Finally some good spring water throughout the Au Sable River system! Friday was a cold all day rain and finally got some melting going and big increase in water. It was tough day of fishing and my guys were strippin streamers for Steelhead and Atlantics then in afternoon for Big Browns. Hooked one steelhead and landed one beautiful Brown Trout.
Water was on the rise all day from the rain and snow melt. The Big Waters of the Au Sable are in great shape now for streamer fishing. With the continued cool weather did not go into flood mode which is a good thing. This past week top streamers have been Slop Mop, Chromatic Peanut and Great Lakes Deceivers. Colors mainly been the bright stuff – yellow, white and chartreuse but black can always produce in the stained water.
The Au Sable River from Mio Pond to Lake Huron has a number of dams/ponds and this hold ice long into spring. Not a bad thing keeping this water cool and very late spawn for our steelhead. Again one the big pluses for the very lower river. This lower sections holds the largest number of Big Browns in the system and as this ice comes is melting off they come to life looking for some big meals. Thats why we strip streamers looking for these trophy browns! That time frame is right now thru early May depending on weather.
The last dam on the river is Foot. Currently there are some nice Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead in this section. Weather has not helped the past few days for the fly anglers with some cold temps, high winds and cold rain. Below is Terry from NC battling a big chrome steelhead and we came close but didnt end up in net. Love seeing these bright fish make some awesome jumps!
Currently there are some winter steelhead in river like this one below. Bright silver are coming in everyday now. After Friday’s rain Foot Dam is running some very high water and this is ideal for fishing. Looking forward to this coming week!
Been using my new TopWater Jet boat the last couple weeks and loving it! In Arkansas near the end of my stay and now on the Au Sable. Can’t say enough about the quality of workmanship and how well it works for chasing trout, steelhead, salmon and smallmouth bass! Lightweight and easy to control with oars or troller and can run fast thru 3″ of water. No jet sled here with 75lb anchor and 115hp or more – its a river skiff!
