Whirlpool provides launching access for small fishing boats and canoes on the Lower Au Sable. For those travelers that don't want to negotiate steep banks or don't have a boat to get out onto the water an accessible boardwalk leads to a hardened fishing access area. This portion of the Au Sable lies below the last dam and looks very much like a natural river making it a choice stretch to canoe. Salmon and steelhead trout fishing is very popular during the spring and fall spawning migration. Signs tell the story of the lake sturgeon, a protected species in Michigan.