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Michigan Fly
Fishing
AuSable
River trout fishing report - May 21st
Trout fishing in the Big Waters of the Au Sable River has been going very well of late! So far this May what has really gone the best is the dry fly fishing. The dark Hendrickson has been going strong the past couple weeks and is starting to fade but still look for some more spinner falls & a few more hatches. The trout have been eating them for a while now so some nights they are still very effective. Right now Mahoganies size #16 and Sulphurs (light hendrickson) size #12-16. Also been a few Sand Drakes and Great Speckled Olives. Both of these bugs can work very well on a big trout right at dark! The next week Sulphurs will be the major hatch in the Big Waters. To read more about this bug go to the ASBWPA web site - Tom Buhr has done an excellent job describing and showing pictures of this mayfly: http://www.asbwpa.org/Sulphurs.html Of late the best time for rising trout has been starting in the late afternoon and early evening. On the warm nights just before dark is prime time for big trout to sipping spinners and just after dark. This week the area is getting some rain/clouds and that is always good for the streamer fishing on the Au Sabe River! Heavy rods and sink tips are most productive for streamer fishing - 6 or 7wts with 200 to 250 grain 24' sink tips are ideal for the Big Waters this time of year. Of late some of the most productive streamers and have rainbow and brown trout patterns along with some large sculpin patterns. Great Lakes Deceivers in rainbow, cotton candy, brown trout, yellow/olive have all been top producers of late. Our Slop Mop Sculpin, Conrad Sculpin, Murdich Minnow and Woolhead Sculpins have also worked well of late. The big mayflies of June are coming very soon (Brown Drake, Iso and Hex)! I still have a dates open for these hatches in June and early July. Open dates right now are: June 2,3,5,6,26,27,30 & July 2,3,5,7 - email at kelly@michiganstreamside.com or call 989-889-5374.
For information and photos of upcoming fishing - updated Nov 3rd (click here)
May 18th - Dry fly fishing has been very good of late in the Big Waters of the Au Sable River. When trout are not feeding heavy it is time to get out of the boat and work them. Look for Sulphurs size 14-18 to be the major hatch the next week.
May 10th - Tom with nice trout that took a Hendrickson dry fly. There are more than just trout in the Au Sable - today found a couple of big walleye while streamer fishing.
May 8th - Ben with a nice trout on the Au Sable that was caught on Hendrickson dry fly. Had some good chances this evening but trout here not feeding heavy making it very tough.
May 6th - Hendrickson hatch is in full swing on the Au Sable River now!
May 6th - Sunset in Big Waters of the Au Sable River! With all of the warm weather of late look for spinner falls to last into darkness.
May 3rd - Dan and Dan with some good streamer action today! Recent hot weather has the Au Sable River Smallies very active and they just love our trout streamers. Seems like this time of year everything wants to eat a 6" rainbow trout!
Spinner falls like this are coming soon to the Big Waters of the Au Sable River! This was from a couple years back in early May. It won't be long and for some excellent info on this major hatch on the Au Sable go to: www.asbwpa.org/Hendricksons.html
We are now a Hatch Reel dealer and stocking these reels. Love these reels - so durable and drags are so smooth. Along with Abel, Sage and Nautilus - if looking for a premium fly we got them!
We are now stocking the new Winston BIII-SX fly rods. This is just an awesome trout streamer rod in the 6wt thru 8wt and the 5wt is just an ideal big trout dry fly rod. We also got a number of new Abel reels in this past week and the one pictured above is the Super 6N with DeYoung Rainbow Flank finish.
April 14th - Some good streamer fishing on the Au Sable River! Had a great time fishing the Au Sable today as it was my first time trout fishing it in quite a while. After spend a lot of time in Arkansas & Tennessee this winter and then busy of late with steelhead trips it was so nice to get back to the my favorite trout waters. This spring browns are looking for big meals! Today our new Slop Mop Sculpin and our Great Lakes Deceivers were are top producers!
April 8th - Ted with just gorgeous trout on the Au Sable River! Great Lakes Deceivers have been producing and the big the better in this current high water.
April 5th - Its April which is time for trout fishing on the Au Sable River and new Winston rods just came in this week to go along with our huge stock of Sage fly rods! Winston's new SX is just an awesome rod that we have been using for our streamer fishing. Also now in the stock 5wt and 6wt which are going to be just awesome dry fly rods. The 9'6" 5wt is my favorite of the bunch for dry fly fishing and is the prefect rod for the Big Waters of the Au Sable River! Hendrickson hatch in less than a month away now. Also we are stocking some of Winston Passport rods and they are in stock now. If want to cast one of the new Winston rods I can sure meet you at the river and let you check them out. Or we can ship one out to you asap with FREE shipping any place in the world!!
March 30th - Big trout are coming to the net in Erik's boat on the Au Sable! With the recent melt down the river is up and temps are on the rise. Big trout are looking for some big meals now and our big bait fish patterns & sculpin patterns are producing.
Jan 19th - Ted with nice brown trout from the Big Waters of the Au Sable. Its winter fishing now and its cold but streamer fishing is still pretty good!!
Jan 13th - Huge melt down this weekend and lots of new water. Made for some excellent streamer fishing and our BIG patterns are what were producing!! We have added some patterns to our online sales at: BIG TROUT STREAMERS
Jan 9th - Trout fishing has been pretty good of late for those that like to winter fish here in Michigan! Hard to beat the upper Au Sable and its branches right now. All are running very low and very easy to wade fish. This time of year any warm up and a little rise in water triggers a good bite and trout can be very aggressive. Erik and Tanner did very well earlier in the week and streamer fishing is what produces this time of year. Lots of mid size woolly buggers, leeches, zuddlers and sculpin patterns.
December 4th - A nice Au Sable brown trout that just crushed one of 8" jointed Great Lakes Deceivers. This time of year just after spawning many of these bigger trout want a big meal and a rainbow trout is one of there favorites!
December 4th - Tom with a nice Au Sable brown that just inhaled a large Conrad Sculpin after just one strip of the fly! New water with rain and some some snow melt was just ideal for the streamer fishing.
December 1st - Erik with true Au Sable River trophy brown! With the current conditions and weather pattern we should be able to put a few more of these into the net this December!
Just an awesome new streamer rod out from Winston and we now have them in stock! For those that want to cast one we sure can meet you on the Au Sable! This breakthrough new series was designed to truly handle the most demanding and extreme salt and freshwater fishing situations. And while SX stands for "super" fast-action, the unprecedented power and strength of these rods does not come at the expense of smoothness and feel. Whether you are making long casts directly into the wind, throwing big bulky flies or wielding an aggressive sink-tip line in steelhead waters, these rods will come through. They are unlike any other fast action rod made. Boron III-SX rods feature a superlight matte black reel seat with R.L Winston Rod Co. engraved on the barrel. The trout rods are available with the same wood reel seats as our Boron IIIx rods. The 9'6" 5 and 6-weight models have fighting butts for versatility and battling larger fish. All come with our graphite rod tube. We do offer free shipping on these rods anywhere in the world! If any questions, would like to make a purchase or would like to cast one just drop me an email at kelly@michiganstreamside.com
This winter Streamside Custom Rod & Guide Service
will be offering guided float trips in Arkansas on
the White River. In our continued year round pursuit
of big brown trout this river has turned into our
favorite for trophy size trout in the winter months.
Truly amazing at the number of brown trout over 24”
and February is the peak streamer time for these big
trout! I have setup accommodations for lodging at
Wildcat Shoals Resort
http://
October 26th - Just a beautiful brown trout caught by Mark Adams on a Great Lakes Deceiver jointed in Fire Tiger.
October 27th - Just a beautiful photo taken by Mark Adams while streamer fishing in the hunt for some big trout!
