George Griffith: One Who Dearly Loved The Au Sable

An obituary of George Griffith would contain the following:

All fly fishers today mourned the loss of George Griffith, at whose home on the banks of the famed Holy Waters of the Au Sable River a diverse group of conservation anglers founded Trout Unlimited almost four decades ago. George was ninety-seven years old. He is survived by his lovely wife, Peri. George died April 7 in Florida at his Pompano Beach winter home.

But that would be much too brief.

Those who have been involved with rivers and trout know that George was a river and trout conservation icon in northern Michigan. He was, however, much like all of us who love to fish with flies and call the Au Sable our home water. Right or wrong, he always put the Au Sable above any other consideration when he felt this river and its trout were threatened.

Charles F. Gauvin of T.U. gives George a just and honest eulogy: "George's passing is a tremendous loss to Trout Unlimited and to the conservation community in general. Every trout angler owes a debt of gratitude to George for his dedication to the protection of our wild trout resources."

George had the good fortune to grow up in Ohio in a family that loved hunting and fishing. As a hosiery salesman beginning in the Twenties and ending in the late Fifties, and having the good fortune of Northern Michigan as his territory, he eventually found his way to, and settled on, the Au Sable Mainstream in a house he called "The Barbless Hook." He lived there almost sixty years.

He also had the misfortune of serving as witness to the development, logging, pollution, and misguided, if not atrocious, fisheries management which continued to damage the river and put the trout fishery in peril. (In 1950 the bag on the Holy Water was ten trout over seven inches and any bait or lure could be used.) In the late summer of 1959, he invited others so inclined to meet at his home and follow through on George Mason's vision to form an organization that would protect trout and rivers in the same way that Ducks Unlimited had protected waterfowl and wetlands. The rest is history and need not be related here. It is well documented in his book, For The Love Of Trout.

What may not be well known is that George, at that time, was a member of the Michigan Conservation Commission and could not serve in an executive capacity in T.U. However, he later served as its president from 1961 to 1964 and remained active in T.U. for the remainder of his life, serving for many years on its National Board of Directors.

In his last few years -- few when measured by ninety-seven -- he helped found the George Griffith Foundation which supports research on rivers and trout conservation, and he donated his home and property to Michigan Trout Unlimited.

Over the years George has been a member and a firm supporter of The Anglers, of what we are doing, and of our goals. I remember when, in 1986, we were in a Grayling courtroom regarding catch-and-release. I sat next to George and Ben Butts (a friend who lived on the Manistee) during the proceedings. Whenever we had a break, and there were many as there always are, we talked and exchanged ideas. George and Ben were there because they supported catch and release in the Holy Water. As I remember, George was not feeling well at the time -- I don't know why -- but he remained a strong supporter of more restrictive regulations on "his river."

Being a valued member, George was almost always present at our Free Anglers annual meetings. When George spoke we listened, as we should. We should always listen to our elders, even when they're in their nineties. Maybe even especially when they're in their nineties.

(God help me, I am only twenty-seven years younger than George. When George said something I paid attention. I also waded past the Barbless Hook with deference and holy reverence, even when I knew he wasn't home. Being an early member of T.U., having joined it early in 1960 at Paul Young's shop near Detroit, I knew at a comparatively early--but not young-- age how important George Griffith was.)

George was elected by unanimous vote to be our Riverkeeper of the Year for 1992. He was then only ninety-one. This is an abridged version of what Pete Koper wrote in The Riverwatch in the Summer of 1992:

About a one-half mile above Wakeley Bridge, on the north bank of the Mainstream, a small dock just into the river. Next to it is a modest granite stone with a plaque marking the site of the meeting which founded Trout Unlimited on July 18, 1959. The stairs which ascend the grass-covered high bank from the dock lead to the home of George Griffith, the man who called that meeting and whose lifetime of service to the river and its causes led The Anglers to name him Riverkeeper of the Year at our 1992 annual meeting.
George discovered early that he could combine a career in sales and a passion for trout. His sales route took him through northern Michigan--where trout abound. His business took him to such people as James Milliken of Traverse City. While near Traverse City George fished. He became reliable in business and a friend on the stream. This combination gave him a web of connections that made him both successful as a businessman and provided a link between anglers and the politicians and bureaucrats of the state government.
George was in the middle of these changes (on the Au Sable). His work with the Au Sable Property Owners Association and his close work with Department of Conservation professionals led Governor G. Mennon Williams (Democrat) to appoint George (Republican) to the Conservation Commission in 1949. He served there for twelve years, supporting the then controversial regulations to allow doe hunting as well as progressive fishing regulations.
The founding of TU came from related circumstances which involved both George and his friend George Mason, who, at that time, owned most of the land along the South Branch from Chase Bridge to M-72. Mason had been active in Ducks Unlimited and in the early 1950s he proposed to Griffith a similar organization for trout.
Mason had the custom of wining and dining the Director of the DOC and the Conservation Commission once a year at the Detroit Athletic Club. They often discussed conservation issues. Mason's thinking and contacts coincided with a continuing effort to reduce stocking programs. TU eventually emerged as an effort to generate effective political support for a wild trout fishery.
George Griffith is a fitting patriarch for TU and for The Anglers. He is an example of how a love of fly fishing can enhance other experiences and ideals: warm friendships, a commitment to democratic political processes, and an awareness of how much our humanity is conditioned by the natural processes we seek to protect.

When doing research for this story I went on the Internet and used the best search engines to find references to George Griffith. Using only his name I could find a couple of stories on his death in various TU web sites and one book review of The Love of Trout (found in The Anglers web site). Using his name AND Trout Unlimited I found the same stories plus a story about Bob Summers, a close friend of George's, which mentioned their friendship. However, using the same search engines, but with "Griffith's Gnat" as the object of my search, I found hundreds of sites with stories about this famous fly that George originated. The implications of this disparity gave me a chill. Will future generations of anglers remember George only by the fly pattern he originated? Though this pattern is simple but elegant, and possibly surpassed only by the Adams in effectiveness and universal appeal, I hope my fears are groundless. I hope that Trout Unlimited will find some way to keep his name and the history of the origins of this fine conservation organization in the minds of its young recruits.

As Bill Walker writes in Michigan Trout: "In the full sweep of the American conservation movement, few legacies match that of George A. Griffith."

Tax-deductible contributions in his memory may be sent to the George Griffith Foundation, P.O. Box 502, Grayling, MI 49738 RWOL

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