TROUT HOTEL

Who needs Donald Trump to build a hotel? My neighbor across the river, Lee from Columbus Ohio, built a trout hotel today. He had a dead tree he was afraid would someday fall on his cottage so he decided to put it in the river. After the North Branch was lumbered in the early 20th century, the river was devoid of large woody debris. The state and various river organizations have encouraged the placing of large trees to act as "trout hotels". In fact, Orvis has granted the AuSable River a matching grant to do just that. As you can see, there is now a structure out front that in just a few weeks will provide cover for several large trout.