Oct 19th - Fished the new Sage CIRCA fly rods the past week in some smaller water mountain streams of Tennessee & North Caroline and just loved these rods. The 8'9" 5wt was just ideal for nymph fishing, small streamers and some mid size dries. The smooth action was just perfect for these tight streams, little flies and fine tippets. We are stocking the CIRCA rods now and they can be shipped anywhere in the world with free shipping.
October 18th - Trout fishing in the mountains of North Caroline on the Nantalaha River! Had just a wonderful time catching some nice rainbows, browns and brook trout.
October 17th - Here are a couple of very nice brown caught by Tom Buhr this week in the Big Waters of The Au Sable River. Recent rains have been ideal for the streamer bite and look for it to just keep getting better!
October 10th - Fall is here and just a great time to get out and trout on the Au Sable River!!
When it comes to big browns in the Fall hard to beat our Great Lakes Deceivers! Good stock of them now and ready to ship at: Trout Streamers
Aug 10th - Trent with just a awesome trout fishing late night mouse patterns. So good to see someone who has put in so much time the last couple years put such a giant brown trout in the net!! Mouse fishing should stay good for the next couple of weeks.
August 10th - The Big Waters of the Au Sable is back to fishing very good!!! During low light periods our larger Great Lakes Deceivers & Murdich Minnows have been doing very well. In brighter conditions of late more natural on the streamer - zuddlers, crayfish patterns, sculpins and leeches. Lots of flying ants most afternoon and evening on the river and trout just love them. Evening nymphing has also been very good of late with top patterns being white flies and Iso. On the warm evenings look for White Fly hatch about a hour before dark.
Great new trout rod series (CIRCA) coming out from Sage late this summer! We will be stocking them and will have online sales info on this site very soon.
Sage Manufacturing,
fly-fishing industry leader, delivers advanced
technology to the world of slow action rods. The
CIRCA collection reinvents the slow action rod
category with a deliberately more relaxed casting
tempo combined with a fast recovery, pinpoint
accuracy and extraordinary overall performance. The
CIRCA is the ultimate dry fly rod that will enable
anglers to maximize the dry fly fishing experience
with all of the performance expected from a Sage
rod.Using Konnetic technology, the CIRCA collection
packs more carbon fiber into a smaller diameter
resulting in a radically narrow taper through the
length of the rod. This technology creates a
consistently slow yet responsive action from butt to
tip. Casts are methodically smooth and graceful yet
pleasantly crisp and purposeful. Enhanced
sensitivity gives anglers the precision and control
needed for delicate presentations making
‘match-the-hatch’ fisheries ideal for these fly
rods.The CIRCA rod collection will be available
through Sage specialty dealers in August and
September in the following models:
July 7th - Tom with a very nice Au Sable River Smallmouth Bass! This time year there is some excellent daytime streamer fishing in the very lower river for Smallmouth Bass. Lots of different bait fish patterns, sculpin, leeches and crayfish are all productive.
Here are four of our most productive mouse patterns that we have added into our online sales at: mouse patterns. We will be out doing lots of late night mousing this July & Aug and will be posting plenty of reports/info. Moon is just starting to drop in size and brightness right now. The last week it has been not so good and very bright. Should be coming into an excellent time period next week!!
June 24th - Ron with a just a beautiful brown trout caught on the Hex Hatch and a very heavy spinner fall tonight! Had some excellent late dry fishing tonight. Hex hatch is fading on the Au Sable but peaking on many of the true cold water trout streams in Northern Michigan.
June 24th - Here is the temperature graph of the Mio water this week on the Au Sable. The last four days temps have not even dropped below 70 at any point day or night. Fishing these waters in these temps kill trout. Give the section a break for the heat of the summer!
June 22nd - Erik with a night off from float trips put this giant brown into the net on a Hex spinner pattern!
June 20th - Nate with a true giant Au Sable River brown trout on the Hex Hatch! The big guys were tough tonight and required a lot of casting. First one to start feeding guys made pretty quick work of it but then it got tough. Late night finally paid off!
June 19th - A very nice evening and dinner on the Au Sable turned into some very heavy thunderstorms tonight! After storms went thru we still had a few bugs and couple really good chances.
June 17th - Steve with beautiful Au Sable River trout caught on the hex! Good spinner fall last night and plenty of feeding trout but they are getting a bit on the picky side of late.
June 16th - Mark and Greg with a couple of real nice Au Sable trout caught on the Hex Hatch! Spinner fall was very light tonight but still some good dry fly fishing.
June 16th - Billy with a nice big Au Sable trout caught on hex while floating with Erik.
June 15th - John with beautiful Au Sable trout on the hex! Super heavy bugs tonight making them very tough to hook.
June 14th - The mother load of Hex spinners came tonight!
June 13th - Tom with true giant Au Sable River trout!! This one came late night when bugs were starting run out.
June 12th - Mike and Chuck stuck it out on a very cold night and found some nice trout while floating with Erik.
June 11th - Mike with a couple of nice big browns on the Hex Hatch. I would call this the peak of this hatch now and we should be a couple more real good weeks!
June 10th - Bill and Gary with a couple of real nice browns on the Au Sable caught on Hex spinners.
June 9th - Larry with a couple of real nice browns on the Au Sable while floating with Erik Peterson. Got the first one on the float down on a Iso dry in the late evening!
June 9th - Larry with just a beautiful Au Sable brown trout caught on the Hex!
June 7th - Rick with a beautiful Au Sable brown trout that was caught on Hex spinner. Had to switch patterns once on this one and the Regan white calf tail spinner got him.
June 6th - Erik and Tanner have been catching some giants this week! Here are a couple that ate there Hex spinners!
June 6th - Tom with a very nice Au Sable trout caught on a Streamside Hex spinner. Good spinner fall tonight! Tom is president of the Au Sable River Big Water Preservation Association. He has lots of info to share about the river on their web site at: http://www.asbwpa.org/
June 5th - A nice Au Sable brown trout that was eating brown drakes spinner before it got dark.
June 4th - Shawn with some big browns on the Au Sable! Night time dry fly fishing is in full swing now. Iso duns right at dark and then brown drake spinners & duns late into the night.
June 3rd - Rain has stopped and sure did not take long for the big may flies to come back! Lots of brown drake and Iso today and some great trout were up and rising. River is still running a bit high but the trout sure seemed to like it!
June 2nd - Jeff with a true Mio giant!! Day time streamer fishing has been very good of late in the high water.
June 1st - Tom with a giant Au Sable River brown trout! Back to streamer fishing today and our Great Lakes Deceiver was the top producer. This big trout just crushed a GLD fire tiger. Also had some good action on our Rattlin Murdich Minnow in rainbow. The Big Waters is up about 10" this morning and should be ideal for those that like to streamer fish.
May 27th - A beautiful Au Sable brown trout being released. The night time dry fly fishing is going and this one was caught a Regan Brown Drake Spinner #10. Extremely heavy Drakes the last few nights!
May 26th - Had an excellent night of dry fly fishing and Chris & Erik landed the two best ones. Thick brown drakes and bunch of fish were up and feeding to a very late night!
May 22nd - Incredible Sulphur spinner fall tonight!
May 18th - Dan with such a cool looking Au Sable River brown - just so many spots! Late evening sulphur hatch and this one ate a Roberts Yellow Drake #14. Came very close today streamer fishing on a couple of good size browns!
May 15th - Mitch with just a great night time brown trout caught on a dry fly while floating with Erik. Light Hendrickson spinner produced this one and the trout are starting to rise after dark!
May 14th - The big trout seem to just love the Light Hendrickson spinner right at dark!
