Fishing on the AuSable has been going great the last couple of weeks! The cool weather we have been having is great for the trout. There has been lots of olives and trico's in the mornings with hoppers and ants in the afternoon. I just had two great days fishing with a family from Cleveland. I would start out with two in the morning, We would all meet for lunch then take two more for the afternoon float. Dad was teaching his family to enjoy the river as much as he does. It worked out great we released 25 trout in two days. One even managed an AuSable Slam; Brook, brown and rainbow in a day! Not bad for novice anglers!! The hot ticket was a beadhead nymph dropped from a hopper.

Tight lines Dave

Summer Fun!

It  has been a very strange summer in northern Michigan. We have only had a couple days reach the 80-degree mark, but we must plug along! I have been doing a lot of instruction of late and love every minute of it. I worked with two friends from Ann Arbor last week who had never fly fished before and were looking to expand there repertoire. After some instruction on the lawn we moved to the boat and finished with a half-day float. Each fellow was able to release some beautiful brook trout. It was a great time for all! We were fishing with blue winged olives and patroits.

I have been spending a lot of time with some special young people who I have taken on as my protege's. We have been working on basic fishing and fly tying skills. They are moving along at a great pace and will be ready to hit the stream soon.

Tight Lines Capt. Dave

 

Well I have been burning the midnight oil fishing the Hex Hatch this last week. I have had some great nights and some fun nights to be out fishing! The crazy bugs have been hard to predict. Last night has been the highlight so far! We caught and released four Browns over 20-inches and only fished 100-yards of river!! It was off the charts! I don't know how long it will last but I will take what I can get!

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

I have been busy fishing every day and the weather has been beautiful. Unfortunately the cool spring weather up until now  has kept the mayfly hatch everyone is waiting for on hold! We have been using smaller mayflies and stoneflies to get the trouts attention. Fishing with a grandfather and grandson the other day we had a wonderful time and the grandson was able to catch and release his first trout! I fished with Tom Patton and Fred Fairchild from Ohio for a couple of days last week. We caught a lot of trout most on the small side, but Tom did manage to release a 16-inch rainbow. Fished last evening with Henry Smith and Stacy Leon we were looking for the Hex but all we found were stoneflies and sulfurs. Stacy caught several small trout.  Tonight has to be the night!

I have had a great week up on the old AuSable! I fished with my old friend bill VanWagner from Dallas for several days and we had a great time as always. Bill also comes to the Keys and fishes with me there. Fishing was great, but catching was a bit off. We caught lots of small trout, both browns and brookies. We failed to coral the monster we were looking for! We are just getting into the big flies we are all waiting for with hexomania just around the corner. Weather is getting warmer so it won't be long! 

Tight Lines, Capt. Dave

6/1/2009

 Finished up the season in the keys with a flurry. We had lots of great action with the "Big Three". Nothing huge, but lots of action. Then a whirl of activity to get loaded up to head north with a long, long car ride.

 Its is great to be back on the AuSable! I have washed all the salt off must of my gear and am ready for the trout! I fished for about an hour the other evening and managed to land nine beautiful browns. What a great start with sulfurs, yellow stones and caddis.

  I have lots of new things to play with this summer! A new boat, new rods, reels and a new association with Orvis! It is going to be a great relationship for all involved.

Tight lines, Capt. Dave