The Au Sable River is a freestone river in Michigan, listed as Blue Ribbon by Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
2 USGS gauges on the water report flow. 1 guide nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Grayling & the Au Sable.
The Au Sable River from the Highbanks, Huron-Manistee National Forests. Photo: Jessica Piispanen / USFWS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Au Sable River is a freestone river in Michigan. Our destination hub Grayling & the Au Sable is 10 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.
Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.
Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Au Sable River: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Au Sable River with 2 USGS gauges.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Au Sable River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of 6 restrooms near Au Sable River
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 6 restrooms near Au Sable River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Run by Oscoda County Park (as mapped)
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not East Branch Big CreekThe Manistee River, Michigan. Photo: Eric Schmuttenmaer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not East Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not East Branch Big CreekThe Black River in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Photo: SweetCanadianMullet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not East Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not West Branch Big CreekThe Boardman River in the Brown Bridge Quiet Area, near Traverse City. Photo: Phoenix-Five, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not South Branch Au Sable RiverThe Muskegon River near Newaygo, Michigan. Photo: Marc Steensma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Branch Au Sable River.
Michigan · about 9 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not Middle Branch Big CreekThe Pere Marquette River in autumn, Manistee National Forest. Photo: Yetiwriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 10 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not West Branch Big CreekThe Huron River at Ann Arbor, Michigan, from the Broadway Street bridge. Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 12 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, salmon & steelhead.
On the Blue Ribbon Trout Streams list (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
On the Fishing in the fall is fun when you target salmon and steelhead list (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
On the Gear-Restricted Trout Streams: artificial flies only list (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
On the Gear-Restricted Trout Streams: artificial flies only list (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
1 guide name it on their website
Mikado, MI · 48 mi
Float trips · Drift boat · Au Sable River
Names this water
No shop nearby yet.
The hatch and season chart for this water's region.
2 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Michigan DNR.
Hex (Hexagenia) (June to July) · Mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies (June)
Grayling sits at the head of the Au Sable River in northern Lower Michigan, with the upper Manistee River a few miles west and the Boardman River toward Traverse City.
Destination hub · 10 mi away in a straight line
What to bring on a guided float fishing trip: rain gear, polarized sunglasses, sun protection, a dry bag and your license. Most guides supply rods and flies. Estimated prices and where to buy.
Usually supplied by the guide; a 9′ 5–6 weight if you bring your own · Trout on most western float rivers
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Au Sable River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge AU SABLE RIVER NEAR RED OAK, MI. Water type is our own classification.
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not East Branch Big CreekThe Manistee River, Michigan. Photo: Eric Schmuttenmaer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not East Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not East Branch Big CreekThe Black River in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Photo: SweetCanadianMullet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not East Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not West Branch Big CreekThe Boardman River in the Brown Bridge Quiet Area, near Traverse City. Photo: Phoenix-Five, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 7 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not South Branch Au Sable RiverThe Muskegon River near Newaygo, Michigan. Photo: Marc Steensma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Branch Au Sable River.
Michigan · about 9 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not Middle Branch Big CreekThe Pere Marquette River in autumn, Manistee National Forest. Photo: Yetiwriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 10 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not West Branch Big CreekThe Huron River at Ann Arbor, Michigan, from the Broadway Street bridge. Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Branch Big Creek.
Michigan · about 12 mi
Grayling, Michigan
Fishing lodge · 10 mi
Grayling, Michigan
Fishing lodge · 14 mi
Lewiston, Michigan
Fishing lodge · 14 mi
