# Au Sable river, 1-10-14



## twbeyes

That's what I wanted to know my dads 1st one. Thanks guys will be back up in a few days probley with the boat. I've been intching to get it out!!!


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## jacks300ultra

Thinking about hitting the river saturday, but I don't want to waste my time (2 hour drive). What do ya'll think. Is t worth the drive? Feel free to pm.

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## Burksee

Great report, story and pics! Thanks for sharing Jon!


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## Fishndude

It's going to be cold Saturday, and colder Sunday. Good luck, if you go. Dress warmly. If memory serves, we had a bit of a warmup last Friday.


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## GrizzlyAdams237

I'll be out again Saturday went out last Sunday during the warm up didn't catch anything.


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## jacks300ultra

Sounds like that'd be my best bet, as l was going to head to ohio but most of there rivers are frozen or muddy to my knowledge

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## herb09

The river is in good shape, steady flows the last few days has helped. But your gonna have to work for fish there pretty scattered. There's a lot of fight in them when you do hook up.

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## Fishndude

Is the river open for boating down in town, Herb? Nice fish.


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## herb09

Yea the launch is plowed no problem getting in.

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## jacks300ultra

Ill be there in the morning with my brother, and dad. Ill be sure to give a report by the end of the day.


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## ausable_steelhead

Slow..slow...slow. Very hit or miss up top, and the hits are mostly well colored. I only hooked 5 fish in two days, and those hookups took some doing. Herb got a couple nice males today though. He's also got a vendetta out on a certain male in a certain slow pool...lol.


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## twbeyes

I'll be out in the morning too. Make sure everybody supports the local bait shops guys ,every little helps this time if the year!!!!


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## herb09

ausable_steelhead said:


> Slow..slow...slow. Very hit or miss up top, and the hits are mostly well colored. I only hooked 5 fish in two days, and those hookups took some doing. Herb got a couple nice males today though. He's also got a vendetta out on a certain male in a certain slow pool...lol.


Always fun Jon hopefully next week is better.

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## jacks300ultra

Things are defiantly going slow today. We've only seen 1 fish and he be yet to hook up. Heading in to get lunch and figure out a new plan of attack

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## twbeyes

Yeah nothing but slow for me I'm 0/1 ,gonna fish the Lower


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## GrizzlyAdams237

Our crew went 0/1 today.


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## jacks300ultra

We saw 3 Steelies today swirling around in a big whole. But no hookups for us today. 

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## twbeyes

What the heck!!! I hit one fish today I fished all over upper, the middle, and the lower the only fish I hit was at the damn. Hmmm go figure lost it half way in.


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## jacks300ultra

It was definatly a tough day to be on the river.

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## cmuchip989

GrizzlyAdams237 said:


> Our crew went 0/1 today.




2/3 of the crew was just in the way! Sill learning to cast. :lol:


......another snag.:rant:


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## ausable_steelhead

Can you guys who are not familiar with the river stop using 10lb test? The runs are considerably snaggier than they've been, and most are line snags. 

You can feel the stretch and stuttered-pulls compared to just solid resistance a log gives. I lost 1/2 my spool of line and atleast 8-9 pencils this week; that's crazy! All you need on the Au Sable river is 6lb main and 6 or 5lb leader. If you're scared to hook steelhead on 6lb, go ice fishing...


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## Fishndude

ausable_steelhead said:


> Can you guys who are not familiar with the river stop using 10lb test? The runs are considerably snaggier than they've been, and most are line snags.
> 
> You can feel the stretch and stuttered-pulls compared to just solid resistance a log gives. I lost 1/2 my spool of line and atleast 8-9 pencils this week; that's crazy! All you need on the Au Sable river is 6lb main and 6 or 5lb leader. If you're scared to hook steelhead on 6lb, go ice fishing...


I also hate the "slow grab" you get with line snags. Then you feel the line catching, sliding, catching, sliding as you pull on it. If people are leaving big long trails of line on snags, then *they need to replace their mainline*, and make sure the leader line they are using breaks before the mainline. Jon, you know I fish heavier tackle than you prefer to, but I almost never leave long trailers of line in the water. It totally sucks to have a good run ruined by multiple 20 foot lines waving in the current from snags. It is inevitable that snags will occur in the Ausable. The lower river has a lot less wood than the upper, but there are snags throughout. Anytime I break my mainline, before my leader, I either quit using that rod, or switch spools, or just use lighter leader until I can change out my mainline (that night). I don't get to go fishing nearly as much as I used to, but when I fished a lot, I would change my mainline every 6 - 10 days of fishing. Gas is expensive. Line is cheap. When you hookup, you will be glad for good fresh line, as well. 
I have literally seen good runs/holes ruined for drift fishing for a whole year from long lines hanging off snags. The fish can still hang out in those places (and they surely do), but you can't get a decent drift for all the lines. 

