# Ausable river MI



## rockriv (Sep 18, 2012)

Anyone ever spend any time on the ausable near grayling michigan? Seems like a great brown trout river. (One of the best in the east i suppose) 

Just curious about your thoughts or opinions. Wanting to spend some time there this spring.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Yes...a buddy of mine spent a weekend on that river with a guided float trip....he talks about it all the time and how great of trip it was. He has pics but there in an album...he caught a lot of nice brown trout...beautiful river as well!


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## grant778 (Nov 22, 2014)

I fished it this past summer, as well as the manistee. I caught a little brown on the manistee and a little rainbow on the au sable. Keep in mind I'm a rather new fly fisher, and I spent less than an hour on each river because i didn't have waders and was freezing cold after a little less than an hour, but in my book that is pretty good. I was using a foam dry fly, probably like size 14 or 16. The only thing I didn't like about the rivers (and don't get me wrong, they are both still amazing), is some parts tend to have like marshy bottoms. The manistee wasn't so bad, sunk in about a foot, foot and a half in some places, but on the au sable I accidentally stepped in a patch, probably sunk 3-4 feet. So pretty much stay away from the dark mushy looking stuff, or at least tread carefully on them. They are both great rivers though. Now that I have waders, if I were to go back, I would take the upper Manistee to try for a mix of brookies and browns. I have also thought about maybe trying the pigeon river as I have heard the upper pigeon has lots of trout (brookies, browns, and bows).


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## fly_ohio (Oct 31, 2014)

along those lines, I would love to make a trip up there. Below Mio has been on my bucket list for awhile. Any streamer junkies out there, that can row a drift boat, interested in making a trip?


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## rockriv (Sep 18, 2012)

Fly ohio....do you have a boat? Im in


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## fly_ohio (Oct 31, 2014)

rockriv said:


> Fly ohio....do you have a boat? Im in


I do, it's a Hyde high side. Don't take this the wrong way, but I prefer to go with someone who has had some experience on the sticks. I'm all for teaching people how to row and read water but I've been on too many trips where I'm stuck rowing the whole time based on a matter of safety and not ending up in a strainer or pinned on some rocks. 

With that said, there's room for 3. Two experienced rowers and one learning is the way to go. 



Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


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## rockriv (Sep 18, 2012)

Haha. Ok man. No problem. Ill be shore fishing with my life jacket on.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

i go there several times year. i make sure to hit the mayfly hatch. this is your best chance for big browns on the surface. it gets crowded, but fun. other times i go i will usually hit the north branch, where no kayaks or canoes are. in the summer, night fishing with mouse imitations on the main branch can also be very good. i stay at gates lodge which on the _holy water_. but again, during the summer months the floaters are out in force.


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## Four Weight Fanatic (May 14, 2006)

rockriv, I've had a cabin on the Manistee outside of Grayling, MI for almost fifteen years now. I fish both the Manistee and the Ausable from May through July (or almost August this year) depending on the timing of the hatches. Without going through a diatribe on timing, temperature, river conditions, etc. I will say that both systems are fantastic fisheries for stream bred trout on the fly (browns mostly, with brookies in the upper portions of both systems and rainbows in the bigger water of the Ausable), generally I prefer the Manistee because the fish tend to be less pressured and its just out of my back door. 

If your looking to take a long weekend or a week long trip try to be flexible with your timing and always try to make it for some time in June when you get that first string of hot and sunny days with temps in the 80's, this is a recipe for the emergence of ... wait for it ... Hexagenia Limbata or the Giant Michigan May Fly or just the Hex for short. There is nothing like fishing that first night of the initial emergence of the Hex on either of these river systems, even those fish that have gone totally carnivore come out to gorge on these bugs. Even if you can't time it right for the Hex there are always hatches to match and streamers to fling and big fish to throw them at. This is coming from a man who grew up learning to fly fish on the streams of western and central PA, while I love my native state and waters, I spend my summers fishing in northern Michigan. 

Tight Lines 

FWF


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

I have camped on the Manistee just W of Manton and grouse hunted for several years now. Keep talking about coming up in the spring to fish instead and always heard that the upper was under fished. Can you fish the Ausable without a boat?


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## rockriv (Sep 18, 2012)

FWF... I as well am a western pa boy actually gonna be making a run over toward state college this week to fish penns. Thanks for the info!!


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

I fished AuSable a couple trips last 2 years. We had been going to Oil Creek PA for 8 years but when the whole state was blown out for our scheduled trip in 2013, we changed course for AuSable and didn't look back. We caught a couple dozen fish each day and what a difference between wild fish and stockers. Be sure if you are on a craft, you know what you are doing. The currents can be strong so do not under estimate the water. 

FWF,
Can you give me a few streamers to try to get some of the bigger trout to come out during the day. Last time I was on AuSable, I caught many fish on the dries, but 9 out of 10 were 6-10 inches long. Until the evening when the bigger bugs started coming off. I'd love to catch some bigger fish during the days too.

tight lines,
Rickerd


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## Four Weight Fanatic (May 14, 2006)

rockriv, good deal I seem to find many folks on this site from parts of PA, I spent a lot of time on Penns Creek during college, hopefully it treats you well over the weekend.

rickerd, because of the character of the upper Ausable (and upper Manistee for that matter), i.e. "free stone" spring fed, gravel/sand bottomed - it tends to run gin clear with the brown tint that you see year round from the tannins leaching into the water as it percolates through the soil; daytime fishing can be tough and for the most part you are going to pull the 6" to 12" fish you were experiencing. I have caught a few legal sized fish during the day, but they are few and far between. 

As far as streamer recommendations go always keep a bevy of buggers in your box in size 4 - 12, I have a box just for wholly buggers in black, white, olive, and brown, both bead head and without beads. That being said other patterns to keep with you would be Matukas, Zoo Cougars, Mouse Patterns (deer hair is what I've used I have no experience with the morrish mouse patterns), Slumpbuster, and a gurgler pattern for nights later in the summer and fall. Size for everything is going to be 4 (I tie the Zoo Cougar up to a 2)-12 depending on the streamer, conditions and time of year. Also the fellas at Gates Lodge are always tweaking patterns to suit the river/fish so check in there to see what they have or what they recommend.

Tight lines,

FWF


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

FWF,
Thanks for the perspective. We were trying a number of local suggested streamers including buggers but as you said, it didn't seem to change the size. Sometimes my expectations are up there. I keep thinking of a video from Baldwin Bait and Tackle early May a few years ago on the PM. They were drifting and casting streamers on a sinktip for drop-back steelies. They caught more 15-18 inch browns though on the streamers cast next to logs and pop stripped back to the boat. I'd love to experience that one day. NO, I will experience that one day. 

best,
Rickerd


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