River & RidgeOutdoors
River Intelligence / Start Here

Upper Au Sable River Intelligence

Start Here

Begin with what the river is showing. You do not need to know every fly or rig.

At the river

Use the clue in front of you.

Begin with what the river is showing. Those clues point you to one section of the box—Surface, Film, or Subsurface. The matching decision card helps you choose a fly, rig, and starting presentation. After you fish that starting presentation, follow the adjustment path for what to try next.

SStop

Pause before rigging and give yourself a moment to look.

CCheck

Confirm the conditions, access, and plan still make sense.

OObserve

Look for rises, bulges, flashes, insects, or no visible activity.

PPick

Choose Surface, Film, or Subsurface, then open that decision card.

EExecute & Evaluate

Fish the starting presentation, read the result, and follow the next adjustment.

You are not expected to identify everything. Your first job is to notice one useful clue and let the box narrow the decision.

Try the first decision

What activity is most obvious?

From clue to first attempt

Follow one physical path through the box.

  1. Choose the section.Repeated rises point to Surface. Bulges and movement in the film point to Film. Flashes below or no clear surface activity point to Subsurface.
  2. Open that decision card.The card narrows the fly by size, shape, and then color when color matters.
  3. Find the indicated fly.Use the box reference to locate the correct side, cell, size, and pattern.
  4. Build the matching rig.Follow the rig shown for that fly and starting presentation.
  5. Fish a deliberate starting presentation.Make comparable attempts in one likely feeding lane or target area, then follow the method-specific adjustment path.

A useful first result

Learning what happened is progress.

What if I do not see any activity?
Begin in Subsurface. The Subsurface decision card will help you choose between nymph, wet-fly, and streamer approaches instead of creating a fourth section of the box.
How long should I stay with the starting choice?
Long enough to make several comparable presentations. If every attempt is different, the result cannot tell you what to improve. The adjustment page helps you change one useful variable at a time.

Help refine this page

Did this make the next river decision clearer?

Tell us what helped, what remained confusing, and what a beginner would still need before using this guidance in the field.

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