Streamside Chat - Guest Chatter: Garry Crago
Celebrating TU’s 50th anniversary
seems a good time to reflect on two
rivers, each of which experienced
significant improvements through the
efforts of dedicated anglers and
conservationists.
The first such river is the Au Sable
in Michigan. Upon the banks of this
river in Grayling sixteen fishermen
founded Trout Unlimited. I had the
pleasure of fishing the Au Sable with
Doug Lyons this summer and was
fortunate enough to be there during
the famed hexegenia hatch. The
hatch was simply amazing, bringing
to the surface the river’s significant
population of large wild brown trout
during darkness; in fact it was not
uncommon to fish until 3 AM.
However, what struck me even more
was the passion for this river of the
anglers we met, and their collective
goal that it remains a sustainable
cold-water fishery with a thriving wild
trout population. The Au Sable is also
the home water of Rusty Gates,
proprietor of the Gates Lodge (in
Grayling) that was home base during
our trip. Rusty’s long-term
involvement and leadership is one of
the key reasons the river has thrived
for such a prolonged period. The Au
Sable is a prime example of hard
work, dedication and stewardship
combining to protect cold-water
resources and wonderfully reflecting
the mission of TU.
And that takes me to the second
river that warrants mentioning:
Vermont’s Battenkill. I’ve had the
opportunity to fish it several times with
Doug Lyons, who is truly a friend of
this river. Doug acts as a “guide” for
anglers new to the river and, more
importantly, participates as a
volunteer with state and federal
officials, working on habitat
restoration and fish studies. It’s an
idyllic trout stream with good flows
and cold temperature even in the
hottest summer periods. The fishing
on the ’Kill, however, had declined in
the late 90’s and much work was
required. With habitat restoration and
strong stewardship, the river is
recovering, as both electro-shocking
studies and angler reports confirm.
My advice? Talk to Doug about
Battenkill restoration efforts and, of
course, the fishing! By all means visit
the Battenkill so you can see
firsthand the restoration efforts.
Perhaps you’ll catch one of the large
wild browns that are known to inhabit
the river. Maybe you’ll even want to
become a volunteer.
Read the Summer 2009 Streamside Chat.
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