• Imagine a trip to the Manitou Islands while dodging 50-pound flying fish.
• Imagine your favorite fishing hole as a barren, fish-free dead zone.
• Imagine the elimination of thousands of fishery jobs and the evaporation of a $7 billion industry in a time when Michigan cannot afford further attrition.

1. Sign the online petition to close the locks at www.stopasiancarp.com.
2. Attend rallies, such as the one being held at the Traverse City Fish Ladder on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. to encourage Federal action to close the locks in Chicago to prevent the destruction of the Great Lakes ecology and $7 billion fishery economy.

Bob Summers

From the video vault today comes a nice five-minute film of rodmaker and fly angler Bob Summers teaching the craft to his granddaughter, Cara Smith. You probably know Bob Summers, or at least his work, but if not, you should start with this fact: Summers is just about at the top of the list when it comes to building and restoring cane rods. He has been working at it since 1956, and spent 18 years with the Paul H. Young Company of Detroit, MI.

As he notes on his company website, he specializes in repairing and restoring the rods of two famous makers: Paul H. Young and Lyle Dickerson. He also makes very collectible rods himself, working out of a home studio on the Boardman River. And here is another interesting facts about Bob: He happens to own George Griffiths’ old Au Sable river boat.

Summers has a wonderful website that services as a good  introduction to his craft. In addition to information about how to get a Bob Summers rod for yourself (hint: be prepared to wait a while for delivery — your name goes on the bottom of the list), he also lists a number of collectible classic bamboo rods for sale from all the leading manufacturers working in the Golden Age of cane. Enjoy and happy casting!

Rusty's Seasons on the Au Sable

Grayling, Michigan, has been named this year in Forbes Magazine’s list of the top ten trout fishing towns in North America. Grayling joins the list which includes such notables as West Yellowstone, MT, Roscoe, NY, State College, PA, Glenwood Springs, CO, Mountain Home, AR, and Redding, CA — all-in-all, quite good company.

Northern Michigan has been well-represented in the “best of” lists in recent years, especially when it comes to the sporting life. In 2008 Field and Stream picked Traverse City as one of the top ten fishing towns in America, the editors noting that “between May and October, there is no consistently better place to be fishing in America than Traverse City, Mich.”

In the November/December 2005 issue of Fly Rod & Reel Traverse City was also chosen as one of twelve best retirement towns for the dedicated fly angler due to the proximity of world-class fly angling and the relatively low cost of living in the area.

I don’t think anyone would argue with Grayling’s position on the Forbes list, though reading the list of communities that the magazine selected for inclusion reminds me a bit of a long passage in Paul Schullery’s essay, “All the Young Men with Fly Rods,” where he reflects on youthful years spent bumming a bit more around the country looking for great trout water. He correctly notes:

“There is one piece of property that the modern trout bum finds almost essential for full exercise of the art these days, and that’s a reliable car. Some modern trout bums can practice their creed from one spot, but most of us need mobility. I certainly did. For some reason, I have always kept a simple “auto log” for each can I owned. As I look through the log I used back then, it tells much more of a story than would seem possible in what is really only a list of gasoline prices, dates, and places. But even to the causal fisherman some of the names that appear would be familiar and might suggest the car’s real mission: Key West, Grayling, and lots of places that end in “falls,” “creek,” or “river.” And to the more serious fisherman there is every indication of an odyssey here: Steamboat, Livingston, Jackson, Roscoe, Homestead. And for the absolute angling fanatic, the single-minded pilgrim, there is the final proof, the harder-to-learn names that say ‘Here, far from anywhere you’d think, here is the real mainstream’: Glide, Agness, Mio, Marblemount.”

TU Plaque

Trout Unlimited’s 50th anniversary celebration will be hosted at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City. The event is scheduled for the week of August 17th through the 24th. Events are wide-ranging and include several hosted fishing trips, guest speakers and special classes, casting contests, and plenty of information on area watershed developments and conservation resources. Event registration is required and space is limited.

Trout Unlimited was founded on the banks of the Au Sable River near Grayling. The story goes that the first meeting was comprised of 16 fishermen who gathered at the home of George Griffith (“The Barbless Hook”), but as is so often the case, the story might actually be a bit more complicated than that.