May 14th - These small sulphurs (pale evening dun) size #16 have started on the Au Sable in good numbers. This is major hatch and look for some very heavy hatches over the next week. One of best flies for this hatch is the Roberts Yellow Drake in sizes 14-18. Here is some great info on the sulphur hatch that was put together by Tom Buhr: http://www.asbwpa.org/Sulphurs.html
May 14th - Great Speckled Olive spinner. A bug that is not commonly talked about but this big spinner will produce some big trout in May. With size being so large often trout will key in on them.
May 12th - Just a beautiful Brook Trout. Typically these are very small in the Big Waters of the Au Sable but this one sure grew well. It was catch dry fly fishing with a small sulphur dun. Got this one on video below!
May 10th - Tom with nice Au Sable trout that took a #18 roberts yellow drake after lots of casts! On the bright days right at dark is the time for the better fish to come out and start rising.
May 7th - Good hatch of light hendricksons and this big guy was out feeding very heavy in the late afternoon!
May 3rd - Ryan with a couple nice big browns on the Au Sable! Lots of rain today and river was rising fast. No dry fly action for us but that should come back quick. With high water ideal time to get out and streamer fish for the big guys!
May 1st - Dry fly fishing was just flat out excellent this evening. Heavy Hendrickson spinner fall and some big trout up and rising. Put 3 in net over 20"! With warm nights coming should have some big fish rising into darkness on spinner falls. The last two weeks the late afternoon/evening has been very good and below is a video of dry fishing on the Au Sable and it shows hooking landing trout in top left photo.
April 29th - Excellent daytime dry fly fishing continues! Bill & Erik with some nice trout on today's float.
April 26th - Erik with real nice Au Sable brown trout caught on Hendrickson dry fly. Some excellent dry fly fishing of late!
April 25th - A nice brown trout caught streamer fishing in the Big Waters of the Au Sable! Rattling Murdich Minnow in rainbow. So many of the bigger brown trout just love rainbows this time of year.
April 24th - Just a beautiful Au Sable brown trout caught on a #14 Regan Hendrickson parachute dry fly. All week there has been some very nice trout rising in the late afternoons with heavy Hendrickson hatches. Many have been tough to hook and trout are a bit spooky with the bright sun and clear water this spring. In these conditions I would not recommend moving boat in on these rising trout and fishing them from boat. What has worked best is to really limit your casting at these better trout. Just a couple casts when they are rising and then stop. Continually casting seems to make them move or stop all together. A warm evening is coming soon and so should a heavy spinner fall in lower light - all works so much better when not in bright sun!
April 21st - Tom and Kris with some nice Smallmouth Bass action today. Bright sun is sure not the best for streamer fishing for big trout but these Au Sable Smallies like it and were just crushing our big rainbow streamers! Had some good chances on a couple big trout with dry flies and very heavy Hendrickson hatch all afternoon.
April 20th - Stocking of the Mio Minnows (rainbow trout) at the Mio boat ramp. Size of these is such a joke and about the only value river gets is this is a feeding program for the big browns. DNR biologist stated last year they were looking into where all of the nice rainbows went. Hope they did not spend to much on that study! They used to stock nice 8" thick rainbows and they did very well all summer. Now you put little rainbow minnows in and wonder what happened?
April 20th - Abbe floated with us today and we had to stop a couple times for swim breaks! She is turning into such a good boat dog.
April 19th - A very special place to me on the Au Sable River and enjoyed a some good dry fly fishing here this evening. When trout start to rise every spring it is such a cool time of the year. Just love the solitude and so many remote places to fish where you will see no people.
April 18th - Erik with just a beautiful Au Sable River trout caught streamer fishing! Our new rattling Murdich Minnow in rainbow was our top producer today. This is just a great time to float and streamer fishing while looking for big rising trout. Good Hendrickson hatch throughout the afternoon and few mid size trout were rising!
Here are my favorite Dark Hendrickson patterns. When it comes to spinners the Regan spent wing parachute is by far our best pattern (top left). But these others all have there moments! Typically parachutes, duns, emergers throughout the afternoons and then spinners in late evening is the way most days go. All of these are in stock and ready to ship: Hendrickson Dries
April 8th - Mike with a beautiful brown while floating with river guide Erik Peterson on the Au Sable River on Easter Day! Good streamer fishing today even in the bright sun. Today it was big streamers that produced well with around 6 good trout coming to the flies. Our Great Lakes Deceivers and jointed deceivers have the top streamers of late. Mike Schmidt is excellent fly tier and does tie a number of our bigger streamer patterns for us. You also see more of flies at his web site at: http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/
April 8th - Hard to beat our jointed deceiver this time of year! Along with these 4-8" long rainbow patterns will also produce giant spring time browns on the Au Sable River.
April 8th - Erik releasing a nice trout on the today's float! Very cool photo that was taken by Mike Schmidt.
April 7th - We made a slight change to one of our most popular streamers. Just a little smaller and have added a rattle to this extremely productive Murdich Minnow. Action of fly is even better now. Even dropped the price a little! Now in stock and can be purchased online at Rattling Murdich Minnows
March 31st - Brittany & Donn floated with Erik today on Au Sable and caught some very nice brown trout! Stripping big streamers is the method that is producing some nice trout right now.
March 29th - Shawn fished with Erik today on the North Branch of the Au Sable and found some nice trout! Great place to streamer fish this time of year.
March 29th - Huge day on the Au Sable streamer fishing! Big streamers were producing and all came on our Great Lakes Deceivers in rainbow, chart/white, and olive/yellow. The day ended with 5 brown in net over 20"!
March 22nd - Erik with a real nice Au Sable brown trout! Streamer conditions are getting very good and some great action today. Of late the big trout patterns and baitfish patterns have been producing the best.
March 12th - Excellent streamer fishing today and spring looks like it is here! Our big Great Lakes Deceivers worked well today. In the dirty water black/chartreuse and big yellow were our top colors. The Au Sable is on the rise big time right now. Yesterday the rains did come heavy at times and there is still snow to melt. Next couple days it could be a very high and dirty but should get the big trout going. Our spring float trips are in full swing now for trout and steelhead on the Au Sable. Erik and myself do have dates open in March and April
We will be at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo this weekend. We have two booths and bringing lots of cool gear: Sage (ONE, TCX, Xi3, Switch, Bass, ESN, 99), Redington (CPX, Predator, Classic Trout), Our custom fly rods, full selection of Rio Fly Lines, Abel and Sage fly reels, all of our streamers and flies, and more!
March 2nd - The Big Waters of the Au Sable is in great shape right now. After some very heavy snows this past weekend it is all melting fast now. Water levels are on the rise and now is time to break out the streamer rods and start looking for those spring giant browns!
Feb 25th - Jake and Erik with some nice trout in the upper Au Sable! Warm ups and melt downs are just a great time to out and hit the river! This time of year streamers are what produce most of the good size trout.
February on Arkansas's White & Norfork Rivers - Have had a great time the last couple of weeks staying on the White River at Wildcat Shoal Resort! Streamer fishing has been excellent most days with a couple of slow days mixed it. This trip is made for those that like to fish big streamers and float all day! Our go to setup is a 9' 8wt with a 300 grain 24' sink tip and lots of different big streamers. This year our jointed Great Lakes Deceivers that looked like a big rainbow or brown trout were are top patterns. Our group keeps growing and this has sure turned into a annual trip! Looking forward to 2013 already and planning on staying even longer next year. Will be posting a lot more info & photos from trip very soon and info for those interested in coming next year.
Jan 23rd - Ted with just a beautiful trout in the Big Waters of the Au Sable River below Mio today. Big melt down with rain this morning and well into the 40's made for an ideal trout fishing day. Streamer fishing has been the most productive method this winter in the Mio water of the Au Sable River. For a decent shot at a couple of big trout in the winter months picking conditions is the key. When that water starts to rise a bit seems like the big trout come out to look for a big meal!
