ausable saterday night?

[steeldrifter]

Just wondered if anyone from the site was gonna be on the ausable (high banks) saterday night. Were gonna fish mio trout during the day but hit the high bank's saterday night around 9 or 10pm.


steve

[slammer00]

I am leaving around 4ish tomorrow and probably hit a few streams on the way up to the cabin in tawas. Probably will hit the ausable all day saturday and if fishing sucks go home saturday evening, but if it is good, fish saturday night and go home sunday. I drive a 4door grey chevy car.

[steeldrifter]

Cool man:cool: hope to see you there cus that'll mean the fishins good;)

I'll look for ya ,we'll have my buddy's blue jeep, two of us ,you''ll know us cus the guy i'm fishin with NEVER shut's up(LOL)i'm serious!

steve

[IAIM4GREENHEADS]

My brother in law and I will be up there Friday night and most of saturday( depending on the crowds)
We were up there last Sunday but couldn't buy a strike. We saw fish almost all day long but they must have had lock jaw. We most likely won't be at the highbanks though - just way too many people for my enjoyment. We'll hit the lessor crowded areas and take our chances. We'll be in a bright yellow Avalanche - can't miss it. Stop on over and say hi if you see us.:p

[slammer00]

IAIM4GREENHEADS, Welcome to the site. I see you are from saginaw also. I will look for you up there. Drop me a pm on where you are going to be.

[Fishndude]

I like the mention about the fish having lock jaw at the High Banks. That is about the best short stretch of gravel on the river for Salmon and Steelhead to spawn, so that is where they go. Fishermen swarm there, because the fish are there. If 100 people cast 100 times each, that would be 10,000 casts/drifts past those fish in about 150 yards of river. The fish see baits, lures, flies, weights, and get hit by lines all day and night during the runs.
Why is it surprising that they have lock jaw? And since they do have lock jaw, how is it that so many get hooked? Simple - they are lined or incidentally hooked, whether in the mouth or somewhere else. Just ask people how many they hooked, and how many they landed. Really low landing ratios are because the hook was not set inside the fish's mouths - regardless of what the angler thinks.
I have fished for Steelies for decades, and anyone who doesn't believe what I just wrote needs to spend more time fishing, and pay closer attention to what is going on. It is ridiculous that people feel they have to hook these fish any way they can, but they still do it every Fall and Spring. If this was done with Bass or Walleyes, it would not be tolerated.

If someone really wants to get into Steel on the Ausable, they certainly can start at the High Banks, and wander up or downstream. One way is usually a lot better than the other, but there is better fishing for biters within easy walking distance of the crowds attempting to line or snag fish at the High Banks. The people who will not resort to lining are the people who leave the High Banks saying that the fish had lockjaw, and I admire them for not giving in and doing what everyone who is "catching" fish is doing.

Just to put things in perspective, night fishing is often more productive at the High Banks, because the fish cannot see the line/weight/fly/bait coming as well, and cannot get out of the way, so they get hooked more often. The landing ratios really go down at night, because the fish get hooked so much, but not where the hooks will stick. Really dark nights, with really long leaders (ever see anyone throw an 8 foot, 4 lb leader there?), and a black fly are prime, when the fish are in.

The thrill of the fight is great. The thrill of a bite and fight is better.

[ausable_steelhead]

FishnDude is right on, but I have one question maybe you can help me with. We were there on the north bank, fishing the first bend upstream, and I caught 4, and my bro 3. The first fish I landed, the released 10lb male was lined, but the small male(also released) was hooked inside the mouth, as well as my other male, my hen, and all three of my bro's fish. They ranged from the corner, to a little ways into the roof of the mouth. We caught all but 1(the hen) during the very early morning, we had good action, then it shut down, so I'm assuming our fish were legal "biter's", becase after the bite slowed, most of the other fish we hooked, were fouls, but what do you think, is it possible to get a biter at the banks?

