# floating the A from foote to mouth



## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Realistically, should this be a problem in a 12 foot aluminum boat? I haven't floated the river before in a canoe, so I dont know. I know that all of the access points I've seen are definetely deep enough. It's my dad's boat (not hauling mine up)...so I don't want to ding it up toooo bad. 

I'm going up in a week for my anniversary. My wife really enjoys fishing, but I'm expecting it to be packed...and I know she wont enjoy combat fishing. I am thinking that if we made an afternoon out of a little float with a picnic lunch it could be nice. 

What would you do for motor? I will have the gas on no matter what, but would you use it just for pushing back upstream, or keep it on at all times for obstacle avoidance?


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I have fished the river for many years - but a lot less the last few years.:sad:

You can run it in a 12 foot aluminum boat, but you need to understand that with the low levels right now, you are almost guaranteed to hit logs somewhere. I use a 16 foot large rowboat, with a 20 hs longshaft. I hit stuff every time I am on the river, and sometimes I shear pins. And I don't run the river at the level it is at right now - doesn't seem to be much point, since there aren't many fish. But the water is about as low as I have ever seen it, right now. 

But if you want to do it, here are a few suggestions. 
1) leave your motor unlocked, so when you smack a log, the motor will be able to bounce over it.
2) have a good anchor system, that allows you to drop the anchor right where you want to be, and will hold you there until you are ready to pull it and move on.
3) have good floatation stuff. I don't hear about people drowning in boating accidents on this river much, but I don't want to hear that about you.
4) have a plan for where you will launch, and where you will take out. I normally put in at the Whirlpool, run upstream as far as I want to go (fishing along the way, and often I go all the way to the dam), and then work my way back downstream. That way I can float back down if I have motor problems. It has happened to me before. 
5) If you have an older motor, make sure you have some spare shear pins and cotter pins, before you launch. If you have a newer motor, with the rubber bushing that spins if you hit something hard, make sure you have a spare prop along. 
6) Get a handle extension for the motor, if you can. This will allow you to stand up while you are under way, and you can see stuff in the water better standing, than you can sitting. If you hit something with the boat, while you are standing, the chances are a lot better of you getting tossed overboard by the impact. Had that happen before, too. :lol:

By the way, the boating is a lot easier from the Whirlpool down, than going upstream from there. I don't just leave my motor running all of the time, but use it for moving both up and downstream. There are some nice places where you could pull over and have a streamside lunch with virtually nobody around. If you have 2 vehicles, you can launch, spot your towing vehicle downstream, and park the spare ride at the launch site. Just don't forget to pickup your spare when you leave.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Fishndude about summed it up, boat-wise. I really don't think it'll be crowded like your thinking, everybodys on the west-side fighting each other over the salmon. You will have plenty of room, believe me. The HB's will be about the only place that's gonna be crowded, unless there's a bunch of snaggers at Foote. I put in for a half day Friday, so I'll be up that afternoon, I plan on catching fish, see ya on the river.


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## jim84 (Mar 14, 2005)

i would do the lower part of river right now water is real low, ive canoe and boat it all the time. from the the dam to the mouth would take lunch and than some. Its should be a good trip from wp to the mouth you have a lot of water to fish. gl


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

maybe i'll take the ole evinrude. it takes shear pins. i'd hate to explain that the prop got lost in a deep hole because that stupid rubber cap popped off. 

what exactly were they thinking?? we have almost lost that prop too many times already.


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## fishing pal (Sep 21, 2007)

That's a pretty good way to do it and be safe at the same time. When I usually fish the Big A, I take my 14 ft aluminum cadillac and 9.9 evinrude, push upstream and drift back. Some good stretches to fish, but as far as the logs, just keep your motor in the unlocked postion and you should avoid shearing any pins when you do hit the logs. Plenty of them, bumped a few last Sat.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

I'll prolly start out at the WP and go upstream for a while then fish back down. I may take the trolling motor just because it's instant power. I never really looked at the launch there, but I've never launched in current. How difficult is it? 

Thanks for all your help...this is obviously my first time in a river with decent current. 

Wont be standing as my wife will be in the bow, she can tell me when I'm about to hit something, then I can yell at her for not telling me sooner. It's our anniversary, it's necessary to act like married people!!

