The Au Sable River in north central Michigan is without question one of the most beautiful rivers in the world – fish or no fish.  But this river has fish - lots of them and big ones.  In fact, the lore behind this river dates back over a century and is haled by avid fly fisherman the world over as a must fly fish river once in your lifetime. 

Bob Linsenman, a prolific fly fishing author, speaker, and expert in this part of the country rarely guides anymore, but when he told us he would be our host for the day on the Au Sable we were humbled, honored and excited.  We would later find out we were his first new clients he’s accepted in over two years. 

We met Bob at his fly shop in Mio, Michigan at 7:30AM along with some local television reporters who had asked if they could film a short piece on our adventure for the nightly news at our launch point.  It took a big longer than we had planned to do the filming but by 9AM we were afloat.

The top water action the first few hours was hot.  Fish were rising all around us and we were getting plenty of hits and boating a good number or rainbow and brown trout.

At Bob’s urging, I switched to a big streamer rig and tried my hand at raising some of the larger fish of the river.  It certainly worked – they rose – but I wasn’t as skilled at getting them to strike.  I had a few near misses but seemed to always lose them shortly after the strike.

Lunch was a real treat as Bob graciously provided a smorgasbord of smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, fried chicken, and strawberries.

The afternoon was a bit tougher on us as the fish seemed to slow down a bit but in the end we boated 17 rainbow and brown trout.  No monsters but truly a day to remember.  Even if you don’t fish – a canoe float would be a must if you ever find your way here.

The culminating highlight of the day came on our drive south in Michigan.  You see, a few days ago we received an email from a Michigan resident (Kent Aven) who was excited to see our route was passing by his home town.  He went on to say how he was inspired by our journey and asked about the possibility of meeting us.  The logistics seemed to be working out so we hooked up with Kent at the nearby Cracker Barrel at 3:30PM.  Besides the great conversation we enjoyed for an hour he also sent us on our way with some of the best cuisine Michigan has to offer.  Some legendary Cogle Bologna, Verner’s Ale, Clemento Napolitano Bread, and Traverse City Black Cherries - an awesome ending to a blessed day.