[steeldrifter]

Fishndude i do understand what your sayin alot of fish at the highbanks are lined but i think your wrong if you say ALL the fish are lined. When i fish there i use a SHORT 4-4.5 foot leader not an 8ft leader there is no need to use one that long unless your TRYING to line a fish, and i dont HOOKUP as much as some of the guy's that are using long leaders but most of the fish i land are hooked with my fly in the roof of there mouth not on the outside corner! I have been fishing the Au Sable sence i was 5 year's old,i am now thirty one so yeah i agree that there other places to hit steelie's but if you know the river very well then i think you'd agree that the au sable below foote is not exactly a river that you would want to wade around in after dark (VERY DEEP HOLE'S & DROP OFF'S!)so i go to the high bank's some time's.....one other thing you mentioned about the amount of flie's those fish see, if you think about it that's really true for most fish in any of our river's,i fish the PM alot and i know of some really good hole's that hold alot of fish, and during the steelie and salmon season theres guys at those spots 24/7 so they see the same amount of flies as the fish on the au sable cus there my not be as many guy's standing at the pm as at the highbanks but the pm is also ALOT smaller so you showing you fly to the same fish on the pm over & over where as the au sable you have a bigger width and some different fish, anyway i dont keep any steelhead....just my personal preference!....so i'm not tryin to start somthin just givin my opinion:)


STEELDRIFTER:D

[Krankem]

Fishndude, a lot of your statements are correct, but I don't agree with everything in your post. It is possible to fish the highbanks (or any other gravel for that matter) and do very well on steelhead that are "eating" your flies. If you've never had a fish bite at the highbanks, then you might not be "matching the hatch" (i.e., egg flies). I fished that stretch a week ago saturday with my wife and went 6 for 7 on nice steelhead, all of which were hooked solidly in the roof of the mouth or inside bottom jaw.

The people who will not resort to lining are the people who leave the High Banks.
I myself prefer to fish where the most fish are hanging out. In the fall and winter, you'll find me at the mouth. Come March, I'll be in the lower stretches. Come April, I'll be near gravel. Snagging? No. Catching lots of fish? Sometimes. As for lining, I've lined steelies drifting spawn through 10' deep runs on a 2.5' leader under a bobber....in other words, lining is going to happen regardless of your setup, but that doesn't mean you should make every effort to fish where the fish AREN'T. You should fish where the fish ARE, do your best not to line them, learn how to get them to bite, and have a good time. If you happen to accidently line a fish, leave it in the water, gently remove the hook, and make sure it swims away healthy.

-Krankem

[steeldrifter]

Your totally right krankem, i remember last year reading an article about sombody that tested the theroy of lineing steelhead.
They used a 6 foot leader with a egg hook (bare hook) and if i remember they hooked 4 fish in 1 day and landed 3 ALL three were hooked on the outside corner of the mouth!


BTW how did a post i started askin if anyone was going to the au sable turn in to a discussion of lining fish?:rolleyes:


STEELDRIFTER

[Fishndude]

I just get really tired of the practice, and seeing posts about the great catches in all the places where people line the most fish.

Steelies will bite - absolutely, and fishing for them first thing in the morning will usually get you some bites, even where the fish have been hammered all night. The reason is because the fish have not been able to SEE all night (well, just a little bit), and are sight feeders. When the sky gets light, they will bite all sorts of things. Once they have seen a bunch of baits, and have seen the lines coming that hit them, they turn off - althogh they will often stay in plain sight.

I would consider a 4.5 foot leader a pretty long leader to fish for Steelhead with. In the Ausable, it usually earns you a bunch of snags. As for the PM, that river is famous for people with really expensive equipement lining fish on gravel, and letting them go in the name of fishing. I could throw a long leader, and line fish, and probably 60% or more would have the hook either right in the corner of the mouth, or inside their mouth.

