Wild Things.......

[Silverexpress]

Hello,

My buddy and I are currently camped out at one of the dozen or so campsites along side the Ausable. For the past few nights we've been annoyed by a couple of Raccoons trying to steal our food. They've been bold enough to approach us while we sat next to our camp fire roasting hot dogs, marshmallows..etc... At times close enough to pet.

Tried throwning pebbles at them but I've got real bad aim.

What's the best way to deal with these critters? Was thinking of getting a low power bb gun, or just wacking one silly with an aluminum rod case.

Besides this the fishings been great. I've done well with nymphs (bead heads sz 14-18), and dries up (mostly adams sz 14-18) here....(Trophy Waters)...during the day.

Saw a coyote chase a fawn into the river. Also saw one big Osprey catch a trout out of the water...and a wild turkey fly over the river twice.....such a neat place!

[Ralph Smith]

Sounds like your having a great trip. Would love to get up there again one day. Haven't been on the river in quite awhile. What you need is one of those big water guns the canoers use, suck up the water, then BLAST!! That ought to keep them away awhile.:lol: :p

If it were small game season, a pellet pistol between they eyes, and you'd be eatin better than hotdogs. :lol:

[Shupac]

A coon attempted to mug me once in a state park. I was out at the picnic table one evening, after dark, warming something up on a camp stove when I felt a tap on my back. I turned around and nothing was there. It happened again almost as soon as I turned back to the stove, and again, I saw nothing when I turned around. The next time I felt the tap, I raised my lantern when I looked over my shoulder and saw a raccoon sitting on the table a couple feet behind me. I yelled at it and it ran off, but I'll bet it was used to other people running away when they saw it, giving it a free shot at their goodies.

[Poppy]

Get a littl bottle of mace, seems harsh, but I bet that racoon won't bother campers anymore.

Are you seeing any little stoneflies?

[Silverexpress]

Didn't see any stoneflies. We rented a drift boat yesterday, and so were on water all day. I did see BWO's and plenty of caddis'.

Did real well on nymphs below MIO. Fish in every pool, and, riffles. Unlike where we were today.....the section of the Ausable at Gates Lodge. Tough place to fish. My buddy did well with a muddler fished right up against the undercut banks, and man made fish structures.

I fished a nymph rig while wading up stream, and then a sz 16 adams, and on my way back downstream I fished a hopper. It was windy and sunny today.

This was a fun trip.

[mparks]

Were you able to rent a drift boat without a guide? If so where?

How about a sling shot for those racoons? Better yet make like your in grizzly country and get the food sealed up so they have no reason to raid your camp and move on to the neighbors.:lol:

Nice fishing report. Where are you posting from?

[Silverexpress]

Were you able to rent a drift boat without a guide? If so where?

How about a sling shot for those racoons? Better yet make like your in grizzly country and get the food sealed up so they have no reason to raid your camp and move on to the neighbors.:lol:

Nice fishing report. Where are you posting from?

Drift boat was from Gotts Landing in MIO, $75. Let me tell you.....it does not go fast or track like a canoe...lol. It was our first time paddling one. As a fishing platform....it can't be beat. I learned quickly that you guide a drift boat to where you want it to go...not paddle it. One other neat feature is that you can back paddle and literally make it move up stream - it sits high on water.

I have a Sprint Treo...with the ability to browse the web. First posting was at a restaurant in Grayling this morning.....and then succeeding replies were made on the go. Buddy's driving this time around, so I got nothing else to do in the passenger seat. Was tying leaders on the way up, but got queasy tying blood knots.

Food and garbage were kept in suv. Raccoons were really bold and approaching us while we were eating. I think prior campers at the campsite fed these animals. At one time, we had one on the picnic table bench. I threw a small rock at it, and instead hit the top of the table. The rock skimmed the top of the coons head a good 2-3 feet, and my friend got a real good hearty laugh since the coon was only 3 ft away. Tough to chuck small rocks when you've been casting a fly rod a good 12-14 hrs.

