Synopsis
Three miles downstream from Grayling, Michigan, is the Holy Water, a stretch of the Au Sable River that is some of the most storied trout fishing water in the country. One man, perhaps more than any other, has adopted this magical place as his own, nurturing, protecting, and sharing its secrets with generations of anglers over the years. His name is Rusty Gates.
In Seasons on the Au Sable, Rusty imparts his substantial knowledge of how to fly fish this blue-ribbon trout fishery. And he should know. The Gates Au Sable Lodge is nestled along the banks of the Holy Water, and his legendary fly shop is a cast away from the Main Branch. His book begins with the most important month of the year--April, the season opener! It follows the progression of insect hatches that occur in northern Michigan, many unique to the Au Sable. Along with Rusty's stories and personal reflections on the river, the book includes practical advice such as which flies to use, the best time of day to fish, and what impact weather may have on hatches and fish activity.
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About the Author
Rusty Gates owns and operates, along with his wife Julie, the Gates Au Sable Lodge, located just outside Grayling, Michigan. The Lodge was purchased in 1970 by his parents, Mary and Cal Gates. It was Cal Gates who coined the popular phrase "Holy Water" which refers to a stretch of the Au Sable between Burton's Landing and Wakeley Bridge. Rusty Gates is the Founder and President of The Anglers of The Au Sable, a non-profit conservation organization that has undertaken extensive restoration and preservation efforts in the Au Sable watershed. The Anglers of the Au Sable boasts over 600 members and is considered one of the premier cold-water fisheries organizations in the world. In 1995 Gates was honored as Fly Rod and Reel, Angler of the Year.
The Gates Lodge pro shop is the hub of fishing activity in the area. Locally tied fly patterns help anglers entice the Au Sable's notoriously selective trout. Gates employs numerous guides with extensive knowledge of the Au Sable and Manistee rivers, and local creeks teaming with trout. On his website, Gates writes a weekly fishing report --their popularity became the basis for a book published in April of 2007, entitled Season on the Au Sable.
From the Back Cover
Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through. Rusty Gates is such a man, as unique as the Au Sable he stewards, in tune with its moods and the gifts it delivers each hour, each day, each remarkable season. -- Joseph Heywood
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction: The Au Sable is, by most accounts, one of the ten best trout streams in the United States. It sustains this reputation in spite of egregious mistreatment in the past however with current protections and enlightened management it slowly wends its way back to its historical prime. It starts near the centerline of the Lower Peninsula with the mainstream joined but the North and South Branches and innumerable creeks, seepages and springs. Two hundred miles of river, one hundred of which are wade able, prime trout water. Near the mouth the resident trout population gives way to seasonal steelhead and Pacific salmon visitors from Lake Huron.
Prime water on the mainstream, as well as excellent water on both the North Branch and South Branch has been designated as a protected habitat, fly only, catch and release. This portion of the Mainstream is fondly called "Holy Waters". It is a storied stretch including the riverfront house where Trout unlimited was founded. Where Stephan's Bridge crosses the river, at approximately the mid point of the Holy Waters is Gates Au Sable Lodge. Started by Cal Gates in 1970 and now operated by his son Rusty (Cal Jr.) It has been the unofficial center of Au Sable trout fishing for more almost four decades.
Rusty has watched the river daily, barring of course the rare vacation, through the four seasons for over thirty-five years. Day and night since his home is on the water just upstream from the Lodge. Supplemented with information from the shop's guides and the ever changing clientele in and out of the shop after fishing. He is a constant source of information about the river conditions and the fishing, by telephone or in the shop. Some years ago he added a fishing report to the Lodge web site. This turned into a weekly essay about the river's current condition, hatches, and notable events and not just the Holy Waters but the North Branch and the South Branch as well with occasional observation on the nearby Manistee River. This book contains three plus years of these essays, edited a bit to help those not sharing local knowledge, arranged chronologically by month. In effect it is a sort of underground or insiders guide to fishing and otherwise enjoying this river system.
There is an ever growing list of guides to Michigan trout waters. All will list access points, Hatch charts, and most of her list of favored flies. None really develop the feeling of intimacy of Rusty's Fishing Report, special flies, special times, and special places.
All but three of the essays are by Rusty. The boys in the shop have begun to contribute to the Fishing Report and three of these are included and identified. Editorial comment has been put in text boxes and is there to fill in the blanks for readers not familiar with the Au Sable. The Hatch chart is from the Lodge web site. The afterword is by Julie, Rusty's wife, who feeds most of us.
The river's history will emerge as the seasons unfold.
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Seasons on the Au Sable
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