I mostly fish with spawn, and I know the fish I catch bite - although I did foul hook one fish last year.

Yes they bite; yes they are easy to line when they are bedding on gravel, and will return to their bedds again and again; yes lots of people fair hook almost all of their fish; yes a lot of people hook fish any way they can.
To everyone who fishes only for biters, Great going. For everyone who fishes only gravel, and will hook fish any way they can - shame on you. For everyone who doesn't know the difference, but aspires to hook as many as some of the most productive hookers at the High Banks, now you know the truth.

[steeldrifter]

Fishndude first of all steelhead have excellent vision at night that is why most steelhead move through the river at night,they feel it give's them shelter and they can still see to navigate the water,almost any book on steelhead will tell you that.

Secondly i do most of my steelhead fishing,i would say 80% with a fly rod and a sinktip T200 line so the 4 1/2 foot leader is actully VERY short for fly fishing, anything shorter and the fish will see your flyline before the fly!

Also you said steelhead are site feeder's and they BITE your offering becuase you use spawn,well guess what i use ALOT of egg fly and "spawn style"flie's in my steelhead fishing so dont you think they would hit a egg fly for the same reason they hit your spawn.

plus steelhead hold at about the same depth in the river's whether there on gravel or in a hole that fish is gonna be at the same depth most of the time, about 6-12" off the bottom,so you can line a fish in a hole the same as you can on gravel!

[steeldrifter]

fishndude, i just read my post and i dont mean to come across as pi$$ed as it sound's , i just want to express that i am avid against any form of snagging,i talk each year to CO's and have even offered my own personal time to volunteer to help prevent snagging so when somone suggest that becuase i do some fishing at a certian spot i'm lining fish i get PO'ed :eek:

anyway i'm bailin out of this conversation anymore before it gets to heated;) good luck to you for the rest of the season

STEELDRIFTER

[ausable_steelhead]

Actually fishindude, your reply helps me out. All of our legal fish came from about 5:30am-7:30, pretty much a morning bite, then once it got bright out, mostly foul-hooks, thanks for the info. Oh, one more thing, October run was hot while we were there, or is that a "good" lining spot too? Tight-lines man.

[Krankem]

Like Steeldrifter said, I am finished with this thread. But, one last point:

Quoting from fishndude:
When the sky gets light, they will bite all sorts of things. Once they have seen a bunch of baits, and have seen the lines coming that hit them, they turn off - althogh they will often stay in plain sight.

Once again, the statement (and the rest of the post) is half-true. It is true that the morning bite is usually pretty hot, but that is not unique to the highbanks at all. Anyone who has fished steelhead anywhere, any time of the year knows that first light (and actually the last hour of darkness just before first light, since steelhead can see quite well in the dark, like SteelDrifter pointed out) is often a time when steelhead decide to feed. For that matter, not to give away any "secrets", but 10am, 2pm and last light along with various times throughout the night also tend to be good times to find steelhead in the "eating" mood. It doesn't matter if you are fishing them at the mouth on spawn/pyramids, deep holes drifting spawn/waxies on corkies, or at the highbanks drifting flies. When the steelhead feel like eating, they eat. When they feel like smashing a "rival egg", they do it. The part of the statement that I do NOT believe is true is that the lines drifting past the fish are what shuts them down. There are all kinds of garbage and debris floating past these fish all day long. To say that a fish that has only been in the river for a week knows that thin, clear monofilament presents an unusual danger to its health is giving the steelhead WAY too much credit on brain power.

Also, these fish are not dropped from a helicopter onto their beds at the highbanks. They've swam through the gauntlet of boaters trolling the big lake, pier fisherman with spawn on pyramids, drift fishermen in the rocks, driftboaters pulling plugs and drifting spawn through all the good holes, and hundreds more shore fisherman drifting just about every good run in the river all the way from the mouth to the highbanks. To say that they get to the highbanks and all of the sudden a lighbulb turns on in their tiny brains telling them that monofilament is evil and dangerous, so "lock the jaws", is plain nonsense in my opinion. Also, these fish are on the move...they don't all stop at the highbanks, so many or most of the fish you catch there may be just passing through, just like any other hole or secret spot on the river. I.e., except for hens working the gravel, most of them aren't just sitting in one spot all day watching the "10,000" lines drift by them.