[4lbtest]

PING...Ping....good for coons in the cooler and coyotes in the tent

[woodie slayer]

glad to hear you are catching lots of fish:)
the fish up by Gates are all wild trout where the ones below Mio are mostly planters.that may explan the differance in your catch rate.

your being way toooooooo nice to them coons .i carry a 22 in the camper for camp ground varmits(in season of course:evilsmile )

[Silverexpress]

glad to hear you are catching lots of fish:)
the fish up by Gates are all wild trout where the ones below Mio are mostly planters.that may explan the differance in your catch rate.

your being way toooooooo nice to them coons .i carry a 22 in the camper for camp ground varmits(in season of course:evilsmile )

The section at Gates is beautiful. Tried wading upstream to the Trout Unlimited Access Point, but I ran out of time. Water was real clear with plenty of that grass stuff in it -probably good for trout to hide in. I'll be back there to figure out the method for catching trout in conditions during the day - wild trout, canoers, sun, clear shallow water, undercuts, manmade structures, and probably 100 fisherman a day...etc... I'm totally intrigue.

[Troutlord1]

A few yrs back i happened to be at Gates when the DNR did their electroshocking survey. (was around Labor Day if i remember right) You would be suprised at the fish that were shocked right there in front of the shop and Lodge. Blew my mind lots of 14" 15" 1 20" brown. I had pics of it but they were one my old puter. Maybe 1 day i will try an do a pic of a pic and post them was unbelievable great stretch of river

[Fishndude]

Rusty's Father taught me to cast a flyline when I was a kid, and he showed me how to present a fly and hook when a Trout takes right at their dock. You cannot imagine how many Trouties live under that dock - I mean maybe 30 or 40 on most days. I swam under it with goggles one day, and was amazed.
I haven't fished that water in a very long time, but when I was a kid I used to stay not far downstream from Gates Lodge. We always found some really large Browns under logjams and blowdowns - I am talking 8# fish!! They were really hard to get to take a fly, because they had lived for so long, and were really spooky. Cal Gates clued me in to using a Deer-Hair Mouse fly. The first night I couldn't do anything except get snagged on every little branch in the area. The 2nd night I used a spinning rod to throw that fly (and it worked really well), and managed some really fine fish with it. That was probably 35 years ago. Now Mousin is well known. Back then nobody did it. Heck, back then almost nobody fished at night during the Hex hatch. There were no mini mag lights, or small headlamps. I remember one older guy who had a miner's hat with a light. :lol:

[Silverexpress]

Great story Fishndude. That water is cold!

[Poppy]

Next time try fishing a bread fly by that dock...

[Silverexpress]

Next time try fishing a bread fly by that dock...

Bread Fly? What are the ingredients for tying one?

[Troutlord1]

Flour, water, yeast, lol just kidding at the dock they used to throw out little chunks of bread and the trout would munch on them ive never seen it but have heard about it alot the ole "bread hole"

[Silverexpress]

Good enough....maybe a few ____________ (secret ingredient) cut into a block and tied to a size 10 hook.......will do the next time I'm in the area :p

[Silverexpress]

As far as those raccoons, thanks everyone for helping me narrow down the field of armament....I've settled on this tickler.....for those pesky critters. :evil:

[Bulletproof]

Good enough....maybe a few ____________ (secret ingredient) cut into a block and tied to a size 10 hook.......will do the next time I'm in the area :p

Funny.

I'm not sure who thinks this is a joke, but there are several areas all the way up from Keystone practically down to McMasters where there are 'bread holes', if your just laughing this off as a spoof think again brother.

Hey Fishndude-are we telling some stories--8+browns, 30-40 trout under dock in the Gates Water, you are getting too old man...:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Poppy]

Actually, feeding some of those fish bread, which they expect now, probably limits the times they get stung by hooks... Although, a really light colored deer hair patch spun, not clipped. What do you think? Matching the hatch at its finest!

[Silverexpress]

I was thinking more along the lines of Nitroglycerin mixed with a little chunk of clay, and tied to a number ten hook. I like the deer hair idea though; since, it'll make less noise...errr kamotion at the lodge.