish that surface won’t be big but they’ll be colored up and make for a lively game on light rods and line.
The woods are alive too. Bird hunting reports are wildly mixed and the hunting is spotty. But, though some woodlots seem devoid of chicken, others have you covered up in grouse as soon as you get out of the truck. Regardless, shooting is tough at best. All of the leaves are still up and it’s nearly impossible to get a bead on a bird. Changing leaves and forecast thunderstorms should help knock down the cover. Migrating woodcock will be here before you know it.
I just can’t wait.
Hope you can find some time to enjoy Michigan.
Take care,
Andy