Mostly I'm doin it without tellin my dad...that way when we go up steelheading, I can talk him in to floating from Foote to the WP and make my mom and wife move the trailer  

Maybe I'll just take my boat up there for winter.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Depending on how nice the day is, and how long you want to spend on the water, you can easily fish up to the dam, from the Whirlpool, and back again, in a day. Be ready to retie a bunch. You get a lot better drift standing in a boat, than you do standing waist-deep in the water. 

In my opinion an electric trolling motor would be useless on the river. I can't see that making headway in the heavier current areas.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Well, not only that but you have a much better vantage point.

Although I find that actually seeing the fish from a boat of some sort can sometimes be a bad thing. Just ask my best friend and canoeing partner. 

That brown was huge, and if I hadn't flipped us out of the canoe from moving so fast I might have caught it!


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## Weekender#1 (May 23, 2006)

Sure you can drift the lower AuSable. My suggestion is to take the boat to the Rea Rd launch, put the boat and gear in pull it up on shore leave you wife with it. Drive your car and trailer down to the Whirlpool launch and park it there. There are so many tourists that drive by you hitch a ride back to Rea road and drift it down to the car. The most enjoyable day on earth. When drifting down you hit very little, the prop damage comes when running upsteam. I have done this 4 times this summer for smallmouth, the hitchhiking bit adds to the excitment of the trip. There are many hidden holes and gravel bars that will give up some salmon I am sure. The lower end from Whirlpool to town is mainly sand and holds no fish to speak of. But they all go through it to get up stream. The action is from rea rd to Whirlpool.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Weekender#1 said:


> Sure you can drift the lower AuSable. My suggestion is to take the boat to the Rea Rd launch, put the boat and gear in pull it up on shore leave you wife with it. Drive your car and trailer down to the Whirlpool launch and park it there. There are so many tourists that drive by you hitch a ride back to Rea road and drift it down to the car. The most enjoyable day on earth. When drifting down you hit very little, the prop damage comes when running upsteam. I have done this 4 times this summer for smallmouth, the hitchhiking bit adds to the excitment of the trip. There are many hidden holes and gravel bars that will give up some salmon I am sure. The lower end from Whirlpool to town is mainly sand and holds no fish to speak of. But they all go through it to get up stream. The action is from rea rd to Whirlpool.


That soooo would not with my wife  

If my uncle could see, I'd ask him to spot me...but alas, he should not be out driving....even though he's still got his license.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

With 2 of you, you can spot your own vehicles, if you have 2 of them. Just park the vehicle you DON"T trailer your boat with downstream; then launch your boat at the upstream limit with that vehicle. Leave the extra person with the launched boat, and drive the trailering vehicle down to where your takeout is parked; park and lock that vehicle, and then drive your extra vehicle back to where you launched, and park it. It is simple to do, and takes a total of 20 minutes on the Ausable. 

When I used to fish the Ausable with my wife and daugthers, they did not like to spend as much time out as I do. So we took 2 vehicles, and parked one in the woods somewhere along the river. When they got too cold or tired of fishing, I would just motor to where their car was parked, and dropped them off - then I would proceed to fish for the rest of the day.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Unfortunately, only one vehicle at our disposal as well....not worth paying the extra gas to get both vehicles up. Plus, we can her car and I can make her drive whilst I sleep...makes it easier to get up and go to the pier at 4am.

If I was in better shape, I could do it on bike! lol


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## Ausable Junkie (Oct 2, 2002)

Put some polarized galsses on ur wife and make her 
the spotter at the bow. Whenever i motor up that stretch,
i always got a buddy looking for dead heads.


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## Reel_Screamer86 (Mar 22, 2007)

Ausable Junkie said:


> Put some polarized galsses on ur wife and make her
> the spotter at the bow. Whenever i motor up that stretch,
> i always got a buddy looking for dead heads.


*If you have a jet you dont have to worry about it but i guess not everyone has one, and if you know the river well no spotter needed.......*








​


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## bigwak (May 28, 2005)

Ha, no fish from Whirlpool to town...nuts!


