# Ausable Winter Steel



## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

Is it just me or is the Ausable fading away before our eyes as a world class Steelhead and Salmon fishery? My favorite fishing is from December through late February on the Ausable for Steel, as I can almost always have the river to myself, go to one of my numerous holes and be confident that I can either catch or fish or at a minimum find some solitude. Now I find myself wondering if it is worth even making a trip. All the reports from the fall were bleak which puts a ton of doubt in my mind if any steel are calling the Ausable home over the winter. The numbers seem to have dropped consistantly Do I need to find a new home river? The thought of making the drive, freezing my a$$ off and getting skunked doesn't sound too appealing right now. I guess I can at least find my solitude....... 
What do you guys think?


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

Your not the only one who is thinking that way. 

I haven't been up there all year....not once. The 3 years before I made at least 5 trips during the winter.


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## foxangler (Feb 1, 2005)

Here are my Stats for 2005 on the AuSable.

1 steelhead 27", and 9lbs in late Feburary.

At least 5 trips in the spring when everyone is out. And i was skunked everytime. I didn't even bother trying this fall but after the holidays i'm
gonna give it another go. Keep the faith. Things move in cycles for whatever
that worth.


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## Erik (Jan 17, 2000)

My folks used to run the driftwood den on US-23 near oscoda. I grew up fishing the lower ausable river. I fished her for so many years and never even considered going anywhere else. I'd heard and read about other rivers that had runs of steelhead but I always figured the ausable was the best there was. Then one day my friend took me to the big manistee. I had no idea there were rivers like that in MI. It blew the ausable away. I also discovered the st joe. Good fishing but not the scenery of the ausable. Still it worked in a pinch. Then my folks sold their place in oscoda. No more free place to stay with free food and all  I had no choice but to start exploring new rivers. The PM the LM, the white, etc... I found out that all those years I'd been fishing the ausable there were many other rivers that were alot better. I just didn't know any better because I never explored any other water. 
There will always be a soft spot in my heart for the sandy river. I will always love her more than any other river. Every time I go there I feel like I'm coming home. Still I know without a doubt there are many other rivers in this state that blow her away.


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## stelmon (Sep 21, 2000)

If your looking to catch fish, the ausable would not be the place.

but...

if your looking for the solitude and being a on a river that you naturally love is....

priceless

If I knew the ausable for steelies I would still make the trip over there. However, I don't. I did fish it for salmon but with the dwindling salmon runs, I have picked up other rivers. Hopefully the huron ecosystm will bounce back and we'll have limits of 20 lber's again.


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

You are right in your thinking about the ausable river.The steelhead runs have dwindled to next of nothing now days.I have my speculations why but I wont go into it.There are much better rivers on the west side of the state and if you want a better chance in getting into some winter steel then I would make the drive.With so many to chose from Im sure theres a good chance in finding both solitude and catching fish.I have at least 1 trip planned to one of them in the next couple of weeks hopefully.


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

i think alot is mental. All the doom and gloom reports and one bad day and you think all fish are gone. i fish the river quite a bit and still find fish almost every trip, actually spring 2005 was one of my better years. I mostly fish a drift boat and one thing i have noticed is that i'm catching fish in places i'd never thought about fishing, and old standbys i'm just wasting eggs. 2 or 3 years ago when the river ran 13 foot for a week or so, seemed to change things up. Gravel is still in the same place but snags got moved around and it moved fish holding spots. Am I saying its as good as it was in the past HECK NO. I remember one trip in March we hit 8 fish out of a run under an overhang that the previous year i tried to fish and lost 4 rigs in 4 casts. it was a slow day and being a glutton for punishment i tossed in and Bam!
First day forecasted at 38 degrees in Feb will find me shoveling the boat out, and looking for some fish. I'll be fishing it from the bank(once or twice) between now and new years and i'll let you all know.


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## wackoangler (Jun 1, 2003)

I agree sprigdog, I rarely hit the Ausable without finding fish, I think a lot of it is the internet, people hear bad reports, and other people spewing doom and gloom, so they skip it completley, thats fine with me, I prefer it like this, I haven't seen nearly as many people on the water this year as I normally do. Of course I can't limit out in 30 minutes, like I did on the Manistee a couple of weeks ago, but if I try, I find fish.


