"The Au Sable just lost the best friend it ever had. Calvin “Rusty” Gates Jr., Da Gator to his legion of acquaintances, passed away on 19 December 2009. Things in this beautiful valley will never be the same.
Once in a lifetime there is someone that touches your life in so many ways. Rusty Gates was one of those people. His spirit and tenacity had an affect on everyone involved in environmental causes, from hikers to hunters to the many of us who came here to cast a fly far and fine. He was a fighter and it was the good fight that he chose to engage; catch and release on the Holy Waters, National Guard noise pollution on the North Branch, oil wells on the South Branch, and toxic chemicals on the Big Water. Da Gator led the way. A tap on the shoulder, a glance from those blue/grey eyes, a short conversation; that was usually all it took. We set to our tasks with a brio, partly from the cause, partly not to let him down.
He had all the connections and could accomplish more in a phone call than anyone else could do in six months of work. Where would we be without him these last 20 plus years?
A man of character and courage, he brought both, as well as his wry sense of humor, to his final battle. In the end, only his body gave out, Rusty’s spirit remained indomitable.
Rusty Gates has left us as a leader, but left a legacy as big as the river. The vigilance that he began will go on!"
...This is truely a sad loss for anglers and conservationists alike, Rusty was a true fighter for the causes he believed in and without him there would be far fewer regulations set in place over the past decade that actually benefitted the angler. I hope that when I pass I leave such a legacy.
some pics from my stay at Gate's AuSable lodge last summer.