Jan 10th - Great day to float the Au Sable and not often will you find such a nice day in mid January like this in Northern Michigan! Water levels are getting a bit low from the lack of snow and river is getting clear but overall conditions were pretty good for this time of year. A lot of bright sun did not help the bite today but sure did feel nice. Found a few very aggressive trout and our smaller black buggers/leeches had the best action. A very aggressive strip pause retrieve with lots of rod tip action on the fly did the most action.
Jan 6th - Did some wade fishing in the Big Waters below Mio today and it sure is nice to have these waters open year round now! Fishing pressure is very low right now and there are many miles of water to fish for those looking for solitude in the winter months. Been using my steelhead switch rods a bit and they sure work well for swinging mid size streamers in this larger trout water. Sage 11' 7wt Z-Axis is an ideal rod for this and with the proper line one can cover both sides of the river. We use a number of different Rio Spey and Skagit lines in the lower river steelhead fishing and my new favorite on the Au Sable is the Scani Short VersiTip. Extremely easy line to cast and control swing. Does very well with all size of streamers and just a great trout line this time of year. Looking forward to more of this the next couple months and also going give nymph fishing a try down here this winter.
Jan 4th - Mitch & Erik fished the North Branch and the South Branch of the Au Sable today and caught some nice trout. Some many miles of the upper river and its branches to fish right now and it can all be done on foot for those that like to hike around bit. Streamers typically produces the best trout this time of year and hard to beat lots of different smaller leech & sculpin patterns in black or olive.
Our continued year round pursue of big trout continues next month to one of the best trophy brown trout rivers in the country! Finally got plans set for our Winter trip 2012 to the White River in Arkansas! Will be fishing starting Feb 2nd and staying on the river at Wildcat Shoals Resort. For those that like to streamer fish for trophy browns this is the place to fish in February and roughly a 12 hour drive from southern Michigan. For those interested in float trips and lodging I can set that up for you and we do have some good rate packages for multiple days. Have had a great time the last couple years and has turned into a annual trip. To streamer fish this river you need to really enjoy casting big rods, sink tips, and big flies. Our go to setup is a good fast action 9' 8wt and will have a great selection of them with me. Rio DC 24' sink tips in 200 to 300 grains and the Rio OutBound's were our best lines depending on river level. Also we have had good action fishing shad patterns with floating lines and either swinging them or fishing them under an indicator. I will be bring a huge selection of equipment for our guide trips and for those that are looking to try out some new rods and some perfectly matched streamer setups. Sage & Winston 9' 6wt thru 9wt (Xi3, TCX, ONE, BII-MX) and a good selection of switch rods for swinging streamers & nymph fishing. Will have a pile of Rio lines to match! As for flies we carry a huge selection streamers that have been very productive on the White River - our Great Lakes Deceivers, Murdrich Minnows, Conrad Sculpins, and Shad patterns. Lots of photos from the last couple years on our web site at: http://www.michiganstreamside.com/white_river_feb2010.htm
Putting our big streamers to work on the Arkansas's White River! We our well stocked with streamers for this unbelievable trophy trout fishery. Many of the same patterns that we use on Au Sable are top producer on the White and a couple we had to change some color combinations. White River trout love to eat smaller trout (by small trout I mean 7-9"), shad patterns, and big sculpins. Our Great Lakes Deceivers (rainbow, brown trout, glow), Murdich Minnows (shad, rainbow, brown trout) and Sculpin (Conrad, Red Rocket, Circus Peanut). All in stock and ready to ship at: White River Streamers Free shipping on all fly orders!
December 21st - Hope all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Here is a link to a very nice article on the Big Waters of the Au Sable below Mio. Talks about new strain of browns that have been stocked below Mio and about how well they are doing! http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10366_46403-266303--,00.html
November 23rd - Alex with a real nice trout streamer fishing the Au Sable River! Spawning is winding down and these big trout are hungry in late Nov & Dec. Warm weather is forecasted our around Thanksgiving and then some good rains - ideal for big trout this time of year.
November 4th - Erik had just a great day of streamer fishing on the North Branch today. So much water to fish in the upper Au Sable right now and hard to find another angler most days. Hard to beat Zuddlers and lead eyed Woolly Buggers this time of year in the upper river.
November 3rd - Just a beautiful post spawning brown trout from the Big Waters! When these big trout finish spawning they are hungry for a big meal. Our big woolheads have been very effective of late.
November 3rd - Tom with a nice trout on Big Waters of the Au Sable today! Had a real nice float today but if that true giant would have stayed hooked it would have been much better. Nice to see a fair number of these mid to upper teen browns this fall on the Au Sable. These are our 20" plus big browns of the future. Tom is president of the Au Sable Big Waters Preservation Association and for lots of great info on the river and its current issues go to their web site at www.asbwpa.org
November 1st - Another post spawning big brown that just crushed a Fire Tiger Great Lakes Deceiver.
October 28th - Tom with nice trout that just crushed a Great Lakes Deceiver. Had 3 good ones come to our streamers on today's float but all turned off at the end - so close!
October 26th - One of most beautiful trout in the Au Sable and taped at 30.5". Lots of rain the last the couple days and the river is way. This is big streamer time in the Big Waters of the Au Sable! Today it was a 9' 8wt Sage ONE with 300 grain Rio 24' sink tip and our jointed Great Lakes Deceiver in fire tiger.
October 24th - Ed with a nice brown on the Au Sable River. Had to work hard for them today as trout were just not in the feeding mode. Black/Chartreuse Conrad sculpin did produce some action!!
October 23rd - Erik with giant size Au Sable trout! High water the last two days had the big trout out on the prowl. Our joint Great Lakes Deceivers were fishing very well.
October 22nd - It was a wet one today and some excellent streamer fishing on the Au Sable. Saw about a 10 great come to fly and put 5 in net.
October 22nd - Eric with a nice rainbow on the Au Sable that just crushed big jointed Great Lakes Deciever.
October 16th - Bright sun was not the best for trout fishing today but had some good hunting on the river - ducks and geese!
October 14th - Dave with just a beautiful brown trout from the Big Waters of the Au Sable! This big guy just crushed one of our large sculpin patterns. With the fall like weather these larger trout have been getting more active of late.
October 13th - Cast & Blast time is here! Here is Abbe hunting for grouse and woodcock on the banks of the Au Sable. The high winds the last few days have been taking down lots of leaves and coming into prime time for our upland bird hunting. Woodcock are starting to show up in bigger numbers and plenty of grouse around this year! Next October we will be offering Cast & Blast float trips on the Au Sable.
October 12th - When skies get bright or temps warm way up it is time to hit the river very early in the morning for good streamer fishing this time of year.
October 8th - Erik took some time off from trout fishing to chase this big buck. After hunting him every day for the first week of the season finally got this great buck during bow season! Just like when like with trophy trout fishing patience and putting your time in pays off big.
October 5th - Just a beautiful trout being released back to the Au Sable River. Great photo taken by Adam Peterson.
October 5th & 6th - Some excellent bird hunting on the Au Sable River also - ducks, grouse and woodcock! Abbe is growing up so fast and these were her first two days out hunting. Did very well for a young dog. Found a couple woodcock on our first day and retrieved her first duck on the second! Best bird hunting should be coming soon as leaves are starting to fall. Grouse numbers seem to up this year and look for flights of woodcock coming thru this area with the next cold snap. Looking forward to more hunting and fishing this fall with Abbe!
October 2nd - Ted with a real nice trout in the Big Waters of the Au Sable River! Streamers are what produce these big trout this time of year.