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## dinoday (Feb 22, 2004)

It's not nearly what it once was,but you can still pull a few out. I took two this year on opening day of trout season.
I can usually do a lot better on the West side rivers,but cut my teeth for steel on the AuSable and still enjoy going there.A lot less people for sure  
Winter fishing has much more solitude regardless of what river you fish.If you really hope to catch a fish I'd say go West,if you don't mind if you get skunked I'd go to wherever is closest


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## grizzly (Dec 11, 2000)

That river will not fish like it did 10 to 15 years ago until we get more water in it. I will not even go there anymore.

Grizzly.


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## GONE FISHIN(LARRY) (Dec 28, 2002)

As grizzly said the fishing is much different now then it was 10/ 15 even 20 years ago , those of us with lots of gray hair remember chasing the water down the river daily as they released it. Then came the natural flow era with low clear water. We had to adapt; it was now important to use lighter and flourecarbon leaders and to get to your hole first thing in the morning before the fish got spooked. In this low water era the fishery has changed and those who have adapted are still taking a few steelhead. The number of steelhead that winter over into the river are fewer and fewer each year. The deep runs, pools, and pockets that once held fish have been replaced by log jams and undercuts, the areas of the river that are less traveled now seem to produce better. I feel the steelhead run is not what it once was and yes, springdog and dinoday, I too see fish in almost trip there, but the fishery is not what it was 3 years ago lets not even talk about 10 or 15 years ago. It is now more common to see bald eagles then steelhead. The steelhead fishery has not collasped like the salmon fishery in Lake Huron, but the numbers and size has deminished greatly. I'm hoping that the next time the water table rises the fishery will return. 

I've logged my fishing for over 20 years my catch ratio is way down on the Au Sable, but it is hard for me to judge the whole picture, I used to fish the river a hundred days a year, I'm now down to just a handful. My father and many friends still fish the river 2-3 days a week all winter and they are starting to get real discouraged. Some are even starting to make trips to the west side of the state for steelhead.

If you're looking for beautiful scenery and solitude the Au Sable's your river. Fish or no fish ther is nothing I love more than wading in my favorite stream.

LARRY


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

For the driving time there are so many more rivers that produce more fish than the ausable on the west side thats where I would go.


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## grizzly (Dec 11, 2000)

That river will not fish like it did 10 to 15 years ago until we get more water in it. I will not even go there anymore.

Grizzly.


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

grizzly is 100% accurate. that river will not fish like it did 10-15 years ago.
So please take his advice and dont even come up.

Stinger63 is correct also, hit the Manistee, Betsie, Platte, PM in April and you are almost guaranteed more fish, so as the old saying goes "Head West" to bigger and better things.

I'm kinda stuck, do I pay $10 for gas or $80?? I know the answer to that one. If I was dead center of the state and had a choice of going right or left, i'd be choosin left.


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## GONE FISHIN(LARRY) (Dec 28, 2002)

Guys , 
Theres more to fishin then just catchin , my freezers full of fish by the time I start my river fishin , I do most of my steelhead fishin November thur March and release 90% of the fish I catch , to me river fishin is about solitude enjoying nature at her best , some of my best days on this earth are fishin the river of sand with my kids watching eagles fly overhead , my kids are the 4th generation of my family fishing the Au Sable River . 

Are there More fish west yes , better fishing west , I not to sure . This old fat man is not giving up on the Au Sable yet .

LARRY


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

GONE FISHIN(LARRY) said:


> Guys ,
> Theres more to fishin then just catchin , my freezers full of fish by the time I start my river fishin , I do most of my steelhead fishin November thur March and release 90% of the fish I catch , to me river fishin is about solitude enjoying nature at her best , some of my best days on this earth are fishin the river of sand with my kids watching eagles fly overhead , my kids are the 4th generation of my family fishing the Au Sable River .
> 
> Are there More fish west yes , better fishing west , I not to sure . This old fat man is not giving up on the Au Sable yet .
> ...


if more people had that attitude, i'd spend more of my apr/may metalhead fishing instead of turkey hunting. I just cant stand fishing as soon as the fish get on the redds and every yahoo with a tendency to set the hook after every drift shows up.


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## hard head (Feb 23, 2003)

I like so many others started fishing steelhead on the Big "A". It's true you have to work hard most days to get into fish, but this is the Big"A" the world famous Big "A" there will allways be fish for fishermen who put in the time on the river.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

With the extremely poor Fall run this year, I wonder if the DNR is thinking about cutting the 180,000 plant they have been doing? It almost seems like a waste of hatchery resources to plant them in the Ausable if they do not return well. The Big Manistee gets around 55,000 planted Winter Steelhead each year, and gets a lot more returning. 
Don't get me wrong, I love fishing the Ausable. But for productive fishing a lot of other rivers are a better bet anymore.


