Discuss this article at TalkFlyFishing.com Au Sable River: A River of Diversity by Steve Clark I feel blessed to live in the state of Michigan, and the number one reason I feel that way is because of a single flow of water that starts in the middle of the state and flows eastward all the way to Lake Huron. What’s the name of this body of water, you may ask…simple enough -  The Au Sable River. The Au Sable gets its name from the Indians that used to make the small towns along the mighty rivers course their homes. The river flows over a huge mass of sand and was given the name 'Au Sable', meaning: "River Of Sand."  There are many rivers in the state of Michigan, so I’m sure you''re asking yourself what makes the Au Sable so special? Well, I can sum that up in one simple word - diversity. There are great rivers scattered throughout the state but in my opinion none of them match up to what the Au Sable has to offer in fish species or water types, as well as scenery. Starting just North of the town of Grayling, two small, cold feeder creeks (Bradford Creek and Kolka Creek) merge together to form one moving body of water known as the Au Sable. In these upper reaches of the Au Sable before it flows through the town of Grayling, the river is a small, brushy shallow stream that is barely knee-deep in spots, and is too small and brush-lined for fly fishing. Although it is too small and hard to fly fish in the extreme upper reaches, there are some anglers that use small spin rods and bait to entice small but beautiful brook trout from the tiny stream. As the mighty river pushes through the town of Grayling it goes through a stretch of water that is aptly named “The Holy Waters.” It is named this because there really is no more beautiful water to be found anywhere in the world than in this stretch. Everything just “comes together” in this stretch to form the most perfect section of river a fly angler could wish for…wild, beautiful brookies, vividly striped rainbows and honey-colored browns; clean water so pure you could just about drink from it, thick wooded banks with wild Iris growing at water's edge… simply heaven, hence the name Holy Waters. The trout in this section of the river are healthy, clean and carry vivid colors on them. They are truly wild fish that belong in the stream for all of us to enjoy. Moving downstream a number of miles you come to an area of the river where it branches off to form the South Branch of the Au Sable. This begins the start of the truly big Brown Trout the Au Sable is world famous for producing. Every summer on warm, late June and early July nights, you will find anglers from as far away as California, sitting on logs out in the river in the middle of the night, just waiting for the sounds of the huge fluttering hatches of the bugs the Au Sable is known for….the Hexagenia Limbata, or just plain hex hatch. It is at this time of year that the twenty-plus inch Browns of the Au Sable throw caution to the wind to rise to a struggling hex trying to break free of the water surface and take flight, or as they are falling back to the surface after mating, once again tempting the monsters lurking below the surface. Once the Au Sable reaches the outer limits of Grayling Township and heads a bit more easterly it backs up behind Mio Dam in the town of Mio and creates an impoundment. This impoundment behind the Mio Dam gives up some very healthy Walleye as well as some pretty decent Smallmouth Bass and yet still provides some very active fishing for Browns and Rainbows. On the other side of the dam in Mio the river changes yet again from an impoundment back to a swift moving trout stream. The look of the river as it flows under the bridge directly below the dam, and then as it swirls around a bend and out of sight, would make you think you were out West in Montana for a moment. The river is wide and fast and flows over a bottom of pretty decent sized rocks, much like a western river would. Mio is also known as the bear capitol of Michigan, so you may have company in the woods along the river's edge, much like a western river as well. This section of the river all the way to McKinley Bridge (around 12 miles) is what is sanctioned as “the trophy waters”, and for good reason; there are Browns that live in this section of the river that would make a grown man jump out of his boots if he saw one up close. The river here is wide, the holes are much deeper and this section of the river can be down right dangerous to an angler who doesn’t exercise extreme care. This is a MUCH different river than it was only 20 miles upstream in Grayling, yet it is still the same water that flows through the town. Each year there are a large number of Browns caught here that actually stretch a two-foot tape measure beyond its limits; the photos in the fly shops around Mio show anglers holding twenty-eight to thirty-inch browns with sagging bellies are normal fare for the serious spring streamer anglers that float the river. Have I ever caught one of those monsters?... Sadly, not yet, but I have seen Browns up close; fish so large they made the hair on the back of my neck stand up while I watched them chase small rainbows across the shallow flats in the spring; that memory fuels me to go back year after year.  