Mouse Bite

The mouse bite is red hot . . . percentage wise, this is the best chance of the year to catch a trophy brown.

Hex

Hex went very well on the Au Sable last night on the mainstream.  Manistee is started as well from 72 to ccc.

The Dry Fly

Just a quick note about the dry fly.  Last Friday and Saturday we had trout rising to BWO's.  Yesterday, trout rose again for about an hour before the snowstorm.  BWO's, Quills, and  . . . one or two Hendricksons.  I'm getting happy.  Very happy.

See you all soon, Andy

Another Record Fish in Michigan

Check out this!  Another Record Michigan Fish..  http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153--253832--,00.html

The April 1st new "Michigan Trout Opener"  was a great success.  Friday kept mostly sunny but the AuSable River Brown Trout came out to play anyway.  The water clarity was just stained enough to get the trout biting.  It seems like every boat landed at least one nice fish.


And check out the weather for this weekend.

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Forecast.aspx?location=USMI0349

Early Spring Stoneflies

Every year we get two different black stones that show up with the warmer weather.  One is small--like a sixteen.  But the other is big.  I like it on a 2XL #14 or a standard 12.  That's probably over sizing it, but the trout don't seem to care.

When you're fishing the stonefly, be sure to twicha nd skitter it.  Work it in all the same places you would a streamer.  Fish the wood piles and the bubble lines.  Drop a nymph off this beefy critter.  It makes a fine bobber.

I like fishing  the stone best upstream as a single fly.  Really focusing on the secondary and tertiary bubble line behind logs. 

However you use it, it can be a great way to get your first dry fly fish of the year.

Have Fun.

New Open Water

Here's the skinny on the New Michigan Trout Fishing Regulations as they pertain to Catch and Release Fly Fishing in our waters.

Starting April 1, 2011 we can fish flies on the Au Sable River from Burton's Landing all the way down to the power lines by Rainbow Resort (remember Rainbow Resort is a private launch).  And we can fish from Mio to McKinley below the damn.  Now a lot of this water is also open to Catch and Release fishing in the off-season with artificial lures as well, but I'm just talking about what we can do with flies for this entry.

The Manistee has some cool off-season opportuntiy, too.  You can catch and release fish there from the bridge at County Rd 612 all the way M-115.  Again, quite a bit of this is also open to artificial lures, so if that's your game, just check the reg's.

That's just so much water.  What a great trout fishing opportunity the Michigan DNR has created for all the Michigan trout fishermen and women.