Changing Gears

It is time for me to change gears for a while. I am trying to prepare for a busy holiday weekend. Instead of fishing I have been busy mowing grass and getting canoes and trailers all set for what we hope will be a crazy crowd. We also have lots of family coming in for the holiday. It should be a lot of fun, but a lot different than what has been going on the last couple of weeks.

Tight Lines, Dave

Transition Time

We have fished very hard the last couple days with very little success. I fished a half-day with a chap from Ann Arbor Thursday. We tried all layers of the stream, nymphs. streamers and dry flies and had little action. We did move a couple of nice fish on streamers, but no cigar.

Yesterday I fished with a father and son from Atlanta. Same story! I even took a spinning rod along for the boy who had never fly fished. Good news is, he liked fly fishing better! Bad new is, he only had a couple chases.

We should be getting started with Olives in the morning and terrestrials during mid day any day now.

Tight lines, Dave

More South Branch Action

I fished again last night on the Lower South Branch of the AuSable River. We had good action again and ended up releasing an 18 and 23-inch Brown trout. It looks a if we may have a few showers in the area tonight. We will just have to wait and see how the fish react!

Tight Lines, Dave

Blanket Hatch

I fished the Lower South Branch of the AuSable last night with Stacy Leon and his son Pablo. It was an interesting night to say the least! It started out slow with a little action on small flies. Around 11PM all hell broke loose. We had a blanket Hex hatch and large fish feeding all around us! Only one problem, it was a thousand to one shot the fish would choose our fly! Stacy did finally manage a dandy Brown, but we all had grey hair by the time we hit the landing. More madness to follow tonight!

Tight Lines, Dave

Still Hexomania

I fished the Conners Flats area of the AuSable last night with a father and son from Ann Arbor. It was the son's first night fishing trip. We started out with a bit of action on small trout and as the evening progressed we had a little bit of everything. We saw Surphors, Iso's and finally a few Hex. The son boated a nice Rainbow and hooked up on three dandy trout after dark, but they managed to slip the hook. We will be back at them again tonight!

Tight Lines, Dave

Hexomania

Hexomania is in full force now! I have been fishing every night and the River is loaded with boats and wading fishermen. Only problem is there is not a lot of catching going on!! With all the rain we had I am afraid most of the bugs got washed away. Every morning the phone lines are abuzz with stories, most are seeing one or two good fish. Not bad, but not great either. We fished last night and fished for three feeding trout. We released one around 18-inches. Tonight has to rock!!

Tight Lines, Dave

Chuck and Duck

I floated the AuSable yesterday with a couple of dear friends. There was very little surface activity so we pounded the water with big streamers. We had a lot of fish follow the streamers, but they most were just window shopping. We did manage to land a beautiful 19-inch Brown! That made our day!!

Tight lines, Dave

Lots Of Action

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I fished the "Holly Water" of the AuSable yesterday with Tom and Bill from Findlay Ohio. It was cloudy and windy and the water was still about four inches high. We didn't know what to expect , but we were pleasantly surprised! We didn't catch any monsters, but we had lots of action on Sulphur emergers. Both guys managed a Slam; one each Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout!

Many times I prefer lots of action on smaller fish than that one monster after dark. It is all in what you like! lots of rain in the night an gloomy today so far.

Tight Lines, Dave

Hex At the House

It looks like Hex are coming off pretty much every place. We had a good spinner fall at the house last night with just a few rising trout. We wait all year for this to happen and I hope a lot of friends don't miss it.

Got to get ready to do battle again tonight!

Tight Lines, Dave

Back In Action

Friday night we had on hell of a storm on the AuSable! The river went from being very low to high in just a few short hours. We had a few canoeist out yesterday and it was tough sledding for them!

I was back in action fishing today and it was a pleasant surprise! We caught six nice trout fishing with large streamers. The water is still high and dirty, but some of the fish don't care.

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Out Of Commission

It is with much regret I have to be out of commission for a couple of days. I need to have some routine test done which require me to be out action and on the down low! It could not have come at a worse time, but who would know when you schedule that the Hex would be this early. Catch a couple for me and I will be back in action Saturday.

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Lovely Float

We had a great float this afternoon. The weather was a bit shaky at the start , but it turned out to be a great afternoon. We fished mainly with Isonychia Emergers and Sulphur Duns. We landed a half dozen Brown Trout and solved all the problems of the world! Must contact BP to fill them in our solutions for the well!!

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

All Work

Working my butt off around the camp today! Between the lawn, fence repair and work on boats no time for fun today. I have to wait until tomorrow to get back on the river again. The trout better be looking out because I will be ready to show no mercy. Got word there was some hex on the Stillwater last night. We better be ready or we will miss it!!

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Chilly Night

Fished last night with a fellow from Chicago it was a pretty evening , but it got chilly. I had 40-degrees when we got in the van at the landing. We had plenty of flies, but the fish were a bit sluggish. We did manage to catch a good brown trout. Looks like it will be cool for a couple more days.

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Night Action

I fished last night with Bob Zucker from Cleveland Ohio. We had a great evening and hit the brown drakes just right. We landed some dandy browns and had several give us the slip. The largest was 19-inches! All in all it was a great trip.

Tight Lines Capt. Dave

Work and Fun

I have been working hard trying to get everything around our camp ready for summer. Everything from yard work to a couple of new signs. All very labor intensive. We still find time to have some fun on the river. Above is a picture of my new granddaughter Roxey balancing on the bow during a canoe outing. See seems to be fitting in well!

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Back on the River

It was great to be back fishing again yesterday after the crazy holiday weekend. We fished late afternoon from Wakeley Bridge to the Townline. We caught lots of brown and brook trout, but none were worthy of a photo. I did take a couple of shots of the beautiful scenery.

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

Deep Breath

It was a wild and wooly Memorial Day weekend on the AuSable River. I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to keep everyone happy. Lots of drunks and loudmouths out of course. All I could do was watch the fish rise and dream of fishing. One of our guest did catch a 17-inch Brown Trout while fishing one evening! I am putting things back together today and will be fishing tomorrow.

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave