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2010 TROPHY LIST

2009 TROPHY LIST

2008 TROPHY LIST

2007 TROPHY LIST

2006 TROPHY LIST

Bob's Tips

 

Marv Miller - 24 1/2 - Nov. 26, 2011

Bob, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed Streamer School last Sunday. We didn't land any monsters, but we moved a lot of fish and I learned more in one day than I've figured out in twenty years on my own. A big part of the learning was seeing some of my favorite wading spots from the perspective of a drift boat... I'll never fish them the same again.  
Thank you, 
Dave Shotwell

2012 STREAMER SCHOOLS

Our  spring 2012 Streamer Schools will be on April 15 and April 22. These dates will allow students more time to apply what they learn and really enjoy the peak of the early season streamer bite. We limit enrollment in our schools to 8 students to ensure personal attention and a high quality experience, so please reserve your place as soon as you can. The cost is $275 per student and a 50% deposit holds your spot.

The school consists of a morning classroom session and an afternoon guided float on the Au Sable Trophy Water.

Check our Schools and Instruction tab for details on the program.

Baby Ditch Pigs

After a long wait, the smaller Ditch Pigs have arrived. They are about 2/3 the size, lighter and easy to cast with a 6 weight, but still have all that great wicked action. All four colors are in stock.

STREAMER RODS

Here are three fine rods at different price points for your consideration.

At the top of the list is the amazing Hardy Pro Axis 9' 6wt at $685.00. This rod is fast and powerful and will punch out big flies through rough weather all day long without beating the angler into a fatigued and twitching pulp. It is a saltwater design (Hardy engineers and famed angler Andy Mill) with oversized titanium "recoil" guides and a flawless, bulletproof finish. 

Some folks prefer a medium-fast action streamer rod and the Mystic "M" series 9'3"  6 wt. at $399.00 is perfect for those who prefer a more relaxed and forgiving action. Mystic is a Michigan company and this rod is proudly made in the USA. It is beautifully crafted and finished and has several features that are usually found only on more expensive rods. 

The Mystic Reaper 9' 6 wt. is a bit quicker than the M and does not have all the deluxe nicities but is an excellent value at $199.00


A white streamer fooled this giant at Comins Flat.

Click thumbnail to see larger image.

New York angler,
Steve Pensinger, caught this great smallmouth on a Ditch Pig below Comins Flat.


Steve with a handsome 22" brown that sucked in an egg-sack Hendrickson spinner. Marv Miller assisted Steve with a great net job.

Oops!

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher, Rick Porcello, caught this great 24 inch brown on an olive woolhead sculpin near McKinley while fishing with Chris Reister, President of Mystic Fly Rods.
Paul Morand and pal, Bernie caught these two - a 26 on a baby rainbow and a 23 on black & yellow Ditch Pig -  last weekend.
Jeff Kenzie caught this 25 inch beast on an olive Circus Peanut on April 22nd. He was assisted with cheers, prayers, and net by his crack staff - Andy Adamo and Chis Mitchell.


These two monsters, a 29inch and a 26 inch, were two of
several caught on Wednesday and Thursday - April 6 & 7
by Matt Stockton, Jason Fulmer and Mike Fulmer.
Streamers, of course.
Marv Miller caught this 24inch trophy on April 16. The big male whacked a baby rainbow pattern.

 Our 2010 Trophy Log is now up.
Take a look and see who caught what on which fly and when.

 


Ms. Kukla asks two burning questions,
1. Have you hugged your dog today?
2. Do you have enough Ditch Pigs?

 

PROFILE OF AN ANGLER FEATURE

Steve Pensinger lives in NYC and fishes all over the planet. He manages a trip to the Au Sable for trout and/or steelhead every now and then. Steve and I have been close friends since our early 20's, and that is a lot  of years waving fly rods in the wind. His brief comments follow below........
I began fly fishing for bass and bluegills in farm ponds and small lakes near my home outside Memphis, Tenn. when I was eleven years old. For the last sixty years I have pursued the passion that began there in thirty-eight states, eleven countries, and on four continents. Fly fishing has taken me places  I never thought I’d get to go and introduced me to friends I would never have met and for that I am eternally grateful.
My favorite fishing? Pat answer—whatever I’m after at the moment; pushed to the wall—snook in the Everglades. Favorite species? If I could only fish for and catch just one—steelhead, but my tastes range from bluegills to the small bluefin tuna off Cape Cod .The best place I’ve fished?  New Zealand’s South Island—water so clear you can’t see it in rivers running through a wonderfully bucolic landscape, and big, wild brown trout on small nymphs and dries.  
Concerns? Will my great grandchildren have the opportunity to enjoy the sport at all, or will climate change, pollution, and overfishing make it for them a quaint pastime of their ancestors?

Click here for more profiles.