Once out of Mio, now flowing past the 4001 bridge, the river is again very wide and western looking in appearance. This section of the river experiences maybe 10% of the angler traffic that the rest of the river gets, and is a pure joy to fish on a warm summer day even if the fish aren’t biting. Although the fishing can be quite good for both trout and smallmouth in this area I have enjoyed many a day just sitting on the shore watching the world go by with the current as I took in the fact that I had a whole section of river to myself without another soul in sight, for the whole day! As the river backs up behind Alcona Dam just downstream, the impoundment behind the dam offers walleye and smallmouth action. Just below the dam the river returns to the look of a trout stream, but it gets a bit more interesting here. Although there are trout (both brown and rainbow) in the section below Alcona Dam, the main quarry is Smallmouth Bass. Floating the river and fishing streamers will produce some of the fattest and healthiest fifteen to twenty-inch smallmouth you'll ever see, and a good number of them as well. A good day floating this section will have around twenty smallies in that range bending your rod. Moving six to eight miles downstream brings you into the different impoundments created by the many power-generating dams on the Au Sable, and the mighty free flowing river that twists and turns its way through the woods now becomes more of a series of long, narrow lakes with a current. The impoundments are no longer home to the trout that thrive in the upper reaches but become a wonderful warm-water fishery. Smallmouth Bass up to twenty-four inches can be coaxed out of the many rocky weed points, Northern Pike over three feet in length can be lured out of the many weed beds, Perch that tape out at fifteen inches; Largemouth Bass, Crappie, panfish of all sorts, Bowfin, Catfish and any other warm water species can all be found in the impoundments in excellent numbers and sizes. This should be more than enough to keep any angler happy, but we’re not done yet, there’s still one more section of river to discuss before the mighty Au Sable reaches its destination at the mouth of the river on Lake Huron. Farther downstream you reach the final impoundment, behind Foote Dam. This body of water holds the same warm-water fish that the other impoundments hold, but it is what’s on the other side of the dam from October through May that gets any true cold-water angler's blood pumping. Big, strong chrome bullets, fresh from Lake Huron! Late September the Chinook Salmon start running the river and taking over shallow gravel beds to do their spawning business. These fish are upwards of twenty pounds, and some go a bit over that weight and can really put a hurtin’ on the arm of an angler that seeks them out with a fly rod in the fall. A leaping King Salmon against a backdrop of fall colors at the water's edge makes for a wonderful day on the river. After the salmon have spawned and died off, the true chrome bullets enter the river about late October; although some stay all winter, once March hits they are joined by huge numbers of their brothers and sisters commonly known as "Steelhead." The steelhead of the Au Sable are some of the healthiest and hardest-fighting fish I have ever had the pleasure to introduce my Harris reel to; they seem to jump and be a bit more acrobatic than steelhead of most other rivers I have fished. There is no better way to welcome in a new Spring season than to find a spot on the Au Sable with fresh chrome darting back and forth in the water, just waiting for me to drift my egg and nymph combo close by for them to inhale. All told, a great river and a great way to enjoy one of our most exciting fisheries. Experience this fishery if you can! So there you have it, the number one reason Michigan is called a Sportsman’s Paradise…from Brown, Rainbow & Brook trout, to Smallmouth bass and Pike, to Catfish, Bowfin & Carp, and ending up with Chrome Steelhead and Salmon fresh from the Great Lakes you will find it all in the Au Sable river, it truly is a river of diversity. Hatches Magazine Subscription Price: $6.95 for each issue The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.