I will add that I normally use 10/8, with Maxima Ultragreen for the mainline. I almost never break my mainline, but I often bend or break hooks pulling them off snags. Not breaking hooks off, mind you. I actually bend/break hooks where they bend. When I go "light," I use 8# Ultragreen mainline, and 8# flourocarbon for leader - and the flouro breaks before the UG. Gotta have the right tools when you hook a real beast, and from the sounds of it, there are a few of those around the Ausable, again. For my float setup, I just bumped my mainline up to 15#, from 12#, last fall. It sucks even more to leave a 6 or 8 foot length of line out there, with a bobber fastened to the upper end of it. Holy drift killer! :yikes:

Also, if you are snagging constantly, you are using too much weight. Period. Lighten up, raise your rod tip higher during your drift, and LEAD YOUR LINE DOWNSTREAM as you drift. Keep your rod tip downstream of your line. You get a much better drift, and can feel bites much better this way. If you aren't leading your line with your rod tip, why bother moving your rod during your drift at all? I sometimes go real light on my weight, and hold my rod tip straight up over my head, with my arms extended all the way. You can get an amazing drift, and can feel your weight "walk" along the bottom. It is a tough thing to do for a long time, but in certain situations I will "high stick" my drifts. You will feel bites you would have never known about doing this.


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## ausable_steelhead

Fishndude said:


> I also hate the "slow grab" you get with line snags. Then you feel the line catching, sliding, catching, sliding as you pull on it. If people are leaving big long trails of line on snags, then *they need to replace their mainline*, and make sure the leader line they are using breaks before the mainline. Jon, you know I fish heavier tackle than you prefer to, but I almost never leave long trailers of line in the water. It totally sucks to have a good run ruined by multiple 20 foot lines waving in the current from snags. It is inevitable that snags will occur in the Ausable. The lower river has a lot less wood than the upper, but there are snags throughout. Anytime I break my mainline, before my leader, I either quit using that rod, or switch spools, or just use lighter leader until I can change out my mainline (that night). I don't get to go fishing nearly as much as I used to, but when I fished a lot, I would change my mainline every 6 - 10 days of fishing. Gas is expensive. Line is cheap. When you hookup, you will be glad for good fresh line, as well.
> I have literally seen good runs/holes ruined for drift fishing for a whole year from long lines hanging off snags. The fish can still hang out in those places (and they surely do), but you can't get a decent drift for all the lines.
> 
> I will add that I normally use 10/8, with Maxima Ultragreen for the mainline. I almost never break my mainline, but I often bend or break hooks pulling them off snags. Not breaking hooks off, mind you. I actually bend/break hooks where they bend. When I go "light," I use 8# Ultragreen mainline, and 8# flourocarbon for leader - and the flouro breaks before the UG. Gotta have the right tools when you hook a real beast, and from the sounds of it, there are a few of those around the Ausable, again. For my float setup, I just bumped my mainline up to 15#, from 12#, last fall. It sucks even more to leave a 6 or 8 foot length of line out there, with a bobber fastened to the upper end of it. Holy drift killer! :yikes:
> 
> Also, if you are snagging constantly, you are using too much weight. Period. Lighten up, raise your rod tip higher during your drift, and LEAD YOUR LINE DOWNSTREAM as you drift. Keep your rod tip downstream of your line. You get a much better drift, and can feel bites much better this way. If you aren't leading your line with your rod tip, why bother moving your rod during your drift at all? I sometimes go real light on my weight, and hold my rod tip straight up over my head, with my arms extended all the way. You can get an amazing drift, and can feel your weight "walk" along the bottom. It is a tough thing to do for a long time, but in certain situations I will "high stick" my drifts. You will feel bites you would have never known about doing this.


I can't remember the last time I snagged so damn much! Sometimes it didn't matter much where you varied your drift; still snag city. I know you use heavier line than me Breck, but you also know the Au Sable well, and where the drifts are in all the good runs. It's people either following tracks or stumbling onto runs and turning them into jungles. An experienced AS river rat KNOWS where to thread the needle. Always.

