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Steeldrifter

Au Sable trip / Daily updates

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12 hours ago, Steeldrifter said:

Dave I'm starting to feel a bit old. I've never had problems seeing the eye of a fly even in low light, but last night about 9:45pm I was tying on a fly and couldn't believe how hard a time I had.

With the trout water too hot mid day I decided to strap on the backpack and went exploring some trails behind the motel that lead down to Mio pond above the dam. Figured I'd see if I could find some smallmouth to take up some time till tonight when the trout water cools down a bit so I can head out. Only got the fish for two hours but landed one and lost two. Prob hit that spot again this week during the mid day heat.

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Hah ! My eyes changed from one season to the next back around 1992-1994 or so. The good news is considering the time passed my eyes aren't too much worse, though I do need magnifiers to tie flies now.. Just drug store +2.25 or there abouts. Nice little smallie.

I haven't been out this year, I don't have a lot of steam to get going in the aftermath of my wife passing back in Dec. Normally I take my boat or wade sometimes too at a 4 mile pond here where this time of year the hexes should be hatching at night. I often get the remnant of the hatch at first light or otherwise early morning. That's something to think on too Steve if you get those hexes out your way, it seems every fish in the pond is up on those things and some are huge fish too.

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I have a magnifier that clips on the bill of my cap or hat. Used it for rod building, too.

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I've been busy, so I missed the start of this.  So glad to hear/read you're having a great time up there, Steve!  NICE Batch o' fish you're getting into, also !!!

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Magnifiers will help but really small flies and finest tippets are still a challenge.   And hand wobble is a factor -- especially when they are rising all around you and that second morning coffee kicks in.

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Hit the river real early this morning for a couple hours trout fishing before the temps went back up. Then about 10am I came back and went out this afternoon above the dam for some smallmouth since the trout water is too warm. Hoping it cools down a bit late tonight so I can get back on it, but might be middle of the night fishing tonight by the time it drops enough to think about hitting it again.

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Steve,

 

The reel on the rod with the nice smallmouth above looks a lot like an Orvis Hydra large arbor reel.  I just found that my size III in that model perfectly matches the 10' 3wt you built for me.  

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Walleye on the fly, in complete darkness, with the spey rod....that was challenging but fun. Wanted to trout fish but water temp was too high tonight so went after some wallys. Had the red LED's on my headlight while in the river and turned around to 6 sets of red eyes staring at me (family of coons at the rivers edge) think it took 2 yrs off my life, thought for sure the chupacabra was watching me.

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One year in Maine where I go the biologists tagged some big trout to gtry and find out what their travel plans were like lol, with tracking devices that is. One brook trout was 5lb. That fish went in and out of the Moose river 5 times during the summer months and mostly lived in the depths of Moosehead Lake in the warmest weather. Basically the only thing that stays in the river in the mid summer is some young salmon, they season over for a couple of years then they migrate as well. there are a few resident salmon that hang out right at the dam in the deeper part of the pool there, as smelt and deep cool water run through the turbine there. Some small mouth have started entering the river these days, that whole area was free of bass back in the day but some got planted illegally and it's taken 30 years for them to multiply and take root. Same with the Kennebec river.

Anyway, enough of my story ! Looks like you got it going on out there Steve, enjoy the rest of your trip even if you've had to kind of engineer a plan to be in certain spots at various parts of a 24 hour period. It's all good when you're out fishing.

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Thanks guys. I'm having a great time. Really need rain and the hot temps suck, but the good think about fishing waters you've fished your entire life is you know where to go and what to do to still get into fish when the conditions aren't right, even if its not the fish you came for (trout). The good thing is the temps are finally starting to break today. Starting tonight the nighttime lows are going to be dipping back down into the 50's and even into the upper 40's on Monday night so that should get the trout waters back into shape in a day or two hopefully.

Just hangin out at the motel relaxing right now. Plan to hit the river tonight for walleye again later, not sure yet where/if I will go out during the day today. Depends on the temps.

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Great

10 hours ago, Steeldrifter said:

turned around to 6 sets of red eyes staring at me (family of coons at the rivers edge) think it took 2 yrs off my life

LOL - I know that feeling.  

  Great reports.  

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What a great variety of fish!!!

So glad to hear the trip is starting out so well.  ... Up to three weeks, yet?

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Not sure how long, but still got a good amount of time. Spent the first 2 days at my cabin, now been in Mio for 5 days now so been gone about 6/7 days so far. For sure will be staying at least 2 weeks total. Might be longer....might never come back home 😁

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Stripped streamers for walleye till midnight, feel like my arm is gonna fall off. Not much to show for a long evening/night. Couple smallish walleye and lost another. Had a pretty rose breasted grosbeak singing away over my head almost all evening long. Pretty little bird.

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I've been on trips like that, my 4th finger on my right hand would basically seize up and I knew I needed a day off from the heavy casting. Like you, rest in the day, maybe go get an ice cream someplace even if it meant driving 25 miles each way lol ! Then later just work a single pool in the evening with short light casts drifting the eddy line with a stimulator or something. A couple of times I got fooled with some 21" or so salmon on a short 7 ft 4 wt. Ya know, it's quiet, it's still and it's great just being there fish or not, knee deep in water casting over the run into the pool and a head pokes out and grabs your fly, ain't nothing like it. If you don't break your rod down wading out of there the bats come along just after sunset and slap your rod tip. And the pool I'm thinking of was a river wade to get to, maybe a 1/4 mile or so.

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