Lake Huron shoreline fishing report by Michigan flyfishing guide Kelly Neuman. AuSable River

Au Sable River Michigan flyfishing report


	Great Lakes shoreline and river mouths fishing report - April 6th Ice out in the Great Lakes is finally here! Still some bays and marines do have ice but fading fast. This is a great time to fly fish for lake brown trout on the shoreline of Lake Huron. Also river mouths like the Ocqueoc River, Tawas River, Au Sable River and East Branch of the AuGres has been producing a few steelhead of late. information and photos of upcoming fishing - updated February 11th (click here) April 5th - Paul Gray working the shoreline of Lake Huron with a streamer rod right as the sun is coming up. Ice was still a bit in the way but at least it is melting fast. This time of year look for browns in very shallow water. Many are still thinking about spawning and these fish are always looking for baitfish. Top patterns right now are alewife and smelt patterns. For those looking for some beautiful angling and wildlife artwork you should check out Paul's web site at: http://www.ptbruleestudio.com/ His art work is based mostly on personal experiences and is a must see! December 6th - Lots of ice growing in Lake Huron right now! Making for some pretty tough fishing conditions. All harbors and boat ramps are iced in that I know about. Still lots of open water in Lake Huron but without a major warm up shoreline fishing is very limited. It did not seem quit fair this fall with extreme warm weather in the early portion of the fall and now extreme cold weather in the late fall/early winter but that is the way it goes. There are still some places to look in Michigan for open water fly fishing for trophy browns this time of year. If I find something good will put some info on this fishing report. Last year we had major warm up in late December and excellent fishing so you never know what might happen. November 28th - Extremely high winds on shoreline of Lake Huron today and pretty cold temps. That is ice under Lake Trout and unfortunately it is starting to build up in some sheltered area and harbors. Conditions are a little tough right now but there are a few trout around. Forecast is for wind and cold weather for the next few days. November 9th - Robb Smith with a nice Lake Trout caught on a small perch patterns. Did see a couple of browns today but still not a lot of them on the shoreline yet. Typically we have excellent fishing on the shoreline of Lake Huron during deer season which is coming later this week. November 1st - Fighting Lake Huron steelhead! This time of year river mouths in the northern portion of lake typically hold a few nice steelies. October 28th - Fished some deeper water along shoreline of Lake Huron looking for big brown trout today. We found some big schools of baitfish and some really nice walleyes & whitefish. With the colder weather moving in look for trout to pick up this coming week. October 16th - No trout today but did have some pretty good action fly fishing the shoreline of Lake Huron. Baitfish are moving in close to the shoreline and a number of warm water species are there feeding on them. Today two Northern Pike and one nice Smallmouth Bass. We should be finding some trout real soon as Lake Huron continues to cool down. October 11th - The shoreline of Lake Huron with a bunch of seagulls feeding on baitfish. By watching for seagulls, diving duck, and cormorants schools of baitfish can be located. This time of year once you find baitfish you typically find some species of fish feeding on them. Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Smallmouth, and Walleyes are all common this time of year. Trout are just starting to show up on the shoreline and numbers will improve as weather keeps getting colder. Today we had a little action while fishing Hammond Bay. No big browns but did landed a couple of Lake Trout and a nice Smallmouth Bass. Lake Huron Browns & Lake Trout Photos from the 2007. Jan. 1st - A great way to break in the New Year with a 38" 27lb Lake Huron Brown Trout! Big trout was caught streamer fly fishing first thing in the morning along shoreline of Lake Huron. Had excellent fishing this morning - landing two big browns and about 15 lake trout. A chartreuse/white Half & Half was the fly of the day and it is pictured below. Fly was being fished on a 200 grain Rio DC sink tip fly line. With all of the warm weather of late there is no signs of ice forming out in Lake Huron right now. Should have good fishing for while! Here is photo of one of my favorite flies for fishing the Great Lakes - Chartreuse/White Half & Half. Jan. 1st. - Tom Olenczuk with another huge brown trout caught this morning. Had good action on browns first thing in the morning and then lots Lake Trout. The shoreline is just loaded with baitfish right now and these big trout should stick around for a while. Dec. 27th - Had excellent fly fishing today out in Tawas Bay. Lake Trout were very aggressive and most just inhaled our streamers. Landed around 10 Lakers today and did see a couple of big browns. Top fly was a chartreuse and white clouser. Dec. 23rd - Fly fishing in Grand Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan today. We were looking for big browns but found a bunch of Lake Trout along the shoreline. Did have a couple of good chances on browns that were chasing bait fish at the surface but could not get them to eat our flies. So many places to fish this time of year! December 16th - Higgins Lake is a excellent place to look for big trout (browns, rainbows, lakers) this time of year. This lake does not freeze early and hold good numbers of big trout along the shoreline. Had a little action this evening streamer fishing along the first drop off - one nice rainbow and a couple