# Wading below Mio???



## Stephen (Jan 5, 2003)

Guys,
I'm going to be up fishing for a few days next week on the Au Sable. I fished every branch quite a bit but never the water below Mio. I know it's much better to fish it in a boat but unfortunately mine is layed up with trailer issues. 

Is there any stretches down there you can wade from access to access or any stretch i can kill a few hours on? I'd also like to spend a night or two on the drakes down there a well. Not looking for honey holes just a few access spots to try out and maybe a hint of where i won't float my hat. Thanks for any help.

By the way fished the MO last night and there were sulphers, BWO's, Stones, caddis, with sporatic rises all over. However the birds were working the Gray drakes way up but they never fell. Stayed out until 10:00 and no spinner fall. Great to be out anyway. 

Steve


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## Kevin (Oct 4, 2000)

There is plenty of access to wade just downstream of the dam. Lots of people wade that area. There is a road on the north side of the river (don't remember the name of the road) which has campsites and trails down to the river.


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## HATCHBOMB (Oct 4, 2001)

You can wade in at the Perry Creek access and wade down to the meadows and walk back up thru the camping area. If you don't have a map of the accesses down there, stop by Bob's shop at 33 about 1/2 mile north of the river and ask them for directions. Amos is right, the road that follows to the north has many spots to access. But, you're sorta limited as to how far you can go. The distances between most access points are pretty big...


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Here's some great info on that stretch from another site

http://www.talkflyfishing.com/index.php?showtopic=9985


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

The launch in Mio is a good place to start but often there is heavy pressure. You can easily wade up river from Commins flats, water is shallow for quite a ways so you won't get wet. Perry Creek is an excellent access point with less likely hood of having 10 other guys near by. Trout unlimited has put in numerous trees as Trout Habitat, be a little more careful here though, potential to get wet is there. Like said before there are also a couple primitive camp sites that allow you to drive right up to the river. If you are after lots of action and not concerned about size, concentrate on Commins Flats and the launch in Mio, that is where they dump the plants and the fish stay around for a long time. If you are more concerned with catching a pig or two, happy hunting....


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## Stephen (Jan 5, 2003)

Guys,
Thanks for all the help. I've caught enough stockers in my life to...well you know the rest, so I guess I'll jump in and start hunting for the pigs. Any advice on fishing the drakes down there? Same timing / patterns for the upper river? Thanks again.
Steve


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

I've caught enough stockers in my life to...well you know the rest,

What "stockers" are you refering to? As far as I know the Ausable system is a wild trout fishery-there's no stocking. On the east branch in Grayling there's a a kids only fishing stretch that may be stocked but that's about it.


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## brookid (Aug 25, 2004)

...In alcona county alone they've dumped 41,000 fish into the system...check the 2005 stocking reports...

Brookid


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## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

I have to agree with the latter part of the thread. The water below mio dam is heavily stocked, it is like a starting point for small fish to go out and find a niche. That being said I have only twice caught fish there more than 12", with what feels like thousands of fish in the 5-6" range. 

So my advice is go further downstream than the dam. The road along the south bank is a bit rugged but you'll see more interesting things like bears if you like that sort of thing. 

The Mio dam is a great launch site and nice spot to practice casting because it is extremely wide. Water can be a bit fast at times.

If you really want to fly fish go the extra 30 minutes to the Holy Waters or Mason tract. imo


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## Stephen (Jan 5, 2003)

Didn't mean to start a debate on stocking of the Au Sable system, just meant little fish. Sorry, used to fishing the MO. 

I've fished throughout the entire Au Sable system except downstream from Mio. Just looking for new stuff. I've heard tales of big fish on drys down there. What can I say I'm a bit of an addict when to comes to browns on drys.....

Best luck to all.....


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

You're right I forgot about those.I was thinking of the Mainstream, North & South Branches above the Mio Dam. Of course the river below Foote dam gets stocked with steelhead right?
Stephan- just be careful though wadeable it's big water and you don't want to soak your hat. Good luck


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

EDW- Here is a link to the stocking info



http://www.michigandnr.com/fishstock/default.asp


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## snakebit67 (Oct 18, 2003)

isn't the commins area supposed to be considerd "trophy waters"?


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

Krull 
Thanx
I've checked that link before. Anyone recall when the DNR Stocked grayling down below MIO Dam? Around 1988-89? That was before the new regualtions went into effect regulating stream flow from the Dams.That experiment went nowhere unfortunately.
From what I know the water below Mio is considered trophy water- due to the size of the river and larger fish- a lot of Michigan streams have improved dramatically since the stream flows got regulated on dams allowing for better habitat & insect/food growth.


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## Krull (Mar 29, 2005)

I believe the Grayling were put in in the early 90's but I could be wrong. From what I remember they didn't last very long, the size (very small) of the Grayling was a big issue, as from a lot of accounts I heard the big browns were hammering them. I never caught one and fished it quite extensively. The area is considered a quality fishing area from Mio to McKinnely Bridge, with size limitations, 15" Browns, 12" Rainbows with a 2 fish per day limit, artificial lures and flies only. There are a lot of giant Browns and Rainbows in that stretch, but you really have to work for them and get through all the dinks. Most of the big ones I hear about are caught the first couple weeks of the season, and most are taken on hardware.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

My 1st Flyfishing trip to the Ausable was 1989- fished the river by Grayling(holy waters). On the way home we went to Mio & went to the public access below the dam-there was a sign alerting anglers to grayling being planted. 
I caught a couple of Grayling out of Kneff lake in 1992-those were plants and by now have died off. Took them on flies.Missed a lot of strikes due to the way they roll on a dry fly.
Stephan-if you go down there look into this method it's supposed to be effective for large trout:
Use a sinking line,short leader-and large streamers-cast to dark holes & by cover like logs etc... really smack the fly hard on the cast then strip it in as fast as you can. This triggers an agressive response in the trout. Kelly Galloup formerly of Traverse City and Bob Linseman are known for this technique. Linseman has a flyshop & guide service in Mio you might want to drop in there. I've been lucky enough to catch a couple big browns this way- I used a sink tip line though as I do not have a full sinking line.


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