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## Bulletproof (Jul 26, 2005)

Many of those 180,000 planted that make it to a mature age are swaying towards Georgian Bay. The canucks are benefitting from our plantings for sure.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I'm glad everybody thinks the Au Sab sucks, so far this fall/winter, I've only seen people at the dam, the river is pretty much untouched, I get all the holes to myself, which is nice. I fish this river exclusively, and last season(oct.2004-may 2005) I hooked 254 steelhead, which I think is a pretty good season. I had 3 15 hook-up days, a couple 10's, and alot of 5-7, pretty good, especially for winter, and the fact that all of my fishing is done wading, hooking 10 fish wading, that's a good trip, especially on a big river. People can say what they want about the Au Sable, I think the river's just fine, I hook alot of fish out of it, and still have alot of fun, I've been to the west-side, and I've never been impressed. Everybody acts like all of the rivers are miracle rivers over there, if you know how to fish, then you catch fish, period. So everybody go over to the west-side and pound them, I'm enjoying hooking nice winter fish all to myself on the Au Sable, fish on.


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## GONE FISHIN(LARRY) (Dec 28, 2002)

ausable_steelhead said:


> I fish this river exclusively, and last season(oct.2004-may 2005) I hooked 254 steelhead, which I think is a pretty good season. I had 3 15 hook-up days, a couple 10's, and alot of 5-7, pretty good, especially for winter, and the fact that all of my fishing is done wading, hooking 10 fish wading, that's a good trip,



Well done Jon , 

Those are not good trips how about great trips and super season . I tip my hat to ya my friend .

LARRY


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## FliesOnly (Sep 24, 2004)

Since when did steelhead fishing become only about the numbers. How many of those fish were fair hooked? I see guys saying they had 15 hook ups. Yeah, a hook-up in the pectoral fin, under the nose , in the side, etc. That is why I have mostly switched over to streamer fishing for steelies. Sure you don't get as many hook-ups, but the ones you do get are out of aggression and are amazing. Don't get me wrong, eggs and nymphs are effective, but try some streamers and you might be suprised!


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Youse guyz lissun to 'dat Ausable feller up der! He knowz wad hez talkin' 'bout. Da riveers here on da wes' side ar all no goodz wid fery few fishes in dem soz don't youse guyz start acomin' ovur here ya hear?...............:lol: 

Sorry guys, I'm just killing time. I'll depart and go back over the the West Side river forums where I belong!.........


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

I feel it's dwindle a bit too. Just my 2 pennies. And the DAM STORE isn't getting any of my money this January.


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## wackoangler (Jun 1, 2003)

I agree Dam store is not good.


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## Mags (Apr 10, 2002)

OK..........NOW what's up with The Dam Store that's got folks pissed off about? I was there last this past mid- October and everything seemed to go fine and all.


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## wackoangler (Jun 1, 2003)

just a general negative attitude....


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## Erik (Jan 17, 2000)

They sell those damn torpedos! And as far as I'm concerned any store that sells those things is not getting any business from me.


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## DAN (Aug 13, 2005)

I dont like The Dam Store or Bunyan Town cause I feel like Im constantly being watched. Seems as if they think Im gonna steal something. I dont look untrustworthy or anything... maybe Im just that handsome:lol:


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

Erik said:


> They sell those damn torpedos! And as far as I'm concerned any store that sells those things is not getting any business from me.


saw those in Franks last year. wont go in there anymore.


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

The Dam Store lady is a great saleswoman though. She roped me into buying one of those Tornado's or Torquito's (whatever the fried shriveled up Mexican food they have on the counter) It was by far the worst decision I have ever made to date, I was buckled over within 15 minutes.


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

Alright....i am confused....what is a torpedo?


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## NEMichsportsman (Jul 3, 2001)

MI_STEELHEAD said:


> Alright....i am confused....what is a torpedo?


A highly specialized "lure" only utilized by certain kinds of "Sportsmen" 




Ditto about the Dam Store....I wish they hadn't had the fire at the place next door they had pop and beer just as cold, and were friendly!


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

The one made by Heddon.....top water? That can't be it. You mean the Torpedo plug that looks like a snaging weight? Mean lookin....that one...looks to be a real sporty bait that would prob get bit by a lot of fins and tails.