Oct 1st - Tom floated with Erik today in the Big Waters of the Au Sable and some nice trout were out chasing the big flies! This one just inhaled a Great Lakes Deceiver! Recent rains have put the Big Waters of the Au Sable in ideal conditions to streamer fish.
Oct 1st - When it comes to producing big browns in Michigan this fly is at the top of the list. Excellent photo taken by Erik Peterson.
September 27th - Excellent streamer fishing today on the Au Sable River. Recent rains have put river into great shape. Today was a quick trip home and my first time on the Au Sable in 6 weeks! Lots of action on our joint Great Lakes Deceivers. Got a few more days of salmon trips and then next week it is full time trout fishing on the Au Sable, shoreline of Lake Huron and steelhead in the lower river in a few weeks (maybe earlier with current weather).
September 19th - River guide Erik Peterson with a very nice trout in the Big Waters of the Au Sable. Finally some good rains and the streamer bite has started! We have been doing salmon trips every day of late and have not been able to trout fish much. That is about to change big time very soon! Erik made it back on Monday(19th) and is floating the trout waters again today (21st). Erik does have dates open next week for those looking for a trout streamer float trip and I will be back the first week of October. We will be posting weekly trout reports now and lots of good info on fall trout fishing. Lots of good trout to chase in October - big browns in the river, steelhead in the lower river or really big browns on the shoreline of Lake Huron!
August 15th - White Flies finally came heavy last night! Should have spinner falls like this for at least the next week and some excellent dry fly fishing.
Sage redefines casting accuracy with the ONE rod series!Sage has replaced the Z-Axis with the ONE series and some of these new rods are now in stock. These rods are here for those that want to cast them - 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 wts. The link above gives lots of info on this new series and rods can be purchased online with FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the world!
August 13th - Here is a White Fly Spinner and should be coming very soon! Been doing a lot of looking around right at dark the past week as the river temps have been dropping slowly below Mio. Finally back into the 60's this morning from Mio down to pond and now is the time to start fishing again. Still not seen any good hatches of these bugs which means coming soon. Below are favorite patterns for this hatch and we are well stocked.
August 13th - Good hatches and spinner falls of dark hex continue in the lower water. So far this hatch has been all rising smallmouth bass in the warm water. Now that rivers temps are dropping there is a good chance of find a big trout rising to these right at dark!!
August 3rd - Erik with just a beautiful big trout caught swinging a mouse pattern. Landing this one was a bit interested as we did forget the landing net! Must have been the recent rain and fish were very active last night! We landed 3 good trout and a bunch of others came to our mice.
Sage redefines casting accuracy with the ONE rod series!Sage has replaced the Z-Axis with the ONE series and these rods will be out in August. We will be stocking this entire series and expecting 9' 4wt, 5wt, 6wt, 7wt, 8wt, 9wt in the next week or so. Those rods will be here for those that want to cast them. The link above gives lots of info on the new series and I will continue to post more info on these rods. We are taking orders for these rods now and should be able to get them to you in August.
Some new mouse patterns that we now have in stock. The next six weeks is just a great time for night time fishing for those looking for big trout. Moon is fading fast now creating very dark nights - should be an ideal week for more late night mouse fishing!
July 22nd - Waiting for darkness! Had some pretty good late night action swinging mouse patterns with a number of mid to upper teen size browns. Been getting some shot at some much larger fish also!
Here is great setup for fishing large mouse patterns - 8wt with Skagit Short 350 grain head. This short heavy head makes casting so simple in the dark with very limited false casts. Roll cast is even very easy.
July 15th - Judy with a big brown on the Au Sable River. Judy's husband Barney has caught some big browns the last number of year but not this year! Such a cool looking trout with the happy angler! Hex hatch is pretty much over in most places but big browns will continue to feed at night. Coming into prime time for swinging mouse patterns and surface streamers.
July 9th - Still heavy Hex Hatch and one of heaviest spinner falls of the year. Smaller colder streams is the key now!
July 7th - Mark with a very nice trout on the Hex! Typically for so many nights on the hex hatch - all seemed so perfect and first big trout was hooked with about a dozen casts. With a lot confidence off to the next fish that was feeding heavy. Results were not the same! Got to love this hatch and chasing these late night fish with dry flies till the early morning hours.
July 4th - Got to watch some fireworks from a favorite spot while casting to some nice trout!
July 3rd - Erik and Chris with nice trout tonight! Heavy spinner falls on the Au Sable and some late night action.
July 2nd - You never know what is going to happen on the Hex Hatch. Being Saturday night of holiday weekend figured to have some very high pressure and did not see an angler till 2am. This part of hatch it is all about sitting on the big browns you have been trying to catch over the last few weeks. Tonight it all worked so well! Had a huge spinner fall and good hatch.
July 1st - Marc with a nice Au Sable trout caught on his first time out on the Hex Hatch. Lots of fishing rising today but they were tough to get in some very heavy bugs.
July 1st - Larry with a huge night on the Au Sable putting 3 giant browns in the net while floating with Erik. Lots of fish going to tonight with heavy bugs and some very late night fishing with trout rising till 4am.
June 30th - Mark with just a beautiful Au Sable River trout caught on the Hex Hatch. This hatch is still going very strong on Au Sable with tonight's spinner flight still way to heavy. When bugs are very heavy it does make the catching much tougher!
June 28th - Another huge spinner fall of Hex and some excellent late night dry fly fishing!
June 26th - New is from Hyde today! Just love this boat - Hyde Rocky Mountain Skiff. Much lower sides for easy in/out, ideal interior layout and just the perfect trout boat for Northern Michigan.
June 26th - Tom and John with a couple of nice Au Sable trout on the Hex but you had to work for them tonight. Many nights you hope for lots of bugs but you don't want as many as tonight! Extremely heavy hex spinner fall that last pretty much all night. Some big trout were rising but tough to catch.
June 25th - With the cooler temps this June still some good late evening rising trout! Regan's Iso parachute size #12 is just a great producer this time of year.
June 25th - Tom putting some nice trout in the net tonight on the Hex Hatch.
June 24th - Larry with a real nice Au Sable trout caught on Hex dry fly while floating guide Erik Peterson. For late June it was bitter cold night which can be very tough on the hatch. Spinner fall was extremely light but then came a very heavy hatch and few big trout up and rising.
June 23rd - Cold and rain tonight but with the peak of hex still some great trout up and rising.
June 22nd - Albert and the guys from Alpena caught some nice trout today. Extremely heavy Hex tonight! In thick hatches best to sit in a good spot and wait (with your flashlight off). When bugs start to thin in the early morning hours (1am - 4am) can produce some great feeding trout!
June 20th - Some excellent night fishing on the hex hatch with a great group of guys. We did a two boat float tonight and we found some great trout rising to a very heavy hex spinner fall. James, Rob, Carl and Brent - all put there big hex dries into some big trout. Brent came so close at about 1am but hook pulled out of his big guy.
June 19th - Had a nice float trip tonight with Gary and son Dave. Found some very nice Au Sable trout feeding heavy! Dave had some bad luck pulling out of two very large trout but came back strong with this giant one above around midnight. Heavy Hex spinner fall.
June 19th - Bill Peterson with great looking Au Sable trout with floating with his sons Adam and Erik. Perfect way to spend Fathers Day!
June 18th - Tom with a very nice Au Sable River trout! The cold temps came early tonight. Still good spinner fall of Brown Drake and then Hex came right at dark but did not last long in the cold air.
June 17th - Mark and Greg had just a great night on the Au Sable River putting 4 giant browns in the net. After breaking one off on 15lb tippet Mark came back strong at about 1am with this big brown above.
