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?

Ann Miller has been fishing her entire life, but can now say that she has been exclusively fly fishing for more than half that time. A member of the Federation of Fly Fishers and Trout Unlimited, she decided to become more active in the Great Lakes Council nearly 20 years ago, becoming editor of the now defunct newsletter, The Leader. Editing quickly lead to writing, and before long she was penning essays for other publications. Tom Helgeson encouraged her to submit her work to Midwest Fly Fishing, and soon she was writing her own bimonthly column, Natural Settings, for the magazine.

Ann’s most recent project stemmed from her love of fly fishing and teaching. While teaching beginning and intermediate fly fishing schools, she became frustrated with the lack of comprehensive Midwest information on insect hatches, taxonomy, behavior, and flies to match them. An aquatic biologist, she decided to tackle the world of bugs head on, and has just completed Hatch Guide for Upper Midwest Streams. The field guide will be published in mid-2011 by Frank Amato Publications and can be pre-ordered through Amato Publications (contact Kim@amatobooks.com).

In addition to writing, Ann is an active director and officer of Flygirls, an organization whose purpose is to help women to get into the field of fly fishing. The club was founded in 1996 and continues in its purpose to teach women to fly fish as well as provide fly fishing and fly tying outings around the state. More information on Flygirls can be found at http://flygirls.ws.

Roy (Mac) McCauley is a graduate of Ohio State University, lives in Ann Arbor, and teaches in  Wayne State University's medical school. Despite the obvious Buckeye confusion, he is a rabid fly angler and a very fine fellow who spend a lot of time on the Au Sable. 

“My first time fly fishing was with my uncle Paul in the Ozarks when I was a little boy. He showed me how to catch panfish on cork poppers using a garishly gold-colored, seven-weight Eagle Claw, Super Denco rod, and then, he gave me the rod and reel like a dealer gives a new customer the first dose for free. Well, it worked the same way, and God bless that man for that. 

Since then I have fly fished from Quebec to Arizona to Alaska with the dedication of an addict. So far, my best fish is a 26” Au Sable brown fully fledged in mating colors.”

"I got my start in fly fishing about five years ago when friend and river guide John Coulson, and my husband, Ray, got me out of that lawn chair by the river and put a fly rod in my hand. I furthered my lessons with the Flygirls and Michigan Fly Fishing Club.   I’m now a fly fishing fanatic.  My husband and I have a cabin on the trophy waters below Comins Flats and I spend most of my time fishing right out in front of our cabin and at several locations on the Au Sable, from Grayling to McKinley, as well as on the Manistee.  I prefer dry flies, but have been working on throwing streamers and nymphs.   Still haven’t caught the big one yet, but as long as I’m catching fish I’m happy."