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River Report - September 2, 2020
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The last report talked about how great the August fishing had been. And then Mother Nature stepped in to make a liar out of me. A cold front blew in and settled on the river valley and stymied the rise. Fishing got tough overnight and the trout went lock jawed in the daytime.
We’re settling back into consistent weather trends now and things are once again, slowly, showing promise for September.
It feels like Fall here and the fish are acting like it. Brook trout are moving to September spots and hunkering down in pods. If you catch one, keep plying the same water as there are likely several more in that holding water.
The bugs are changing some as well. Flying ants are still a viable afternoon option as they sprout wings and look to re-colonize. Coachman patterns are working well and are a staple in my box now.
I floated the other day and saw a cricket scampering around the floorboards of my Au Sable boat. It chirped noisily throughout the day as it poked and crept around the wooden corners. We could hear others on the bank singing back to our hitch hiker.
In some cultures, crickets mean you’ll have good luck and good fortune. For me, it just meant we should fish black flies. So I knotted one on and the belief turned into prophecy. We got bit often and boated as many smaller trout as we wanted and we lost three big browns on cricket patterns rubbed against the logjams. Had we netted the fish we lost, it would have been the best day I’ve had on the river this season. I’m seriously considering keeping a cricket in our house all winter!
Don’t neglect the streamer bite now. Fish that are reluctant to rise may be willing to take a swipe at bigger, underwater offerings. The fact remains that trout are still eating something even if they won’t expose themselves to the surface dangers.
White flies continue below Mio Dam. It can feel like self-abuse chasing that hatch as the fishing is tricky. But I hold hope of one last dandy brown trout selectively feeding to one last hatch on the Au Sable. I’ll be there.
Swing by the shop as soon as you can to take part in our huge Labor Day SALE. All of the new Fall Lines are in and we have to make room. It’s time to clean out the shop!
Hope to see you all soon,
Andy
The last report talked about how great the August fishing had been. And then Mother Nature stepped in to make a liar out of me. A cold front blew in and settled on the river valley and stymied the rise. Fishing got tough overnight and the trout went lock jawed in the daytime.
We’re settling back into consistent weather trends now and things are once again, slowly, showing promise for September.
It feels like Fall here and the fish are acting like it. Brook trout are moving to September spots and hunkering down in pods. If you catch one, keep plying the same water as there are likely several more in that holding water.
The bugs are changing some as well. Flying ants are still a viable afternoon option as they sprout wings and look to re-colonize. Coachman patterns are working well and are a staple in my box now.
I floated the other day and saw a cricket scampering around the floorboards of my Au Sable boat. It chirped noisily throughout the day as it poked and crept around the wooden corners. We could hear others on the bank singing back to our hitch hiker.
In some cultures, crickets mean you’ll have good luck and good fortune. For me, it just meant we should fish black flies. So I knotted one on and the belief turned into prophecy. We got bit often and boated as many smaller trout as we wanted and we lost three big browns on cricket patterns rubbed against the logjams. Had we netted the fish we lost, it would have been the best day I’ve had on the river this season. I’m seriously considering keeping a cricket in our house all winter!
Don’t neglect the streamer bite now. Fish that are reluctant to rise may be willing to take a swipe at bigger, underwater offerings. The fact remains that trout are still eating something even if they won’t expose themselves to the surface dangers.
White flies continue below Mio Dam. It can feel like self-abuse chasing that hatch as the fishing is tricky. But I hold hope of one last dandy brown trout selectively feeding to one last hatch on the Au Sable. I’ll be there.
Swing by the shop as soon as you can to take part in our huge Labor Day SALE. All of the new Fall Lines are in and we have to make room. It’s time to clean out the shop!
Hope to see you all soon,
Andy