June 16th - Joe with some huge browns night time dry fly fishing on the Au Sable River. After extremely heavy hatches the last 4-5 nights the hex spinners came very strong today.
June 15th - Erik with another big rainbow that was feeding heavy on Iso's just before dark.
June 15th - Here is why we night time dry fly fishing - to find giant size brown trout! Benny caught this monster size trout last night on the Au Sable while floating with Erik.
June 14th - Mike with a big trout on the Au Sable River! No knocking a trout this size but it was a little frustrating of a night when the dry fly pulled out of true giant size brown. Good spinner fall of Hex tonight.
June 13th - Good Hex spinner fall today and the big bugs are here!
June 13th - The new bug this year! This spinner has not been one that I have not seen a lot of in the past but some great spinner falls this year. I think most call it a Gray Drake or some type of Iso.
June 13th - Guide Erik Peterson continues to catch some big trout on the Au Sable this year. Just a great rainbow on a brown drake spinner.
June 12th - Tom with a very nice Au Sable River rainbow.
June 7th - Trey with a nice Au Sable River trout caught dry fly on brown drake dry fly just before dark. The last couple days there has been some major high heat making for some poor day time fishing but some excellent night time dry fly fishing. Lots of dun popping off river starting about 9pm and spinner falls starts just after dark. The drakes and rising trout have been going to 1-2am in the morning many nights!
June 6th - River guide Erik Peterson with a giant brown trout caught around 2am on brown drake spinner. Some excellent dry fly fishing today if nasty storms missed your section of river.
June 5th - Mike with a nice brown trout caught floating with Erik. Had some nice action today and came very close to a couple of giants!
June 5th - Got to love the big mayflies of June and brown drakes going strong tonight!
May 29th - Erik with a beautiful Au Sable brown trout that was caught just after dark on a Regan's Rusty Spinner. Heavy spinner fall of Sulphurs, Light Hennies and March Browns just after dark.
May 28th - Just a great night on the river with some excellent dry fly fishing! Huge hatch of Sulphurs in the late evening and then a great spinner fall just after dark.
Here are some of the bigger Mayflies to look for in the coming week on the Au Sable River. Above a March Brown & Brown Drake dun. Look for both of these to hatch just before dark and into darkness. On cloudy days you can have afternoon hatches. Brown Drakes are a major hatch and typically bring up some great fish. Below are two big spinners that have been going the past week - Great Speckled Olive and March Brown. These are both a good size #12 and hard to beat a spent wing parachute rusty spinner.
May 26th - Excellent dry fly fishing today with a huge Sulphur hatch all afternoon and evening. Today's cloudy wet weather was just ideal for this hatch and had some very nice fish up and rising. Next warm night look for some extremely heavy spinners of these bugs! Many ask when will the Brown Drakes start? Some say we are way behind this spring and it will be a while - could be true. All the bugs that hatch before the Drakes are here, heat is coming next week and their typically going strong in the warmer sections by June 1st. Could be very soon!
May 20th - Dan with a very nice Au Sable River trout caught on a dry fly. Big trout ate a #14 tan comparadun - great pattern for this time of year. Of late there has not been big numbers of trout rising but some of the better fish are going.
Abbe enjoying the Au Sable River! She is turning into a good little boat dog and an excellent retriever. Starting to come with me regularly on the river.
May 18th - Philip with a very nice dry fly caught trout in the Big Waters of the Au Sable. Very heavy spinner fall late this evening of Mahoganies and Hendricksons. With all the different hatches starting now these trout are getting selective. If one pattern does not work keep changing.
May 18th - Great Speckled Olive spinner. A bug that is not commonly talked about but this big spinner will produce some big trout in late May. The last few nights just started to seeing some decent numbers - easy to spot being so much bigger than everyone else.
May 18th - Here is a Sulphur dun size #16 - this major hatch is just starting. This bug is typically an evening hatcher and look for heavy spinner falls just before dark. This bug will be going for the next couple weeks and on warm evenings can come in blizzard numbers.
May 8th and April 20th - Here is the Peterson trout and why catch and release is so important of our big trout! Adam and Erik both caught the same giant trout a few weeks apart. This big guy seems to really like our Great Lakes Deceivers. Hopefully someone can catch him again next year!!
May 15th - River dropped a bit and had some good dry fly fishing today! Found some nice big trout up and rising to a very heavy Hendrickson hatch. Had some bad luck put them in the net today but finally scoop this one up. I got box full of different Hendrickson pattern but I should just bring two - Regan's spent wing spinner and Regan's parachute. Seems to be the only ones I ever use and they are so effective. Today was all dun so it was the parachute and they are pictured below.
May 13th - Bob with a nice big Au Sable trout that just inhaled jointed Great Lakes Deceiver! With the water rising from heavy rains going big was the key today and our new giant size Conrad Sculpin also produced.
May 10th - It was a wet day on the Au Sable with some major thunder storms and river on the rise. Good streamer fishing continues! Had heavy Hendrickson hatch but very few fish were rising in the higher stained water.
May 8-10th - Erik and Benny have been camping on the river this week and have been catching lots of big trout!
May 7th - Bob floated with Erik today found a few giant browns in the Big Waters of the Au Sable River! Big streamers has been the key of late.
May 6th - Joe Stevens with just a giant brown in the Big Waters of the Au Sable - 26 1/2"! Good streamer fishing continues and even the bright sun did not stop this guy from crushing a 6" Great Lakes Deciever.
May 6th - Dry fly fishing has begun today in the Big Waters of the Au Sable! Joe with our first dry fish of the year and it was a good one at 22"! We also found a few more in the upper teens. Yesterday Hendrickson hatch finally kicked into high gear and today there were a few trout up and rising. Covering lots of water was the key to finding these big trout with dry flies. Regan parachute dun #14 (pictured just below) produced all of our fish. Next warm evening should be a huge spinner fall!
May 5th - Erik with a trophy brown in the Big Waters of the Au Sable! Such a great looking brown trout that was caught on 6" Great Lakes Decievers. Water conditions are ideal now for streamers.
May 2nd - The hatch is just starting in the Big Waters and hopefully we will be getting some nice dry fly fishing this week!! Typically this hatch gets going the first two weeks in May in the Mio water so it we are just about there. The Hendrickson Mayfly is the first big hatch on Au Sable and will produce some nice big browns very soon. Above are two of my favorite Hendrickson patterns tied by Jerry Regan - left is parachute dun pattern and right is spinner pattern. Look for good hatches in the late afternoon and parachute dun is the top choice. Late evening look for spinner falls and Jerry's spinner will get the job done.
Here are some of our top early season streamer. These are all patterns that I have fished and have produced some very nice brown trout - Joint Great Lakes Deceivers, Fire Tiger Great Lakes Deceiver, Rattling Murdich Minnow Rainbow & Brown Trout, Grizzly Yellow Great Lakes Deceiver, Woolhead Sculpin, and Conrad Scuplin.
April 29th - The Big Waters of Au Sable below Mio continue to run extremely high and very dirty. Did not hear of any good reports of fishing today and I will be sticking to the lower river and steelhead fishing this weekend. River conditions are ideal below Foote right now.
April 27th - A beautiful Au Sable River trout today in the heavy rains! Magnum Murdich Minnow in Fire Tiger with the loud knocking rattle was the streamer that produced in the high dirty water. Conditions are looking good for the next few days if river continues to rise.
April 25th - James with a nice big Au Sable River trout caught on Great Lakes Deceiver! Had a nice float today with James & Rob and had a few big browns come to our streamers - baitfish and trout patterns were most productive. No hatches today and still have not seen a hendrickson in the Big Waters. Should have some good dry fly fishing when water levels come down a bit and temps warm - hopefully in next couple weeks. Right now it is streamer time and the Au Sable has been giving up some big browns!!
