A Letter to the Anglers

A letter to the Anglers of the Au Sable general membership:

My name is Tom Cunningham. I am a founder, with Mike and Pete Ferrara, of the Johnson Creek Society in Northville, MI. Northville was once the site of a Federal Fish Hatchery that provided the first planting of brown trout in North America. The hatchery no longer exists, except in name, but we are dedicated to helping to preserve its memory and history for all lovers of brown trout and of fly fishing heritage.

We also are dedicated to protecting and improving the river that provided the hatchery with it’s water source, Johnson Creek. Johnson Creek, officially a "drain", is the only river in southeast Michigan capable of supporting trout year around. The state had been quietly stocking trout in the creek for several years, and each year it produces a few trout in the 15- 17" range. We believe that with a little help it could become a self-sustaining brown trout fishery.

I have spoken with Bob Linsenman, and Jerry Dennis on their visits to Northville, and with Rusty Gates at last year’s Southfield show and they all offered their encouragement and support.

We are about to launch a major effort in SE Michigan to gain support for protection and habitat improvement of the creek. We hope to work with several local TU chapters and the DNR, DEQ, local fly shops (especially Bueter’s Outdoors) and others to pull together the resources to move forward.

We’d really appreciate whatever support you can give us. Any help would be much appreciated.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at tcunning@wnol.net.

Our website is http:/www.browntrout.org

Thanks much.

RWOL

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