Those who know me know that I absolutely love to canoe, camp, and fish. I’ve been dealing with health issues the last two years which really haven’t allowed me to travel very far to do these things. But I fear I’m getting older and the longer I wait the likelihood I’ll actually go are getting smaller and smaller each year. I’ve wanted to float the Au Sable river in Michigan for probably 10 years and have never gotten around to doing it. Either this came up or that came up, some good reasons other poor excuses but I’ve not made it yet. This year I’ve decided I’m going to go while still relatively healthy. . I hate crowds and bugs when camping and fishing so will be going in September when it’s too chilly for tubers and fair weather fisherman are done for the year. Bugs shouldn’t be an issue at that time of year AND a fire in the evening will be very welcome. I’ll be covering roughly 55 miles of water during the trip so a couple nights of camping will be in order. Hoping I can coax a trout or two into the canoe along the way.
Once that trip is completed and before heading home I’m wanting to catch some big Michigan smallmouth bass. So I’m looking for a small lake or slow moving river with some big smallmouth looking for a whopper plopper. Lisa is NOT too happy that I’m going by myself but my buddies are mostly all oder then I am and have no interest in such a trip. With luck I’ll be seeing this in about 4 weeks.
Wow that’s awesome brother! I love some canoeing myself! My go to is a 10 mile run we typically finish in 6-8 hrs. Couldn’t imagine a camping and floating trip im jealous brother! Hope you have a much needed good time and take a bunch of pics for us!
Sounds like an absolute blast! Enjoy, I love me some canoeing and kayaking! Portaging through the backwoods to untouched pristine waters! I absolutely crave that stuff, been a couple years for me, I miss it very much !
Since I started keeping records I’ve caught 33 smallmouth between 18" and 19 3/4" but have never caught a 20" or bigger smallmouth. It’s a bucket list item for me that I really would love to cross off the list. That and a walleye over 27" are two life fishing goals.
Do it @HighTilliDie my buddy does them all through a few lakes he portages, gives him an excuse to go out much more often, it’s crazy cuz until he points em out I usually look right past until right on them
Lmao wrong person but yeah it’s something I really wanna do with some reg seeds at my moms or grandmas as they are in the country. My mom said I could if no one could see it but if it was close to the goat pasture it would be eaten lol. Trying to figure out if I do it how to fend off against deer and pests
@LoveDaAutos, It’s been many years since I’ve canoed the Au Sable, my parents used to have a cottage on Cedar Lake, so the Au Sable was just a few minutes away. An assortment of Panther Martins were always my go to when wanting to add a few Rainbows to the stringer for a nice evening fish cook. It took quite a while to cover the canoe area, as we stopped quite a bit to fish the nice holes. We used a 4ft piece of heavy linked chain as our “anchor” it worked great as it didn’t get snagged on all the trees and would let us either stop, or slow us way down so we could fish the good spots. Come September, the river is going to be teaming with Steelhead fisherman, the die hards that are all after that elusive Lunker.
In the canoe, you’ll be able to fish spots that the Steelhead hunters can’t get too. You may even catch yourself a bass or 2 also on your venture down the river.
Good luck and enjoy the hell out of your trip down the Au Sable!!!
I’m hoping the steelhead are running up the river in Oct and Nov which is why I planned the trip for Sept. I think I’ll have a ball even if I don’t catch any fish but if the river is anything like they say I can’t imagine that happening. I’ll have both my fly rod and ultralight spinning rod.
If you ever get down south to the everglades, there is some amazing canoing and camping. And if you see 3 people the whole day that’s alot. You have to go when it’s cold or the bugs are horrible though. I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip. Any time you get a rod in your hands is a good time.
This is my little backpack kit I’ve been carrying on hikes lately.
Just some cheap waterproof phone box(I bought at walmart maybe), that holds a bunch of pre rolls, papers, mini bic lighter, a doobie tube to keep half-smoked joints from stinking up the place, and about 1/8-1/4oz of ground bud
I follow a few Canadian bushcraft channels on YouTube, Joe Robinet, Doug Linker, My Self Reliance, etc. I really envy you guys for all the lakes you have access to up there. The Walleye fishing looks amazing.
. I hate crowds and bugs when camping and fishing so will be going in September when it’s too chilly for tubers and fair weather fisherman are done for the year. Bugs shouldn’t be an issue at that time of year AND a fire in the evening will be very welcome. I’ll be covering roughly 55 miles of water during the trip so a couple nights of camping will be in order. Hoping I can coax a trout or two into the canoe along the way.
