Fishing Report
The rivers are clear and the trout are pretty
01/31/11 I was skiing the other day and came across a couple of old fellows standing in the middle of the woods, Coors Lights in their hands, an old hunting dog sniffing around in the snow.
"Mild," I said.
"Yep," the one guy said.
"Welcome to Ohio," the other guy said. They smirked. I kept skiing.
It's 9:45 pm right now, and 41 degrees outside. The wind today had the sweet, northern smell of melting snow. I saw a single stonefly today. Nethers reported seeing a trout rise earlier this week. The forecast is for nothing but the same: mild, warm weather for the next 10 days. This weekend looks great. A good excuse to attend the Free Fly Tying Saturday this Saturday (details at bottom of the page).
Today, we floated. It was beautiful, though we hit the river about two hours later than we should have (my fault). The snow had melted by the river and the deer were sneaking beneath the cedars. Trout scattered from the sand flats. Matt blew us out of the water by catching this fish on about his third cast:
Today was good. WE caught fish out of nearly every deep hole using a variety of nymphs (the Squirrel Nymph and Trigger Nymph were best) and lighter than average split shot. The water is low and clear -- though it should be rising over the next few days as the snow melts -- and plunking down a single heavy shot wasn't cutting the mustard. Using several small split shot spread out over the leader seems to give nymphs a more natural drift. We hooked several fish on the swing too, as the flies lifted from the bottom. A sign that the water temperature really warmed up today.
We fished nymphs all day. Never tied on a streamer.
People have been out fishing. Tim sent me this picture of a rainbow he posed in the snow next to the water before quickly releasing it. This thing looks like a steelhead and is one of the heaviest rainbows I've seen from the Holy Waters:
And Ryan was out for a long float on this recent snowy Saturday on the big waters. The fishing was slow but three fresh inches of powder made the experience beautiful.
I got out one other day this week. I fished nymphs by my house for the last hour of daylight. It was a windy cold, cold day. The kind of humid winter day that gets between your skin and your clothes. I worked a pool that's been getting a fair bit of pressure lately. Fished down through it with a pair of big nymphs and heavy shot. Then, I tried it with a pair of weighted nymphs and no indicator. I did that until I snagged a log and lost the nymphs. It was late at that point, and I considered turning in. Snow had piled onto my shoulders and I had on my old bootfoot waders, the ones that are "highly water resistant". I was soaked. And not in a good place to be soaked. My hands were cold. I was alone. I loved it.
But I tied on a Red Copper John thinking I'd catch a rainbow, and caught this brown instead.
Such small victories linger.
There is a new Fortnightly Fly for your perusal: www.gateslodge.com/fortnightlyfly.php . It'll make you think of June!
Our next Free Fly Tying Saturday is on February 4th, at 9 am! That's this Saturday. Check out the forecast. Grab your fly rods. Nymph box. Streamer box. Tying kit. Come tying. Come fishing. It's looking good.
Note: the Free Fly Tying Day on Saturday, February 18th, has been rescheduled to February 25th! Full Schedule listed below:
Free Fly Tying Saturdays: They're back, and better than ever! Beginning on January 7th, we'll be hosting our popular free fly tying Saturdays beginning at 9 am. The schedule is listed below. It doesn't matter if you're an expert or novice. If you have a $600 vise, or don't know what a vise is. We'll help you tie the flies that you like to fish...for free. This is a great excuse to head north, eat some chili, get some help with your tying, and try out that winter fishing. We'll be tying the following Saturdays: February 4th, February 25th, March 3rd and March 17th
We're unabashedly gathering email addresses: join our email list! You'll be privy to more up-to-date fishing reports, random sales, and other good stuff you won't want to miss. Sign up at the upper left of this page, or the home page. Questions? Comments? Let us know...
Gates Lodge is actually on Facebook: Well, everyone else is, why not us? Join us at www.Facebook.com. Look up Gates Au Sable Lodge. We're new to Facebook -- especially me -- but some of the younger crew is helping me get the hang of it.
Fracking: Coming to a River Valley Near You!
Most folks are schooled on the environmental threats posed by hydraulic fracturing (aka "fracking") to collect natural gas from deep within the earth. What many don't know, however, is that right now there are fracking operations either being constructed or being planned along some of our favorite trout streams.
The above picture is of a new fracking operation near the Manistee River. What you see is just how great an interruption fracking is to the local flora and fauna. The above structure is about six stories tall. The land is now developed land. There are trailers here. And trucks coming and going daily, if not hourly. These are big operations, and there are more coming. As Anglers of the Au Sable Vice President John Bebow says, "this isn't your grandpa's oil well." There is no indication even that, when they're done with these sites, that they will be restored to a fragment of what they once were. These are huge developments, and they bring with them a host of issues to those of us who enjoy the tranquility and unfettered forests around trout streams.
I could go on and on about fracking. It has destroyed a number of watersheds. It is currently undergoing a huge PR push by energy companies hellbent on staying on the right side of this thing. Fracking in our area of Michigan likely won't affect the wells and streams like it has in Pennsylvania (watch Gasland -- gotta love being able to set your tap water on fire!) The geology is different. But it involves huge amounts of water. It involves fracturing the bedrock. There's lots of things we don't know about this thing.
The point of this little write-up has to do with monitoring. If something goes wrong with one of these fracking operations and a trout stream is polluted, the DNR won't know, the DEQ won't know, the State of Michigan won't know. NO ONE WILL KNOW, exept for Anglers of the Au Sable, which is currently funding a study to measure baseline data for water flow, temperature and chemical composition of our rivers for the specific purpose of making certain something doesn't slip past our noses as this locomotive known as fracking comes our way. Knowing that we -- meaning brothers and sisters of the angle -- have this data goes a long way to not only finding a problem, but also toward discouraging energy companies from not taking the extra steps to keep their practices clean.
A study/monitoring operation such as this is not free. It costs tons of money from folks like you, me, and everyone who wants to keep clean water clean, and to keep water in the rivers that we love. It's my opinion -- in the wake of all that has gone wrong with fracking -- that instilling this monitoring program will be one of the most important achievements of Anglers of the Au Sable, and it will require a little help from all of us to make it happen.
Please visit the Anglers of the Au Sable website to learn more about how to donate toward an organization that has and will continue to make a big difference on the waters that you love.
Anglers of the Au Sable founder and president Rusty Gates passed away on December 19, 2009.
Memorial Contributions: Memorial contributions can be made to the Anglers of the Au Sable or Heartland Hospice, P.O. Box 667, West Branch, MI 48661. To make contributions to the Anglers, please go to their website at www.ausableanglers.org and follow the directions on the front page.
© 2010 Gates Au Sable Lodge ▪ Website by Clear Creek Media LLC