April 26th - Some are asking why no dry fly fishing yet in the Big Waters of the Au Sable and this graph pretty much tells it all. Triangles are where the average temps are and we have been below all of April. Currently water temps are about 46 degrees and typically about 52 is where trout start thinking about rising in the Big Waters. With May coming soon I would carry a dry fly rod along and make sure you have some Hendrickson and Olive patterns with you in the boat. Hate to be left with only a sink tip in the boat and you come across that first big rising trout!!
April 22nd - Tom and Tom both got a couple nice big Au Sable River Brown Trout today! Had a few other big trout come to the streamers today but did not get hooked up. Great Lakes Deceivers and our big trout patterns have been producing very well of late.
April 20th - Major snow storm last night and it sure did not slow down the trout fishing on the Au Sable! Adam and Erik found these two giants today streamer fishing.
April 19th - River guide Erik Peterson took a break from floating the Big Waters of the Au Sable to fish some smaller waters on North Branch this afternoon and had some excellent streamer fishing! If your looking to see some of the smaller water in the upper Au Sable and North Branch we do offer walk in trips and Erik does have some open dates.
April 14th - Chris & Bob came to Mio today and it sure did not take them long to find this giant brown on the Au Sable!
April 13th - Adam and Benny with a couple huge Au Sable River trout while fishing with Erik today. Not many people fishing today, saying water levels were too high and skies too bright - I guess that was not true!
April 10th - Joe with a beautiful Au Sable River brown trout! Heavy rains this morning and river was rising fast and getting dirty. Spring is finally here.
April 8th - Rick with just a beautiful trout on the Au Sable River! Had to work for them today and that is the way it goes streamer fishing some days this time of year while looking for big trout.
Here is a great streamer box we now have in stock from Umpqua. Box will also hold flies on the outside while they dry. In our online sales at: Streamer box. We also have some of streamers marked way down for a Spring sale: Streamer Sale!
April 7th - Jake with a beautiful giant sized brown trout caught on the Au Sable River. The excellent streamer fishing continues! Another huge day out of Erik's boat. Warmer temps today melted a bit more snow causing a little more stain in river which is ideal.
April 6th - Benny and Albert with a couple of big trout today on the Au Sable River! Streamer fishing remains excellent. This slow melt down continues and river remains in great shape!
April 3rd - Adam with beautiful Au Sable River brown trout that just crushed a glow Great Lakes Deceiver. Rain and heavy snow made for wet day on the river. Ideal conditions for big streamer fishing.
April 2nd - Chris with very nice trout in the upper Au Sable. Just some excellent fishing today!
April 2nd - Some streamers that have been working well of late.
April 1st - Albert with a giant brown on the Big Waters of the Au Sable River! It is streamer time.
April 1st - Chris, Erik and Alex with some great trout today! Not often do you see all three in the boat get such nice trout. Erik has been putting in his time on the river the last couple year and is now doing guided trout trips for us on Au Sable and Manistee. April is just a great month for those that like to cast streamers and look for big trout. We do have dates open for those looking for float trips and the way it has been going of late now might be the time to get in Erik's boat! If interested in booking a float trips or any questions do email at: kelly@michiganstreamside.com
March 19th - Tom O with a couple of real nice browns on the Au Sable today. Water is flowing well now with the recent snow melt down. Early spring is just a great time to streamer fish for those looking for big browns and now is the time to go big on the flies. The Au Sable sits in a very cold low state for a couple months in the winter and then comes spring - waking up many of the river's biggest trout. Today our Great Lakes Joint Deceiver (cotton candy 8") was top producer and that is very common for this time of year. Big browns love big food in the spring and 6-9" long rainbows must be there favorites! We are fishing these big streamers on 8wt rods and typically 300 grain sink tips - makes the casting much easier and gets fly down deep.
March 16th - Erik made in over to the Manistee River today to fish big streamers and found this giant brown! Coming into one the best times of the year for big browns and our trout stream of Northern Michigan have next to no pressure.
March 14th - Erik and Alex has some excellent fishing today with there best day of the year so far. A bunch of nice browns that were all just attacking there streamers. Articulate lead eyed leeches in black and olive were the top producers today. When the snow starts to melt and first rains of spring coming it is time to starting trout fishing and looking for the biggest browns in the system - that time is almost here!
March 11th - Chris and Erik has some good trout fishing today in the upper Au Sable! Still a lot of snow and ice but spring trout fishing is here!
Feb 18th - A couple days of Spring like weather was just what the upper Au Sable and its branches needed! Streamer fishing was pretty good and river is in great shape now. There was getting to be a lot of shelf ice build up and this melt down knocked out most of this. The river did not rise a lot but a couple inches and still ideal for winter wade fishing. Right now when it comes to fly selection it is hard to beat woolly buggers, leeches, zuddlers, and sculpin patterns. Best colors of late black, olive and brown. We will be back to full time guided float trout trips in March and that is sure coming soon! So much great year round water on the Au Sable River and it branches. Nice to see even more year round water being added starting April 1st - which is opening day for the Big Waters below Mio!
Feb 10th - Here are some close up photos from the White River in Arkansas from our Feb trip. Just like on the Au Sable big browns just love to eat trout! Top left is a 21" brown that was caught on a 6-7" rainbow Great Lakes Deceiver and it had the tail of a 8-9" rainbow hanging out of its mouth. Just shows what browns will do when their hungry - one in not enough. Our jointed Great Lakes Deceiver in rainbow, brown trout, cotton candy, and glow white were our top producer which was no surprise because also top pattern on the Au Sable for big trout in the Spring and Fall. Had a great time in Arkansas and we are sure going back in Feb 2012! Planning on staying for at least two weeks next winter and will be putting together details for lodging and guided float trips. Here are lots of photos from our trip: White River Arkansas
Feb 9th - We are in Arkansas fishing the White River this week. So far some good streamer fishing and here are some of biggest browns. Big rainbow patterns have been top producers and our Great Lakes Deceivers have been our best pattern.
January 17th - Billy O'Neil with just a beautiful trout on the White River in Arkansas while fishing with river guide Jeremy Hunt. This is just a super fishery in the winter months for trophy browns and streamer fishing is what produces. Top flies right now are our Great Lakes Deceivers (olive/grizzly yellow, fire tiger, olive/white), Articulated Great Lakes Deceivers (cotton candy, brown trout, black/chartreuse), Magnum Murdich Minnows (shad, rainbow, brown trout), Conrad Sculpins (black, tan/olive, olive), Circus Peanuts (black, olive, white) and lots of different shad patterns. I will be down on the White starting Feb 5th and really looking forward to it! If your interested in a guided float trip, streamers, specialty sink lines, or just some info just ask.
Here is one of our top streamers being tied by Mike Schmidt www.anglerschoiceflies.com The Conrad Sculpin produces so many big trout and Mike has been doing a great job on this pattern and many other big streamers that we sell & use. This is an articulated pattern and the key for this one is the connection of the two hooks. To tight and you lose action and to loose fly tangles often. Just a great pattern when looking for trophy trout!
January 1st - I started the New Year the right way by floating the Au Sable and trout fishing with Adam & Erik! Day started out very warm but end with some high winds and some very cold temps. We had a bit of action with a couple of big trout chasing our streamers, pulled out of one nice brown, and Erik landed a beautiful big brown trout. Recent melt down and rain was just ideal for the river and that new water did make for good fishing. A little strange being early January and no snow on the ground - sure that will not last for long.
December 29th - Just a beautiful brown trout on the Au Sable River that crushed a Conrad Sculpin. Two handed rods are ideal for swinging streamers in the winter months - typically done for steelhead but a perfect presentation for big browns also.
