Last week, dozens of canoe teams made their way down stream from Grayling to Oscoda in an all-night marathon. But come morning, much of what remains is the trash that people left behind.
One conservation group continued a decade-long program to clean the river — while also teaching troubled kids to value the pristine waters.
At McMaster's Bridge Landing, about 20 miles downstream from Grayling, the Anglers of the Au Sable River greet five kids between the ages of 11 and 17 as they climb out of an SUV.
The kids are accompanied by two probation officers. That's because they're in the Crawford County Probate Court system. Some of the kids have had problems with truancy or are struggling at home or in school. Community service is part of their rehabilitation plan.
Because they're minors, IPR is only using their first names to protect their identity.
'Look at it with bigger eyes'
Along the river, Angler Bruce Pregler gives a lesson about why the river is so important to the area.
"One of the things that I hope to do is get you to look at the river as, not only a great place to go for a float, maybe fish a little bit, but look at it with bigger eyes and bigger perceptions of what really goes on here," Pregler said.
The kids and Anglers get to work gathering bits of plastic, left-behind clothes and old cigarette butts to keep waste from entering the water.
Pregler, a lawyer and lifelong fisherman, started the program a decade ago using his connections in the legal system. He said he wanted to combine his love of the Au Sable with offering more community resources to kids in the juvenile justice system.
Currently, there are about 30 kids on probation in Crawford County, according to the probate court administrator. But in a rural area, good community programs for juveniles can be hard to come by.
Crawford County often needs to get creative about giving the kids things to do. Court officials say the Anglers of the Au Sable are important partners.
“I was in a lot of trouble, and I came out here, I did this, I found something that I liked. Then I started making it my weekend project.”COLE HOLBORN | 18 years old
The Anglers say they look forward to doing the program because it's not just about picking up trash. They get to teach the kids what they know best - fly fishing.
After about an hour, the Anglers unload gear from their cars and trucks - 10-foot fishing rods, homemade flys and lime-green fishing line.
Past President and member Joe Hemming stands ankle-deep in water as he teaches a participant named Cody to throw a proper cast.
"Your back cast is only going to go back to 11 o'clock and then forward to one o'clock, and then you let the rod just drop, and the fly line will lay out on the water," Hemming says as he guides Cody's arm.
The other kids are grinning as they throw their lines. None of them had ever gone fly fishing before today.
But some may fall in love with it.
Passing it on
That's what happened to 18-year-old Cole Holborn. He was in last year's probation group when he was having problems with cutting class.
"I was in a lot of trouble, and I came out here, I did this, I found something that I liked," Holborn said. "Then I started making it my weekend project."
One year later, Holborn has a part-time landscaping job. He likes to spend his weekends fishing with his friends. He says he feels more at peace and determined.
"It's just calming. In a house, you got walls all around you. When you're outside, you can go anywhere," Holborn said. "It's better to be outside, getting in the fresh air, sunlight and being trapped up in your house."
Holborn said he's back on track to graduate high school this year and wants to continue working in the area to be close to the Au Sable River.
Before everyone leaves, the Anglers surprise the kids with their own fly fishing rods which Pregler said "could last decades if taken care of."
"For me, it was my father who got me into fly fishing," Pregler said. "We went to our grandparents cabin in northern Minnesota, and I remember my dad saying, 'let's go flip some flies up in the weeds."
It's that lifelong love of fishing and being outside that motivates Pregler to pass it on to the next generation.
"We don't expect any compensation. All we ask them is learn to protect the river and get out there and fish."
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