# Au sable river foote dam



## PDJ (Dec 3, 2008)

Hi guys. I am going to oscoda to go camping this weekend and would like to do some fishing. I will be down from the foote damn and would like to know what kind of fish to fish for this time of year and what kind of lures and or bait to use. Thanks guys.


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## bowhuntr81 (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice area...do what I did...grab your rod and favorite tackle and go give it a try. Nothing to lose. I've caught alot of smallmouth up there.


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## oldrank (Dec 5, 2006)

steelhead


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Go drift crawlers at the dam in the morning. You'll hook walleye, suckers, dropbacks, smallies, and carp.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

ausable_steelhead said:


> Go drift crawlers at the dam in the morning. You'll hook walleye, suckers, dropbacks, smallies, and carp.


That's a blast! I might be showing my age here, but I remember when you could fish above the coffer and we'd be up there for a few days after Memorial Day and it was just awesome how many different fish you could catch just drifting a crawler in that turbine flow. Big smallies, a skam or two (when it used to get planted), spring fish, walters, browns, sheepies, etc....


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## Zofchak (Jan 10, 2003)

There's usually a few steelies still swimming around Memorial Day Weekend, especially in the deeper runs. I've had my best luck with #2 or # 3 Mepps spinners with chrome blades. The small planted ones can be an issue this time of year, so make sure to take some hemostats with you.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

> That's a blast! I might be showing my age here, but I remember when you could fish above the coffer and we'd be up there for a few days after Memorial Day and it was just awesome how many different fish you could catch just drifting a crawler in that turbine flow. Big smallies, a skam or two (when it used to get planted), spring fish, walters, browns, sheepies, etc....


You can do most of that below, driftin' the slow holes with crawlers. It seems like a few skams sometimes wander into the A still. I've seen them from July to September, up in the spill. I also caught one last fall, and know of one other. They both ended up being from WI though, according to the stocking database; and the clips.



> There's usually a few steelies still swimming around Memorial Day Weekend, especially in the deeper runs. I've had my best luck with #2 or # 3 Mepps spinners with chrome blades. The small planted ones can be an issue this time of year, so make sure to take some hemostats with you.


Late May can be hit or miss on the A. Some years there's a lot of fish still around, and others, there's hardly any. I did alright last spring around Memorial day on the Au Sable. I landed 5 steelhead, including a 31" dropback and a 9lb hen FULL of eggs. I also got some nice smallies(tubes), and there's always walleyes around.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

thousandcasts said:


> That's a blast! I might be showing my age here, but I remember when you could fish above the coffer and we'd be up there for a few days after Memorial Day and it was just awesome how many different fish you could catch just drifting a crawler in that turbine flow. Big smallies, a skam or two (when it used to get planted), spring fish, walters, browns, sheepies, etc....


Years ago I was fishing there in early June for Skams, and drifting crawlers under a bobber. For a few hours, with only a few little Smallies to show, when my float (darnit, they have me doing it, now ) dived, and I set the hook on a nice fish. It fought well, and flashed white, but looked strange when I rolled it over the coffer to fight it down and land it. It turned out to be a nice Channel Cat - maybe 10#, and was very clean, so I roped it. Went back and started smacking the Kittys. After I had 5 I asked someone else what the limit was, and he told me *50*!
It kind of scared me to think about trying to haul 50 of those out, and clean em, so I C&R'd a bunch more, and left with 5. They were okay to eat, but were real fatty when I fileted them. I used to catch a lot of large Carp up there on spawnbags, fishing for Skams. And, of course, there were LOTS of Skams when they were planted. They were really on and off for biting, but when it was on, it was ON - but real tough to land them. They seemed turbocharged up there, with all the bubbles in that water, or something. Man, that was fun.


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## slammer00 (Mar 7, 2002)

There should be some steelies around. Was up this past sunday and hooked into a few, just gotta do some searching around.


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## wyldkat49766 (Apr 21, 2007)

Bring LOTS of skeeter spray.....


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## jayzbird (May 19, 2005)

wyldkat49766 said:


> Bring LOTS of skeeter spray.....


 
I do agree...Monday and Tuesday were horrible. Just bout got carried off. There are still some Steelhead in the river. Hooked up on a few of em within eyesight of the dam. Still plenty of suckers there also. Take a little stroll down the river and look around some logs, there are quite a few nice smallmouth to be had and season opens Saturday.


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