BirdTrout
Trophy Water — Au Sable River, Michigan
Also called The Trophy Water, Lower Au Sable Trophy Waters, Mio to McKinley.
Mio to McKinley Bridge.34 NHD reaches, 18.4 miles of drawn channel — side channels and braids included, so more than the distance downriver. Nearest reporting gauge 4.3 miles away.
Open in BirdTroutThe line is the water this name refers to, drawn from the NHD reaches it resolves to; the dots are the nearest gauges reporting water temperature, coloured by what they read now.
What it is
The Au Sable below Mio Pond dam down to McKinley Bridge, managed for size rather than numbers. Big, open, cold tailwater — floated far more often than it is waded.
Trophy regulations below Mio Pond dam to McKinley Bridge: a two-trout limit with a 15-inch minimum. Not flies-only — that is the Holy Water, upstream.
Where it is
- From
- Mio (44.6613, -84.1361)
- To
- McKinley Bridge (44.6420, -83.9415)
| Access | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Comins Flats | boat launch | 0.2 mi |
| Au Sable River - Meadow Springs | walk in | 1.6 mi |
| Au Sable River At Forest Road 4291 Access | walk in | 1.7 mi |
| Au Sable River At Au Sable River Overlook | walk in | 2.4 mi |
| Au Sable River At Davis Rest | walk in | 2.6 mi |
| Au Sable River - U.S. Forest Service Forest Road 4366 - Loop And River Dune Campground | walk in | 2.7 mi |
Distance from the centre of the mapped reach, not along the road.
Regulations on this stretch
Trophy regulations below Mio Pond dam to McKinley Bridge: a two-trout limit with a 15-inch minimum. Not flies-only — that is the Holy Water, upstream.
Rules change every year and the posted signs are the authority, not this page. Check the current Michigan regulations before you fish. Where this stretch sits inside a larger river, that river's general regulations apply everywhere this stretch's do not.
Best times
Streamers all year; the biggest browns come to sculpin and crayfish patterns rather than to dries, though the Hex hatch reaches this far down.
Live water temperature
| Gauge | Distance | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Au Sable River At Mio, Mi | 4.3 mi | 56.8 °F |
| Au Sable River Near Mc Kinley, Mi | 10.5 mi | 56.1 °F |
| Au Sable River Near Curtisville, Mi | 13.4 mi | 59.2 °F |
Live from USGS — the number above is current rather than whenever the page was written. A gauge miles away is a gauge miles away: the distance column is there so you can discount it.
Fly shops nearby
- Ausable River Outfitters — 4.3 mi
- Fuller's North Branch Outing Club — 23.9 mi
- Bait & Tackle Shop — 25.0 mi
- Gates Au Sable Lodge — 25.3 mi
- Village Outfitters — 28.9 mi
Straight-line distance from the centre of the mapped reach.
Sources for the name
BirdTrout did not name this water. 3 independent sources below use the name, and it ships only because more than one of them does.
- flyshop Old AuSable Fly Shop
- tu chapter Challenge Chapter Trout Unlimited
- magazine American Fly Fishing