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Au Sable weekend fly fishing trip
67 waters in the Au Sable watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Au Sable River, South Branch Au Sable River and North Branch Au Sable River. May, June and July carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in May, 26 insects in June and 24 insects in July. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 8 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 3-day plan
Au Sable River
Nearest listed access: Comins Flats (boat launch), 3.3 mi, or Au Sable River - Meadow Springs (walk in), 3.9 mi.
South Branch Au Sable River
Nearest listed access: South Branch Au Sable River Forest Rest (walk in), 2.3 mi, or South Branch Au Sable River Potters Landing (walk in), 2.6 mi.
North Branch Au Sable River
Nearest listed access: Stephans Bridge (canoe launch), 9.6 mi, or Au Sable River At Spite Avenue (walk in), 9.6 mi.
Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in Michigan's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.
Hatches to hit
The months with the most recorded hatches in northern lower Michigan: May (19), June (26), July (24).
| Insect | Months | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eggs | October–January and April | #10–16 |
| Little Black Stonefly | January–April | #16–18 |
| Little Brown Stonefly | February–April | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive | March–May and September–November | #16–22 |
| Blackfly | April–June | #18–22 |
| Blue Quill | April–May | #16–18 |
| Cranefly | April–June and September–October | #6–10 |
| Grannom | April–May | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
Recorded from northern lower Michigan, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit — 3.5 mi
- Au Sable National Scenic River — 5.7 mi
- Huron National Forest — 10.1 mi
- Alcona Park — 14.2 mi
- Hunt Creek Fisheries Research Area — 14.3 mi
- Hunt Creek — 14.8 mi
- Sage Lakes State Wildlife Management Area — 16.4 mi
- Kirtland Warbler Unit Damon — 16.7 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Michigan publishes it.
Camping and lodging
| Campground | Distance | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Meadow Springs Campground (fee) | 0.5 mi | USFS |
| Au Sable Loop Campground and Day Use Area (fee) | 1.0 mi | USFS |
| River Dune Campground (fee) | 1.0 mi | USFS |
| Mio Pond State Forest Campground and Group Camp (fee) | 3.1 mi | MDNR |
| Cathedral Pines Campground (fee) | 3.9 mi | USFS |
| Mack Lake ORV Campground (fee) | 5.6 mi | USFS |
| Wagner Lake Campground (fee) | 8.0 mi | USFS |
| Buttercup Campground (fee) | 8.4 mi | USFS |
State-forest and state-park campgrounds from Michigan's own file. This site holds no hotel or motel data and does not pretend to: what it can tell you is where the public ground is.
Fly shops
- Ausable River Outfitters — 2.5 mi, Mio
- Fuller's North Branch Outing Club — 22.0 mi, Lovells
- Gates Au Sable Lodge — 23.4 mi, Grayling
- Bait & Tackle Shop — 25.3 mi
- Village Outfitters — 27.4 mi, Roscommon
- Old AuSable Fly Shop — 31.0 mi, Grayling
- The Fly Factory — 31.1 mi, Grayling
- Dean's Bait & Tackle, Incorporated — 35.3 mi, Alger
From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.
Before you go
- Michigan regulations
- Michigan fishing report
- Au Sable watershed
- Au Sable River
- South Branch Au Sable River
- North Branch Au Sable River
- West Branch Big Creek
- East Branch Big Creek
- Van Etten Creek