[ausable_steelhead]

Fished my last steelhead trip of the season yesterday. The whole month of May was decent fishing on the AS, alot better than April. Some nice sized fish this spring. Last Sunday, I lost three of the biggest steelhead I've ever hooked in the AS. The run is now heavily on the downswing and is just about done. We did get into some really fresh fish yesterday, they're shooting right up, laying, then dropping out. The water temp was 61, but will probably drop a bit at night with the cold. Yesterday was the first time we had trouble releasing fish. This was by far my slowest season yet, but I still hooked enough fish to be happy. Here's a few fish from the last couple trips:

A dark hen full of spawn:

A nice hen:

A colored-up male:

A fresh-run, late-season hen:

5 nice steelhead from the AS:

 

[Burksee]

Congrats and Nice pics! Thanks for sharing your trip, even if I can be there its still a fix for me just to see someone elses expierance!

 

[thousandcasts]

Nice pics! Glad to see someone is still chasing the "right" kind of trout. :lol:

 

[float n steel]

nice pics the one hen there 2nd pic looks like a bruiser.........thanks for sharing

 

[Brown duck]

Nice pics! Glad to see someone is still chasing the "right" kind of trout. :lol:

C'mon TC - open the mind and the rod will follow!

 

[RIVER LADY]

Good job A.S. I think I almost see a smile cracked on your face. Almost. lol

Isn't the A.S. nice in May. No one around.

 

[Hemish]

A-S,

Amazing bro, I was out there too that day, hit 4 spots, didn't see you but might have across the river when I was fishing a bend.

I went 1-3 and the one I got I released as it was fouled, too bad, about a 14lb hen, dime-bright. Also took a fine bugler a ESL.

All in all a great daytrip on a beautiful river and a bald eagle circled overhead watching me leave.

Hemish

 

[Fishndude]

Nice fishing, guys. Good to hear some fish came in this year, and nice size fish, too.

That Eagle probably would have eventually picked up the Sucker if you left it on the shore. I do that sometimes, when there is not a heavy run of fish in the river, and dead fish aren't already all over the place. There is a pair of Eagles which have nested upstream from Foote for many years, and I often see an Eagle or two when I am fishing the river. They aren't as scarce as most people think. I see Eagles in Belleville, which is between Ann Arbor and Detroit, quite a bit.
My folks have a cabin North of Hale, and I saw a mature Eagle and 4 yearlings over the lake last Summer. There was a dead panfish floating about 30 yards off the end of our dock, and that adult bird turned and just dropped like a rock from about 200 feet up, and pulled out in a beautiful move, right over the water, when he decided he didn't want that fish. It was pretty cool to see.
Many years ago I was fishing right below the dam at Foote, and saw an Osprey drop right into the water on the North side, and come up with a small Salmon clutched in its talons. It kind of flopped in an awkward butterfly sort of stroke, until it was close enough to shore to hop - with the fish still grasped tightly, to shore. Then it proceeded to eat the fish for a bit, until someone came walking closer to watch, and it flew off - still with the fish. It was close to the size of a full grown Eagle.

 

[ausable_steelhead]

Actually, we seen an eagle in one place, it kept circling pretty low. My bro had a fish on the rope, I really think that eagle was eyeing it up ! Hemish, you should have atleast took a pic of that hen, 14lbs, that's a great fish.

 

[RIVER LADY]

Hey A.S. There is an eagle down river at Tin hole that fishes with us alot down there. He actually will watch your pencil lead bounce down the river.
It's awesome. He sits at the top of the hole and scopes it all out.

That's one of the best things about fishing the A.S.

 

[Hemish]

I'll try to get the pic off the camera and post it later.

 

[ausable_steelhead]

Hemish, check your PM's bro.....

 

[Hemish]

[/IMG]

Tough to send these back, especially when it's the only one of your season that you brought to hand. Argh.

 

[Hemish]

...more like 12lbs of fury.