December 29th - My favorite two handed rod - Sage TCX 12' 6" 7wt with a Rio Skagit Flight 550 and MOW sink tip to match river levels.
December 29th - The Conrad Sculpin is one of our top producers for big browns and steelhead.
December 28th - Alex and Erik got a couple great trout today fishing the upper river with 2 over 20"! Streamer fishing continues to be very good for those that cover a lot of water. Snow depths remain very low for this time of year which makes for easy walking and access sites are in great shape. This time of year it is not big numbers but a great time to find some very quality trout.
"Night Of The Hex" DVD has been added to our online sales. Click on picture above to view trailer or to make a purchase. Rob Thompson did just a great job on this DVD last summer and it really shows what the Hex Hatch is all about with some great footage from the Au Sable River!
December 22nd - Erik got this nice brown trout streamer fishing on the North Branch of the Au Sable River. Had good fishing today with several nice trout landed. Sink tips and lots of different leeches, zuddlers and sculpin patterns were what produced today.
Finally got plans finalized for our Winter trip to the White River in Arkansas! Will be fishing starting Feb 5th and staying on the river at Wildcat Shoals Resort. For those that like to streamer fish for trophy browns this is the place to fish in February and roughly a 12 hour drive from southern Michigan. Had a great time last year and looking like this will be an annual trip now with a bigger group coming this year. To streamer fish this river you need to really enjoy casting big rods, sink tips, and big flies. Our go to setup last year was good fast action 9' 8wt and both the Sage Xi3 and Winston BII-MX worked perfectly. Rio DC 24' sink tips in 200 to 300 grains and the Rio OutBound's were our best lines depending on river level. Also we had good action fishing shad patterns with floating lines and either swinging them or fishing them under an indictor. Did not get to nymph fish last year as water levels were way to high but sounds like that will not be the case this winter. I will be bring a huge selection of equipment for those that are looking to try out some new rods and some perfectly matched streamer setups. Sage & Winston 9' 6wt thru 9wt (Xi3, TCX, Z-Axis, BII-MX) and a good selection of switch rods for swinging streamers & nymph fishing. Will have a pile of Rio lines to match! As for flies we carry a huge selection streamers that were very productive last year - our Great Lakes Deceivers, Murdrich Minnows, Conrad Sculpins, and Shad patterns were all top producers and we will be adding a few more to our online fly sales section for the White River. I have made arrangements with some local Arkansas guides for those that are looking for float trips. If your looking for a multiple or single day trips and lodging I can set that up for you and we do have some good rate packages. If any questions just email me at kelly@michiganstreamside.com Here are some photos from Feb 2010: White River Feb 2010.
December 11th - We trout fished the North Branch and South Branch of the Au Sable River today and caught a few nice trout! Such a nice time of the year to be on the river and did not see any other anglers. This time of year streamer fishing can be very good if you pick your days with the best conditions. Lead eyed and cone headed streamers were top producers today - leeches, buggers, sculpins in black and olive. Down across swing along the cover, logs and thru the holes with lots of small strips and twitches is what was working today. This time year best to cover lots of water!
Nov 30th - Just a perfect day to trout fish the Au Sable River! Finally a good rain last night and browns were out looking for food. It was such a typically bite today for this time of year - not much action and then just a great hour of streamer fishing! It was a little bit of bummer as the best trout of day did not stay hooked. Big browns are getting into that post spawning mode as almost all redds are now empty. Should have good fishing the next few weeks!
November 24th - My best catch of the year - a 10lb black lab puppy! Finally a new dog around the house and Abbe has been working out so well. Looking forward to bringing her along fishing as we float down the Au Sable and taking her bird hunting next fall.
November 6th - Erik with some nice trout on the North Branch of the Au Sable! Streamer fishing was excellent today with over a dozen nice brown trout (12"-20") brought to the net. This time of year is just a great time to float and strip streamer. Erik has been fishing it hard the last few weeks and if you're looking to take float or walk in he could sure show you some some good fishing!
October 31st - This is why we streamer fish this time of year! Just a great time for those looking for a true giant brown trout.
October 30th - John O'Neil with a excellent day of streamer fishing on the Au Sable River! Fish were on today and some just attacked our streamers. The cool cloudy day was just ideal day for trout fishing.
Oct 19th - A couple beautiful trout that Erik caught on the North Branch of the Au Sable earlier this month. Water levels are very low throughout the entire system right now. Typically we are throwing lots of bigger streamers this time of year but that has not been that effective in the current conditions. Small streamers - woolly buggers, zuddlers, lead eyed leeches in black, olive and tan have all been producing some nice trout of late. Fall will be coming soon and then it will be time to break out the big stuff!
October 12th - The banks of Au Sable are just a great place to upland bird hunt this time of year! The last week there have real good numbers of woodcock in the area. Leaves are going down now and it is prime time to grouse hunt.
October 2nd - New Winston rods are now in stock in 4wt, 5wt, 6wt and more are coming! The BIIIx and GVX are new models for 2011 and we will be stock a wide range of wts. Just had the Winston 9' 5wt cast off at the river - New BIIIx, GVX, BII-MX and BIIx. The new BIIIx is just the perfect dry fly rod! Just a little faster than the older BIIx and lighter in your hand. Still that classic Winston action. For large flies hard to beat the BII-MX. New GVX was but a bit heavier and little more power in butt section than the BIIIx - very similar to BII-MX but over $250 less cost. If any questions about the new Winston rods just email me at kelly@michiganstreamside.com Rods can be shipped right out and we do offer free shipping anywhere in the world!
Preview of Rob Thompson's June video of the Hex
Hatch in the Midwest.
http://www.thirdyearflyfisher.com/stills
These are some of our top producing streamers for those big fall browns on the Au Sable River!
September 16th - Erik with a true giant on the Au Sable River! With the cool weather it is streamer time in the Big Waters. When the water is up going big with the streamer will produce giants like this one.
September 12th - Just great time of the year to fish the Au Sable!
August 21st - Finally the Big Waters is getting back to good temp for trout fishing! Those little triangles are the long term avg for each day. Still above normal but dropping steady! Last nights rain should really help also.
August 6th - Bill with a beautiful Au Sable River rainbow that was caught on a dark hex dry fly. Had pretty good spinner fall just before dark and a fair number of bass were up and rising. This fish started feeding very heavy and rise form did look a little different than the smallmouth were making.
August 5th - Chuck with a very nice Au Sable River brown trout caught on Dark Hex dry fly. Spinner flights were just starting and this trout was out looking for them! Very natural patterns are the key and our cdc spinner was been the top producer.
July 30th - When you can scoop up the mayflies by the handful you know it is a heavy hatch! Blizzard hatch of White Flies in the Big Waters last night. Trout fishing has been very slow of late due to high heat but with the cooler weather and the beginning of a major hatch this could all change very quickly. Below are four excellent White Flies patterns. These bugs emerge so fast out of the river that when hatch first starts wets and nymphs are top producers. Spinners patterns just before and after dark are what produce the best trout and even some oversized ones after dark.
July 27th - Just a beautiful Au Sable River rainbow! The Dark Hex is one of the most overlooked hatches in July. Many times in the Big Waters it is mostly a Smallmouth Bass hatch due to high water temps but it will produce some giant trout also. If temps stay down a few more nights look for a giant brown trout to be post here really soon!!
July 27th - Incredible Dark Hex spinner flight starting around 9pm. Lots of Smallies rising tonight and few big trout!
The new Abel Super 5/6 QC are in stock! Just the ideal reel for our 5-7wt streamer rods.
New Streamside hats
are now in stock! $15.95 and that includes shipping.
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