Lewiston Morel Mushroom Festival C-10
Kirtland Warbler Festival C-6
Fishing with Sunshine C-3
Knight at the Faire C-7
What's in this issue:
Gates Lodge A-2
May 2019
Strengthening the communities of Northeast Michigan Vol. 11, Issue 11
Voice
Free Up North
Gates Lodge and the holy water History in the making
By Jim Smith GRAYLING - The AuSable River, fly fishing and river conservation have been a part of Crawford County history for over a century. About the same time as the lumber industry was transforming from big timber into pulp wood harvesting, Americans returned from the wars in Europe with knowledge that a fluff of fur or yarn wrapped around some feathers and a hook can entice a sophisticated trout to mistake it for dinner. The sport of fly fishing took off
Josh Greenberg oversees continuing the Gates Legacy of preservation of the AuSable River in its pristine condition.
and the streams that once floated millions of feet of pine to the sawmills, became hosts to sportsmen intent on stalking the silvery ghosts of the cool, crystal pools and rapids of the north country’s rivers. One of the causalities of the lumbering era was the Grayling, a beautiful, iridescent member of the Char Family of fish, whose firm flesh carried a hint of thyme. Habitat changes and greed doomed the Grayling in the AuSable river system and the Brook Trout, introduced by Rube Babbitt in 1885, took its place. It’s impossible to understand the history of fly fishing on the AuSable without examining the history of Gates Fishing Lodge and the Gates family. It has been their passionate influence on the river and its tributaries over nearly half a century that has elevated the upper reaches of the AuSable River to its status as one of the premier trout streams in the United States. In the early 1970’s, Calvin and Mary Gates retired as music teachers in Oscoda, moved to Grayling and purchased a riverside bar and restaurant on Stephan Bridge Road called “The Canoe Inn”. The original lodge was purchased from the Borcher Family. It was a local spot that offered drink, food and a few overnight cottages with a view of the river. It was also a favorite watering hole and rest stop for folks canoeing the river for either fun or fishing.
Believe it or not, this beautiful Brown Trout lived right under the Stephan Bridge until it was caught by a lucky angler.
Renamed “Gates Lodge”, Cal and Mary expanded the operation with more rooms and a small fly shop that consisted of a single show case of flys. Cal was an avid fly fisherman when fly fishing was first becoming popular in the United States. He recognized the AuSable River watershed and the potential it held for a premier trout stream. Born in 1955 and a teenager when they moved to Grayling, Cal’s son Rusty, was as thrilled with fly fishing as his father and soon became an excellent fly fisherman and expert river guide. Rusty started tying his own flies at an early age and developed several patterns specifically imitating the AuSable River hatch’s and giving them names like the “Rusty Spinner” and the “SRB” (Secret Rubber Bug). Rusty and his wife, Julie, pur-
chased the Lodge from Rusty’s mother, Mary, after Cal passed on. They had been running the lodge since Cal retired in the early 1980’s. Gates Lodge is located on a stretch of the river known as the “Holy Water”. It was so named by Cal out of respect for the perfect habitat it contains for reproduction of trout with its swift, cool waters, deep pools, undercut banks and gravel bottom. Rusty and Julie built the Lodge into a fourteen unit, four seasons fly fishing destination. They offered professional guide service, a fully equipped fly shop and a full restaurant offering three meals a day. Fishermen setting out on a float trip may even order box lunches to take out. However, the real history of Gates See GATES LODGE on page 3