I've had more "full rig" breakoffs the last 2 trips than I've probably had the last 5 years combined! I usually break the leader-no big deal. The entire rig each time, gets annoying and frustrating. If you're new, after 2 consecutive snags, MOVE ON or change your drift. It's pointless and silly to continually make the same cast, drift and snag 10 times in a row. 

Breck makes a GREAT and overlooked point in running the correct weight. I've saw several dudes over the years, who damn near run the same weight no matter the water levels. A #1(1/4oz) pencil lead drifts great in average flows(1100-1400cfs). In low water(900-1000cfs), drop to a #0(1/8oz) and in anything above about 1500-1600; go with a #2(3/8oz). I'm normally a bit quiet on little things like this, as they in fact give you an edge over a lot of guys, but dammit, the snags are getting crazy. Rant off...lol.


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## Fishndude

I used to have a mold I made for pencil weights, but I loaned it to someone, and never got it back. I borrowed a mold from a buddy, last fall, and took it on my annual fall well-long Steelhead vacation. One day it rained hard all day long, so I stayed home and just made pencil weights. I probably have enough for the rest of my life. And before you start thinking I'm a wimp, let it be known that I have no problem fishing in wet weather. But that day was wet all day, and pouring rain for hours at a time. I have all the foul weather gear I need, and usually wear waders in my boat. Fishing in pouring rain for 8 hours sucks after the first hour, or two. Sometimes the fishing can be incredible in rain, though. I chose to make a lifetime supply of pencil weights instead. :lol: 

The real benefit of using pencil weights, is that you can tailor them to the drift you are fishing. Too much weight? Clip some off (I save the clippings and melt them down to make more weights). Too light? Get out a "fresh" larger weight, and tailor it to your situation. I have clipped pencil weights so they were 1/4" long to get the right drift. I always have some old needlenose pliers with me, when I fish. They will remove a hook nicely, too. Forceps don't always get the job done.

With all the cold weather we are having this winter, the snow is piling up, and the ground is full of frozen water - ice. When the spring runoff comes, it should be epic, and will wash a lot of those line snags away - along with the wood that causes the snags. It'll end of somewhere, but won't be ruining your drifts as much.


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## jacks300ultra

Couldn't have said it any better ausauble_steelhead

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## hamburger man

4 for 5 sat sun morning me and buddy two nice fich


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## herb09

hamburger man said:


> 4 for 5 sat sun morning me and buddy two nice fich


I seen your truck there. I was telling John if you pound that hole you'll catch fish. Good job in tough conditions.

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## MichiganStreamside

Great bite this weekend on Au Sable 5 for 8 yesterday! Small micro egg patterns and hex nymphs.


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## MichiganStreamside

Using floats for perfect snag free drifts right along the log pile. This was on a Great Lakes Shrimp pattern.


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## herb09

You look familiar.

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## ausable_steelhead

MichiganStreamside said:


> Using floats for perfect snag free drifts right along the log pile. This was on a Great Lakes Shrimp pattern.


A boat doesn't hurt either...lol. I'm taking a break from the upper; time to drop down. Nice fish Kelly...


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## hamburger man

thanks herb nice pick Kelly


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## Jayvelaz1130

In the past year of fishing the AS I didn't lose anything but my 6 lb. lead. My last two trips I lost everything from my main line down twice in two trips exact same hole. Both on fresh ultragreen. Anybody got any pics of mid river?


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## TheKing07

Post removed ...apologize for the rant !!!


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## Ron Matthews

MichiganStreamside said:


> Using floats for perfect snag free drifts right along the log pile. This was on a Great Lakes Shrimp pattern


someone leave the backdoor open? I figured you were banned for life:lol:
Great job Kelly, A new face is nice!


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## MichiganStreamside

Ron Matthews said:


> someone leave the backdoor open? I figured you were banned for life:lol:
> Great job Kelly, A new face is nice!


Its January Lets FISH Ron!!


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## Ron Matthews

I'd love to jump in the new ride you got, Damn That's Sexy!
You need to call it the Mackinaw after them pics I saw on your site.
I'll a howler at ya Bro!!!!


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## oldrank

Nice fish... good n chunky


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## MichiganStreamside

Jayvelaz1130 said:


> In the past year of fishing the AS I didn't lose anything but my 6 lb. lead. My last two trips I lost everything from my main line down twice in two trips exact same hole. Both on fresh ultragreen. Anybody got any pics of mid river?


At the current flows of 587 cfs and falling you can go clean out your favorite hole of snags now!


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## S.B. Walleyes&Waterfowl

Some nice fish indeed!

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