Some people may not want to fish the highbanks due to the crowds, and I respect that. But as I said earlier, I myself prefer to fish where the most fish are hanging out. At certain times of the year, that might be the highbanks. Infering that a guy must be lining or snagging fish just because he is catching a lot of steelhead at the highbanks, suggests a hint of jealousy, if you want my honest opinion. No matter what part of the river you fish, there is bound to be at least one guy or lady or kid that is luckier than you are that day, or just plain knows how to fish the run better than yourself.

-Krankem

[Fishndude]

I guess I stand corrected - the majority of the people throwing 10 foot 4 lb leaders (with spinning gear) at the High Banks are hooking mostly biters, and the hooks just pull out a lot of the time.
And if fish couldn't see at night, they would swim around bumping into stuff, and their noses would be all scarred.
And they probably never get hit with lines drifting downstream - the long lines just pass them by, but sometimes they get foul hooked by a 1" hook.
And a 4.5 foot leader is short for all of the people who are using fly gear at the High Banks, although the 2 or 3 people using spinning gear might be using a lot longer leaders.
And it is just as likely for fish to get foul hooked in a hole as on gravel, but most places that feature good spawning gravel seem to be the places where a much higher percentage of fish are foul hooked - probably coincidence.

Snagging is illegal and unethical, and with all of the people who fish at the High Banks, I guess no one could really foul hook fish, or they would be run off the river.
It is nice that so many people go to the High Banks instead of the rest of the river - it leaves a lot of great spots open to fish.
Tight lines for all.

[Shoeman]

Lining fish is not limited to High Banks

As far as steelhead not biting at night, I used to think that myself, until Ladykiller proved me wrong. He took me to a spot at dusk. Fishing spawn on 3 foot leaders, he took his limit. And yes, each bag was lodged in the fish's throat.

Salmon, even better at night.
I'm sure most of the guys do not deliberately line fish, although some have made it a science.

The season's almost over.....

BTW, Steeldrifter, how'd you do?

[northern_outdoorsman]

That kinda helps my theroy I have been comtemplating Ralf...I have concluded that Steelhead Only spawn during daylight hours and they rest at night because they don't die like Salmon do after they Spawn, hence catching them with spawn at night in a hole while they rest would makes sense to me! The Salmon Spawn 24-7 because they have one big "Orgy" before the bite the dust!:p

[Shoeman]

Don,
It seems that any "low light" situation helps the steelhead fishing. This is especially true with the influx of zebra mussels in many systems. Water clarity, fishing pressure and bright sunlight will push the fish into the lumber and undercuts.
Marginal run-off, along with some stain and dark rainy days always improves the amount of hook-ups. (Providing the fish are in the system) :D

We've all seen it. At first light the river's full of fish. A soon as the sun gets above the trees, they vanish.

Hope that doesn't throw a wrench into your theory. LOL

Steeldrifter, thanks for your PM. :)

[northern_outdoorsman]

Nope it doesn't...With no fishing presure they would spawn all day even in bright sunlight...I was stating that the Steelhead do not spawn when it is dark...low light yes but I have seen fish spawning in light and low light and then go back in the total darkness and they are off the Redds...So has anyone seen STEELHEAD on reddss after it was totally dark? I shoulda just asked that in the 1st place anyhow...LOL

[steeldrifter]

Don, i've seen them spawning at night on the PM but for some reason any steelie's i have got at night on the au sable have alway's been male's so i cant say if the female's were spawning or not....sound's kinda funny but i really havent got any females on that river at night!