October 1, 2008 – 10:15 am
Instead of doing the Gates Clean up this year a few of us decided to go down to Mio and do a float and clean trip on a stretch of the Au Sable that really needs all the help it can get. The Trophy Waters get pounded by canoe traffic and those of you that have spent some time down there can attest to the amount of non organic crap that ends up in the river as a result of a summers worth of canoe trips.
We opted to do the Au Sable Big Waters Preservation Association sponsored clean up instead of the Au Sable Angler gig. (For those that don’t know, he ASBWPA is a new group dedicated to protecting the Trophy Waters below Mio all the way to Alcona dam. See them at ASBWPA)
Our beat was to float from Mio boat launch to Comins Flats. Originally we figured we’d just be collecting bags left by the wading groups but the place was such a mess that we took our time and ended up scouring the banks in the areas where there was no wade support. Long story short, the amount of trash we picked up amounted to 14 bags between the two boats plus some larger items and we had to stop half way through because of time.
I think the total turn out was about fifty people. I hear the Gates clean up had around 300. Maybe next year we can help add to the 50. Its a great opportunity to meet the people that fish that stretch and learn some secrets. Plus, the ASBWPA had some great door prizes for the participants (Sage Z-Axis sound good?) as well as a BBQ afterwards.
Here’s some of our pics from the clean up:
October 1, 2008 – 7:56 am
Yes they are quite unattractive. Ask anyone that has been lucky enough to get one on the fly and they will tell you that the battle is well worth having to come face to face with anything this hideous.
This one came from the Portage River though I’m not gonna say where.
August 14, 2008 – 9:20 am
The Au Sable River Clean Up is here again. If you haven’t participated in this before I strongly encourage you to attend this year. Anglers of the Au Sable or Gates Au Sable Lodge can help you get signed up for a “beat”. Pre-registration is strongly recommended. There are several beats available on the North, Main, and South Branches of the Au Sable system. Non-fishers are welcome too!
There are also beats available in the Trophy Water below Mio. To get set up with one of those contact the Au Sable Big Waters Protection Agency (ASBWPA). As a bonus, those that sign up for the Mio beats are entered in a drawing to win some really nice prizes. Click the link to find out more.
Both events are followed up by a BBQ and a chance to meet new friends, see some old friends, and tell fishing stories.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A federal judge has overturned a decision by the U.S. Forest Service to allow oil and gas drilling in an environmentally sensitive area near the Au Sable River in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula.
U.S. District Judge David Lawson of Detroit ruled Thursday the agency had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in 2005 by giving Savoy Energy LP of Traverse City a permit to drill an exploratory well near the river’s south branch.
Read more here… http://news.aol.com/story/_a/us-judge-blocks-gas-drilling-in-mason/n20080711174609990005
The NBB spring outting to Rockwell was a few weeks ago. Sorry for the late report but I was hoping to get some pics to go along with the write up I got from one of our new members. Apparently no one had their camera or those that did opted to leave it in the car due to the fact that it was kind of rainy. Big thanks to Scott for the write up. Here it is:
From a Flyfishing Novice: Rockwell is the Ultimate Learning Lab!
I admit it. I never caught a trout in my life before this trip. I was scared to take the trip because I was, ultimately, afraid of my lack of knowledge and skill. Jim gave me a few pointers and I caught my first trout ever in five minutes on a Brassie I tied myself. I shouted so loud I freaked out some poor guy walking down the stream. He immediately forgave my breach of etiquette when I informed him that it was my first ever.
When I thought of this trip, I was overwhelmed by the idea of some huge trout stream that I’d have to walk a half mile down to find a good place to fish. Nothing could be further from the truth! Picture two snakes curled end on end compressed into several acres. The stream was 5 feet to fifteen feet wide in some places and crystal clear. You could see the trout stacked up and ready to catch. It looked way too easy. The problem was that the fish could see you and everything you cast at them as well. They were some tricky fish. You had to cast sideways and only about a few rod lengths for any given section.
The weather was full of clouds and sprinkles, but that helped as well.
I caught several trout on my own brassies and one given to me by a club member. I also caught several on a dry, white Poly Caddis. Other members found the dry flies effective as well. I watched one member a few bends of the stream up from me catch several trout in a few minutes on an ant pattern.
The highlight of the trip had to be the surprise catch of the day. We had all piled into the dining room to dry out, swap lies (uh fish stories), and eat. The rain had returned. In the middle of all this, Jim storms into the room and says “Hey, anyone got a camera? I just caught a 30 inch steelie and wanna take a picture.” Only dedicated fisherman would leave a hot meal for a cold rain to admire a fish! And it was worth admiring. Congrats to Jim for his catch and many thanks for his help and the help of others to this novice.
As many of you already know the white bass are in pretty thick right now in the Maumee. For us fly anglers it seems the big trick is (no surprise) water clarity and hitting it on a day when there actually is some. Mike and I hit it last Friday and there was 4-6″ of visibility. Needless to say, if you werent drifting minnows you weren’t doing too well. Mike went back to the Maumee last night to find a river that had dropped and cleared significantly and proceeded to hammer ‘em.
White bass flies are pretty simple… almost anything white. Clousers and other bucktail patterns with some flash should work well. Maumee Bait and Tackle gives them a few more weeks until they head back out to the lake so get out there and enjoy before they’re gone.
The following posts are taken from the FFF Clubwire, The Federation of Flyfishers club newsletter.—— If you wish to read the entire newsletter, click here: http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4362
FFF Affiliate Clubs … special rate until April 15, 2008 (Now extended to June 30, 2008)
Join forms have been created for the special rate promotion. All information is now posted to the FFF web site and can be found on the following page http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4676
The rod incentive program information is also available on the same page.
• New memberships will qualify for credits towards New Member Rod Incentive Program during this promotion period. Not for use with pre-paid version of incentive program
• This is not for FFF membership renewals – New to FFF only
EDIT: I was misinformed about this meeting. It seems that the ODNR only meant to invite a few people from the clubs in OH. I apologize for misunderstanding the initial invite. I will post a report on the summit when we get back. If you have questions or an issue that you would like to bring to the table at the summit, PLEASE feel free to email your questions and issues to: nbbffc@gmail.com
We (NBB) have been invited to the ODNR’s Trout and Steelhead Summit. I recieved an email form the ODNR’s Fish Supervisor last week to notify us of the event. Here is part of the email:
“We would like to invite your club to participate in a Trout / Steelhead Summit on July 26, 2008. At this summit we will be giving our trout anglers an overview of our trout programs and inviting attendees to provide input on any changes they would like to see or tell us what they like about our current program. We will also be addressing common issues such as access to our trout streams in Ohio. One of the purposes of this meeting is to get our trout anglers more organized or to open up better communications with our agency.”
April 25, 2008 – 11:48 am
Thanks to everyone that came out to check out the tour. I think it went pretty well. We signed up four new members for the NBB and I’m sure that Mad River TU did pretty well too. Thanks to Tom from the “TU Madmen”for doing A LOT of driving to come up for the show. It was great to meet him after speaking to him via email for over a month getting things together. Hopefully everyone got a chance to get one of the Mad River maps he had. If you didn’t get one check with me and I’ll get with Tom and see what I can do. Tom sent me a pic of one of the TWO 20″ fish he got on the Mad during a hennie spinner fall. Sounds like a good time to be on the Mad!
Here’s a few pics from the show. Thanks to Dave S for being club photo dude.
Here’s a rare movie marquis for Toledo!
Can I get one of these posters?
“Where do I get tickets for this thing?”
Tom signing TU members for FREE!
April 25, 2008 – 11:32 am
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