Today I wrote two large checks and deposited a very small one. This kind of sour karma can pick up downhill speed in a heartbeat, so to reverse the flow, the labs and I piled into my Suburban and made for the river. Comins Flats was our target. We'd splash and play with sticks, sit in the sun and scratch. We'd woof and sploosh; absolutely, we'd wrestle in the grass.
Smallish trout were rising across from the boat ramp and up through the riffle below the island. To my left and just under the power line, a trout skipped airborne, skittered on the surface, and disappeared in a heaving swirl that showered spray into the air. The skipper was gone. Brunch for a hook-jawed, spotted hunter. Taiga flattened me with a pro-quality clip across the back of the knees and burrowed her wet nose under my shirt collar. Cobaka licked the bridge of my bloody nose. I felt better already and only the upper half of my body was in the Au Sable.
There are many fish in the lower river this year. The late April plant of browns and rainbows (four to seven inches) has made a positive impact on the recreational use of the river. The small trout have grown rapidly (up to two inches per month!) and are now highly colored, fat, picky, and great fun to catch. They have ranged from the planting sites and are now fairly well dispersed from Mio to 4001.
The big trout and, of course, the herons, mink, otter, eagles, and osprey love them. There are little kids giggling with wormed hooks at the Mio canoe ramp and more drift boats than I've ever seen in a single season before. There are anglers from Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Rochester, Toledo, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Columbus, and Fort Wayne that are falling in love with the river below Mio. They are catching this year's fish and they are catching the much larger 18-inch plus browns and rainbows from previous years.
These anglers are learning that the lower river is wadeable, easy to fish, and stunningly beautiful. We need to encourage more anglers to sample the waters between Mio and Alcona, to appreciate its tremendous value, and to build a vested interest in its continued protection. Most of all, we should understand and appreciate the contribution of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the cold water fisheries personnel that have managed the stocking program. It is a roaring success. Please continue and, by the way, thank you very much.
More congratulations are in order. The "woody debris" project on the lower river is producing remarkable and, in some cases, dramatic results. This project, spearheaded by Huron Pines Resource Conservation and Development, in cooperation with the MDNR and the US Forest Service, is reintroducing large woody structures to the stream bed in both mid-river and bankside locations. The structures are natural looking and therefore aesthetically appealing; they provide habitat for nymphs and cover for trout, and already some very large fish (20 inches plus) have discovered their value as ambush sites.
Brian Benjamin informed me that in October of this year a helicopter airlift will place whole tree structures. Now, that will have a dramatic, positive effect. Thank you Brian, the Huron Pines RC and D, The MDNR, and the US Forest Service. Please continue.
Lastly, I want to commend the Oscoda County Sheriff's Department for its efforts to enforce the laws that protect the river and those who use it properly. The Sheriff's Deputies and Conservation officers cooperate in ticketing river trash -- those people that come to get drunk, get high, and litter. They ticket people who ignore the trophy trout regulations and the recipients of those tickets do not leave the river smiling. The Oscoda County Sheriff's pursuit jet boat is a welcome sight for those of us who love the Big Water. Please keep it running, and thanks again. RWOL
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