of other hard hits. There are so many good places to fly fish in Northern Michigan that are not heavily fished and hold good numbers of trophy trout. December 16th - Here is photo of Higgins Lake Rainbow Trout. Big trout was caught on a smelt pattern fished on sink tip fly line. For lake fly fishing the line I like the best is the Rio 300 grain 24' DC Sink Tip. This line will get down fast and stay down while streamers are being retrieved. Nov. 29th - Excellent fly fish in Northern Lake Huron for huge Brown Trout this morning! Browns were very active early this morning with a good number of fish feeding on baitfish right around the surface. Browns were in very shallow water (3' to 5') and a floating line with streamer just below the surface was very productive. By using a float line streamers can be retrieved very slow and fish do seem to be looking at surface in very low light periods. Landed four big browns from 5am to 8am with a number of other good strikes and a couple that pulled out. Nasty weather is forecasted for the next few days which should be perfect for the shoreline fishing! Nov. 21st - A beautiful sunset in Northern Lake Huron and some excellent fly fishing! Had a bunch of big lake Browns around shoreline this evening. This is such a great time to fly fish the shoreline of the Great Lakes - so many good places to fish, hardly no pressure, great scenery, and huge trout that eat our streamer! Glow half & half was the hot fly of the evening (pictured at the bottom this page). Mild weather for this time of year is being forecasted for the next few days. Unless we get some very bitter cold weather soon this lake fishing could last for a while! Nov. 19th - Ken with a true giant Lake Huron Brown Trout - 34" 19lbs. Big trout was caught on a small perch pattern. The set up we use today for these fish is a Sage 9' 8wt. TCR, Rio DC 300 grain 24' sink tip fly line, Sage 3400D fly reel, and a 5-6 foot streamer leader with 10lb Maxima tippet. Good fishing should last until lake starts freezing up! Nov. 19th - Barney with a very nice Lake Huron Lake Trout. Lots of Lakers today! Nov. 17th - A huge Lake Huron Brown Trout! Wind and clouds today made for good afternoon fishing. Of late browns have been running very large. Nov. 17th - A real nice Lake Huron Lake Trout. Lots of baitfish are around the shoreline right now. Should make for some excellent fishing for while. Nov. 16th - Excellent fly fishing on the shoreline of Lake Huron today. Weather was pretty nasty with rain changing to snow just before dark and a very hard north wind. This weather is perfect for bringing fish into very shallow water. Landed three nice Lake Trout and had some good chances on some very large browns. Look for excellent fishing now till the shoreline freezes up - hopefully another good month of fishing. Top fly today was a natural sculpin pattern (about 5" long) and our Great Lakes Deceivers in Chartreuse & White. Nov. 14th - This time of year there are lots of Whitefish in close to the shoreline. Of late there has been excellent fishing for them on most of piers and river mouths. These fish can be found up in the Au Sable River and Thunder Bay River typically to the end of November. November 9th - Excellent fishing this morning on the shoreline of northern Lake Huron in Hammond Bay. Landed four big browns with the one pictured above being 31" 15lbs. The last two days there have been good numbers of browns around the shoreline. Should have good fishing now till lake freezes up. Snow and wind is being forecasted for the weekend. Nasty conditions are typically good for these big browns to be in close but can make for some tough fly fishing this time of year. November 9th - Another beautiful Lake Huron Brown Trout from this morning. November 9th - Here is a close up of big brown from the top photo. November 4th - David Frizzell with a very cool looking Lake Trout at the mouth of the Au Sable River in Lake Huron. These big trout are very aggressive right now. Oct. 15th - A bright silver 10lb plus Lake Huron Brown Trout. The last few days of high winds and cold weather has brought a number of brown trout and lake trout in along the shoreline of Lake Huron. These fish are feeding heavily now and top patterns have been our Great Lakes perch and alewive patterns. Oct. 5th - Tom Buhr with a Lake Trout out in Tawas Bay in Lake Huron. Big trout was caught in about 8' of water just off the edge of first drop off. Fast action 8wt rod is the perfect rod for this fishing. The fly line that was being used was a 24' 200 grain Rio Sink Tip and the fly was one of our Great Lakes Alewive patterns with is pictured below. Tom also hooked the first big Lake Brown of the fall, out of my boat, but hook popped out. A few browns are starting to move around shoreline right now but not in big numbers. Typically by mid October Lake Browns are along the shoreline and river mouths of Lake Huron in good numbers. This Alewive pattern is one of our top patterns out in Lake Huron for Browns, Lakers, and Smallmouth Bass. We do have plenty of these in stock and they can be purchased here on our site online. Just click on the fly photo and it will take you to the proper page. Oct. 4th - Here is a huge Lake Huron Smallmouth Bass. Had good fishing this morning! Caught three big Smallies and a couple of smaller Lake Trout in Hammond Bay in Northern Lake Huron. Saw a few big browns near the boat but no hook ups on them this morning. For those looking for big lake browns typically best action starts in mid October and last till mid December. This morning all fish were on the same fly - our Great Lakes Alewive pattern. May 11th - A beautiful Lake Huron Brown trout! Big trout hit a small Alewive pattern in about 6 feet of water. These big trout will stay around shoreline for