AuSable-Drakes, Drakes and Drakes!!!!!

[beer and nuts]

Good now that I got your attention, I was looking for any reports of brown drakes appearing on the north, south, east or main branches of the mighty "asswobble"(local boys term, and for you TU guys thats the AuSable!!!) or the mighty Manistee. Now is when these rivers traditionally see the start of the brown drakes, but with this weather my internal drake/hex time clock is off so I'm looking for a little help. Any news or reports on drakes please post here. Thanks.

[riverboy]

gates report (http://www.gateslodge.com/fishing.htm)

The Troutsman (http://www.troutsman.com/ausable.asp?rivernum=1)

Its almost time!!!!!!

[gunrod]

Saw two small swarms on the manistee but with the cold night temps don't look for them to last long. The cold is putting the fish down too. No risers in the swarms.

Supposedly it's going to warm up next week so the hatches should start to pickup. Sulphurs (22 to 16) were in the area but not heavy either.

[foersterhunter]

pat i ve never heard of a size 22 sulpher according to michigans emergence schedule sulphers only range in size 16-18 as for brown drakes some people get them mixed up with stenoma fuscum(american march brown)10-12 or Isonychia sadleri(mahogany dun)10-12.Pat i would like to see a pic of your sulfers in size 22.

[gunrod]

I didn't see them up close so I thought they were sulphurs. I could be wrong. Either way, a small sulphur pattern would have worked. They could have been small caddis, midges or something similar. With the amount of sulphurs seen I just thought that's what they were when I saw them flying around. Or they could have been bigger, just looked small from a distance. I did catch a sulphur (about a 10) so I know they were hatching.

As for the brown drake, I'm pretty confident on that. I looked that one up when I got home. The swarms weren't huge by any means and the schedule is pretty goofy this year so they could have been late/early.

[SALMONATOR]

Beer and nuts,

Fished a couple rivers in that area over the weekend. One was hot one was not. Saw nothing moving and nothing hatching Saturdat night. Bummer. We hit another river about a half hour away sunday night and hit a full blown drake hatch. Started early and ended early. Fish were popping the surface pretty good for a while though. World of difference in the temp's between the two rivers. I think there still some good drake hatches to come in the next week or so in some places up there. Good luck.

Al

[beer and nuts]

Report down at the Chapel area-Mason Tract last two nights great hatches of brown drakes, some on the water at dusk but than nothing-flying to the trees! Cool nights I think is the problem, but they are there and will be on the water soon. My success has been very limited, 'dmickrosco' user on this board has caught a couple dandies, 23 incher and 19 incher, but I think he uses TNT!!!!!