We now have four great color combos for the Ditch Pig - black and yellow, olive and tan, chartreuse and white, and root beer and orange.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy,
this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis
of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

To file a complaint of discrimination write:

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights
Room 326-W, Whitten Building
1400 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

 

"Stopped by Bob Linsenman's Au Sable Angler. There he was, at the counter.  It had been nearly a decade since we'd seen each other.  Same wry smile.  He pointed at the coffee pot and a folding chair.  We talked hex hatch and books.  Anglers drifted in and rifled through bins of flies.  Their commentary rambled.  Each seemed to know who'd caught what the night before and where and on which pattern.  Struck me that this isn't just a tackle shop.  It's a country store where friends gather between hatches. – John Ross, author Rivers of Restoration (Skyhorse Publishing Summer 2008) and TU Guide to America's 100 Best Trout Streams (The Lyons Press, 2005)."
 

In Michigan, Bob Linsenman's Au Sable River Angler flyshop and Michigan flyfishing store on the banks of Michigan's ausable river serve flyfishers and Michigan fly fishing angling on rivers such as the Au Sable River, Betsie River, Rifle River, Sturgeon River, Black River and Manistee River fly fishing only water. Linsenman is the author of "Best Streams For Great Lakes Steelhead", "The Au Sable River", "Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout", "Michigan Blue Ribbon Fly Fishing Guide", "Trout Streams of Michigan", and "Great Lakes Steelhead".

Bob Linsenman's Michigan flyfishing guides provide guided fly fishing float trips and boat trips in Michigan fly fishing drift boats. The Au Sable Angler fly shop flyfishing guides include Mike Bachelder, Bob Linsenman, Scott Smith and Mike Moreau, all experienced fly fishing guides on Michigan rivers and streams such as the Au Sable, (Betsy) Betsie River, Rifle, Manistee, Black and Sturgeon.

Bob Linsenman's Au Sable Angler fly fishing outfitter is located in Mio, Michigan in Oscoda county. Mio, MI is the location of Mio Pond and the Mio Dam. The Au Sable River downstream of the Mio Michigan Dam is called the trophy water because of the trophy brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, steelhead trout, salmon and smallmouith bass that are caught there while flyfishing. The Ausable river is home to many insect hatches such as the Hendrickson mayfly, Mahogany (adoptiva), Light Hendrickson may fly, Sulphur PMD pale morning dun, Brown Drake mayfly, Isonychia white gloved howdy, Hexagenia Limbata michigan mayfly hex, White Fly ephoron. Streamer fly fishing with flies such Kelly Galloup's Zoo Cougar streamer, Conrad's Sculpin, Feenstra Strippin' Sculpin, Mercer's Rag Sculpin, Madonna, Galloup's T&A Bunker, Crafty Sculpin.

Flyfishing for trout in the Au Sable River in Michigan is a great Michigan family vacation idea. There is spring fly fishing for rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, steelhead and salmon, as well as summer fly fishing for rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout and flyfishing smallmouth bass in the michigan rivers, lakes and ponds in the area of the Au Sable River near Mio MI, Grayling Michigan, Fairview MI, Glennie Michigan, Alcona MI, Luzerne MI.

Fishing this area with the flyfishing guides from the Au Sabler Angler ensures that you'll catch trout, steelhead, smallmouth bass or salmon in the Michigan rivers, such as the Upper Manistee River, Rifle River, Sturgeon River, Black River, Pigeon River, and Betsie River. The river guides flyfish from Mckenzie style drift boats that are easy to fly fish from. The flyfishing float trips will give you an opportunity to flyfish Michigans best rivers with dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, terrestrials and streamers. Dry flies include the Hexagenia Limbata may fly or "hex", the brown drake mayfly, the hendrickson mayfly, the isonychia may fly or "white gloved howdy", the sulphur/pale morning dun/dorothea and the white fly or ephoron leukon mayfly. Stoneflies and terrestrials such as grasshopper fly patterns and bettle fly patterns also work well for trout fishing and smallmouth fishing. Streamer fishing with the fly rod, fly reel and fly line is done with floating fly lines, sinking fly lines and sink tip fly lines with flyfishing leaders. Streamer fly patterns include Kelly Galloup's Zoo Cougar, Conrad's Sculpin, Galloup's Bunker fly, Ray Schmidt's Rattlesnake and Madonna and many other Michigan streaamer fly patterns.

Beside fishing and flyfishing in the Au Sable River regions, there are many other recreational activities to be enjoyed throughout Michigan, such as:

Cadillac – golf, swim, shop, snowmobile, hunting
Gaylord – Michigan’s golf capital, dine, snowmobile, ski, hunting.
Grayling – AuSable River, fishing, canoeing, hunting
Higgins Lake – boat, swim, fishing, horse back riding
Houghton Lake – boat, swim, fishing, home of well known "Tip Up Town USA"
Interlochen – outdoor musical concerts with famous artists
Kalkaska – National Trout Festival, hunting, fishing, snowmobile
Shanty Creek – golf, ski, dine, horse back riding
Torch Lake - water sports, fish
Traverse City – golf, shop, dine, wineries, boat, ski, National Cherry Festival
Williamsburg – Turtle Creek Casino

The Rivers We Fish:
Au Sable River, Rifle River, Upper Manistee River, Betsie River, Black River, Sturgeon River

The Species We Catch:
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Steelhead, Salmon, Smallmouth Bass