a while if water stays below 60 degrees. Look for some big numbers of smallies to show up very soon. The next few days the forecast is for more cool rainy weather. Should make for some good shoreline fly fishing! April 22nd - Here a beautiful Lake Huron Brown Trout! Had perfect conditions out in the lake today. The big lake has really warmed up fast this spring. There are some browns around the shoreline and the smallmouth bass are starting to get active with water temps in the low 50's. March 27th - Had a good hour of fishing just before dark on the shoreline of Lake Huron. Ice is going fast but still some launch sites are full of ice and getting boats in can be a problem. Caught two nice Lakers this evening wading the shoreline. Both came on a chartreuse and white Half & Half. Should be able to find a few big browns really soon! March 12th - First time out since mid January fly fishing the shoreline of Lake Huron. Rockport is a excellent place to look for spring browns in Northern Lake Huron and this area of the lake is all open right now. No hook ups today but did see a couple of browns roll on surface. Rockport has received large plants of brown trout the last couple of years and this area of the lake should have some excellent fishing the next couple of years. Boat landing is still frozen in and long ropes & four wheel drive is needed to launch boat right now at this landing. Many places in Lake Huron are still frozen over but that should not last to much longer. For those looking for spring browns in Lake Huron April and early May is typically the best time. Jan. 7th - Right now there are just a ton of Lake Trout along the shoreline of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along with a few giant Lake Browns. These Lakers are super aggressive right now and make for some excellent streamer fishing. The shoreline is a great place for those that like to fly cast floating lines & sink tips - no split shot or bobber rigs out here just fly fishing! Salmon streamer fishing photos - late summer 2007 September 3rd - It does not get much better than this! Silver King Salmon inhaling big streamers. Hot fly this morning was a glow chart/white Great Lakes Deceiver. Forecast is for cool and wet late this week - should make for some excellent salmon fishing. August 31st - Streamer fishing at its finest! Tom Bushy and Tom Olenczuk with a double digit morning stripping streamers for King Salmon near the mouth of the Betsie River. This open water salmon fishing is just unbelievable with so many good places to fly fish and very aggressive salmon. Our chart/white Great Lakes Deceiver was our top pattern today. August 30th - Tom Bushy with a big King Salmon that smashed a streamer right at dark! August 27th - A big fresh King Salmon caught streamer fishing right near the shoreline of Lake Michigan at the mouth of Arcadia Lake. Right at dark is prime time for these salmon to be most aggressive. Fished a few new glow patterns this evening with excellent success. A glow baitfish pattern (green & white) tied as a tube fly with a few glow beads between the fly and hook did the job this evening. I get asked a lot which fly lines we are using to streamer fish for these early salmon. I have tried many and my favorites are the Rio Outbound and DC 24ft Sink Tip. Typically in the rivers sink tips and in open water the Outbound lines are preferred. This time of year its hard to beat the Sage 9' 9wt. Xi2 for our salmon streamer fishing. August 25th - Kris Walley with huge King Salmon that inhaled a big Fire Tire Streamer out in Betsie Lake near Lake Michigan. August 25th - Tom Olenczuk with a Chinook Salmon right near Lake Michigan. These salmon are very aggressive before they make there spawning runs up the river. This time of year there are a number of great places to fly fish for these salmon - Manistee Lake, Portage Lake, Betsie Lake are all great places to fish right now. August 25th - Kris Walley & Tom Olenczuk with some early morning salmon out near Lake Michigan. Hard to beat stripping streamers in open water for these aggressive Kings! August 21st - Mike Sargent with a fresh King Salmon out in Betsie Lake. Glow streamers work great this time year just after dark. August 21st - Mark Delaney with a nice big King Salmon that smashed a Alewive pattern first thing in the morning. August 20th - Mike Kmita fighting & landing a big Chinook Salmon out in Betsie Lake. This is a great place to streamer fish for these early salmon. Salmon are just starting to move in from Lake Michigan and everyday fish numbers are increasing. Lake Huron & Lake Michigan brown trout, salmon and smallmouth photos from the 2005 & 2006 season (click here) Lake Huron brown trout photos from the 2003 & 2004 season (click here) Steelhead photos from the 2005 season (click here) Trout photos from the 2005 & 2006 season (click here) Trout photos from the 2004 season (click here) Salmon photo gallery (click here) We do have fall dates open for those looking for guided float trips. If interested in trips or any questions you can contact us via email or give us a call at 989-848-5983. Current water levels at Parmallee Bridge - Trout waters Current water levels at Mio Dam on the AuSable River - Trout waters Current water levels at Alcona Dam on the AuSable River - Smallmouth Bass & Trout waters Current water levels at Foote Dam on the AuSable River - Steelhead waters Michigan flyfishing opportunities this season include: Streamer fishing - always good, especially Spring and Fall Hendrickson (late-April/early-May) Brown Drake (late-May/mid-June) Isonychia (mid-June) Hexagenia Limbata (mid-June/early-July) White Fly/Ephron (late-August) Terrestrials - hoppers and ants (mid-July thru mid-September) Salmon (late-August thru mid-Oct) Steelhead (Oct thru mid-May)