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## Ron Matthews (Aug 10, 2006)

*If you have a jet you dont have to worry about it but i guess not everyone has one, and if you know the river well no spotter needed.......*


Not Jet friendly up there! imo- You can do anything you want in a small boat If you can read it. I run a 16 jon w/15 hp prop for Many years w/out problems. You just have to be patient and go slow.

Jets don't do you any good as the river is NO wake from foote to no wake sign at the mouth..







[/quote]


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## Reel_Screamer86 (Mar 22, 2007)

Ron Matthews said:


> *If you have a jet you dont have to worry about it but i guess not everyone has one, and if you know the river well no spotter needed.......*
> 
> 
> Not Jet friendly up there! imo- You can do anything you want in a small boat If you can read it. I run a 16 jon w/15 hp prop for Many years w/out problems. You just have to be patient and go slow.
> ...


[/quote]
*What does a jet have to do with no wake...... And anyone that has fished that river knows its NO WAKE to the mouth..*​


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

I will never do that again.

At least not until my wife learns to tie her own knots 

She found it extremely funny when I slipped off a log that we bumped in to....oops. Glad I wore wool socks and polypro long undies...the water is a little chilly  

Saw lots of fish, most looked very rough, a few fresh ones, but not what I was hoping for after this cold snap and last weeks rain...didn't catch anything. 

As for was it a good trip, it was, but if anyone's considering doing it I suggest a few things...

1) A very heavy anchor. I do not know what size anchor I have for that boat, but I know it wasn't big enough to stop us in decent current.

2) Make sure your oar locks are in good condition...it's not good to get on the river and realize that you can't get an oar into the oar lock then spend fifteen minutes with a knife trying to drill the hole a little bigger....not good at all.

3) A motor is useful, but DEFINATELY keep free it so it will tilt...it saved me a couple of times.

4) There are strange vertical pilings in various places throughout that river, right now they are about six inches under water...just low enough that they dont disturb the surface but high enough that they scare the heck out of you when you can't get out of the way in time.

and 5) Make sure your wife knows how to tie knots, I didn't get to fish much 

We still had a great time, and I have to give a plug for AuSable River Store and their spotting service, they were great. I just called them the day before and they were all set for us when we told them we'd be there.


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## Reel_Screamer86 (Mar 22, 2007)

snowman11 said:


> I will never do that again.
> 
> At least not until my wife learns to tie her own knots
> 
> ...


Snowman:
Dont get discouraged the more you go the better it gets, as for the anchor yes you need a good sized one (i have a chain that weighs 74lbs)and sometimes in the faster spots its still not enough...Yes you should make sure all your eqip is up to snuff because that river can be dangerous, and for those pilings that are vertical those will get you everytime..And Len at the store is one nice guy he pretty much will go out of his way to help...

Glad you had a goodtime its always not about the catching its just getting out..... 
​


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

how do you have the chain set up? Just to drag then pull up portions of it for a faster or slower drift?


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Nope. Chain anchors lie down on the bottom, and if you drop one into some logs, you can almost always pull it back out easily. I have an extension built on the front of my boat, which extends the chain out from the bow, and also raises it up some, so it doesn't drag in the water (which throws spray when you are under-way). I also use 65# of chain, and it stops my 16 foot aluminum boat nicely - and holds it in strong currents. 

Yeah, when I mentioned that I usually run upstream and then back down, I forgot to say that it helps you find those deadheads when you are moving slowly, so you can remember them when you are cruising back down, going with the current. :lol:
Those are lumbering-era logs - you can tell by the square-cut ends on them; and they have been in the river for a very long time. I know where they are, for the most part, and can avoid them in the dark. The river is very low right now, and alot of what you were hitting, you could normally drive over safely. 

If your motor was working, why did you need oarlocks? I just have oars in my boat. I have never put them into the 6 wets of oarlocks on the boat.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Hey FishnDude...you got an ability to take a picture of that rig for the chain, or even possibly lettin me stop over and see it? I see I'm close. 

I prefer the oars over the motor. It's a more relaxing way to float. I used the motor when we decided we were done...and at a couple of "tricky" spots. One being the big bend by the first camp on the left hand side of the river. I let the boat sorta guide itself through that...the current spun us in a circle once


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