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

Silver Spider type deal.


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

Torpedo = Grappling hook, found on Batmans utility belt and 90% of people fishing Tippy Salmon run.


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## dansjeep2000 (Dec 27, 2005)

I am new to the site but i had to chime in on this thread. I have fished all over the state and agree that the big river isn't what she once was, but a day spent on her banks no matter how the fishing is a GREAT day to me!


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Fliesonly, I really don't fish-fish on beds, I like to run spawn around redding areas, drop-backs, and pre-spawners get real aggressive, though a redding buck will take a shot here and there! But sometimes when the freshly planted smolts get to be to much, I'll piss off a few bucks on beds with bags, and I use big chokers, they seem to have a really hard time passing them up, spawning or not. I release most spawners, save a loose hen or two.


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

Back at ya!!!!!!!!!!!


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## DryflyII (Apr 11, 2005)

It's been many years since fishing the Ausable. Do any you guys remember
Ruthie's. Now that was a bait shop she had everything. Is it still there?


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## Mags (Apr 10, 2002)

Nope, Ruthie's is gone. Burnt down 2-3 yrs. ago or so. Nothing new in its place, just an empty spot between The Dam Store and Desi's.:sad:


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## DryflyII (Apr 11, 2005)

Mags, That's a shame. She more or less got me hooked fishing the river. Used to always put us on steelhead when ever we made the trip. She got
me hooked on fishing the Boy scout camp. She will never be forgotten. We went out with a guide one time by the name Ron Stewart from Oscoda young lad who drifted plugs from the driftboat. Ever here of him? Dennis


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## Mags (Apr 10, 2002)

Dryfly,

Sorry, but I've never heard of Ron Stewart, but then again I've never used a guide on the Ausable. Always fished there by myself or with a bud or two at most over the years....since maybe the late '70's or early '80's. Not sure whatever happened to the lady from Ruthie's, but NEMichigansportsman (Joel) might know since he has a place up that way and spends a lot of time there.


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## NEMichsportsman (Jul 3, 2001)

I miss Ruthies.... I have no idea what happened to them as they obviously didn't rebuild. I can only hope that the place was paid off a million years ago and the insurance paid for a happy retirement.

Never used a river guide only know a few ...and Mr. Stewart isn't one of them, but I'll see if I can dig up any info.


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## DryflyII (Apr 11, 2005)

Thanks guys for taking the time to answer my questions. I really do appreciate you bringing back alot of fun memories of the Ausable. It's been
close to 25 years since I fished it. I will keep visiting this site and reading what's happening on the river. I dought if you remembered Ron he was just
a river rat guiding maybe a handful of people a season. He wasn't as popular as some but still a nice person. Another question, there was a guide
who lived close to the tresle who everyone knew. A retired air force gentleman with red hair and knew the river better then anything. Do you remember his name. I have many pictures I need to find and share them with you. Thanks Dryfly


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

By the tressels, you are not speaking of the legendary SNOOPY are you?


Here we go........


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Snoop is still around and probably spends more days guiding the Ausable than anyone else in the Oscoda area. I never see him catch anything, but I hear reports that he boats fish here and there.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Does he ever launch off of Rea rd.? Because there's a guide that I've seen up that way. He just motors right through the hole your fishing, like your not even there. I've heard him swearing to his client because I was in the hole they wanted to hit. I swear every time he goes by, I'm not hooked up, but 5 minutes after he goes by, fish on. That happened this season. It was late-Nov, like the 30th or something, I was bobbering the B*** hole and he goes motoring through like always, well of course he got just up out of the hole, and my bobber went down. I ended up with a nice colored-up buck, I looked downstream as I let the buck go, and seen his client looking at us(my fiance' was with me)and he said something to the giude who just shrugged his shoulders, he seems to be alittle ornery, like no one else is allowed on the river.


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## DryflyII (Apr 11, 2005)

Hey, Been awhile since I checked out the site. Found an article of the guige I was talking about, who lived by the trestle.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...lZPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6591,8684458

He died in 2012....

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oscodapress/obituary.aspx?pid=159167503


Now do you remember?


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## MichiganStreamside (Jan 19, 2014)

Fishndude said:


> Snoop is still around and probably spends more days guiding the Ausable than anyone else in the Oscoda area. I never see him catch anything, but I hear reports that he boats fish here and there.


Snoopy died a couple years ago.


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