Gray Drake Lodge is NOT closed! My 8 year old grandson and I visited on 9/14/18 for a phenomenal experience! This trip was a birthday gift to me from my wife. Perhaps one of the best gifts I have ever received. Our hosts, Matt and Laurie, were amazing. A few days before our arrival, Matt called to ask about food and accommodation preferences. The breakfasts Laurie prepared were so special, my we texted pics to Mom. Matt also put a great deal of thought and time into preparing food for our time on the river. Then came fly fishing! I could not have scripted a better experience or imagined a better guide/instructor. While I went to a fly fishing instruction weekend years ago, we are novices. You will never find a better person to learn from. Without a doubt, Matt is one of the best! More importantly to me as a grandpa, was the attention, patience and real interest he had in teaching my grandson. Before our two days were over, he caught 5 fish and several more that got away! (I caught a few, and would have caught more, except for the joy I had watching my grandson learn from Matt). His knowledge and teaching skills are remarkable. His ability to give such attention to an 8 year old for 5 hours a day for two days, and at the same time keep an eye on me and give me valuable advice was priceless. As a B&B, Gray Drake is excellent. As a fly fishing experience and a learning experience, all I can add is that the memories will be with my grandson and I for life! read more

Gray Drake Lodge & Outfitters - Bed & Breakfast Near Me - Newaygo, Michigan

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I happened to read the previous review on this Lodge and I felt compelled to write a review myself. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions and that is great-however I feel the woman who wrote the review kind of missed the point that it is a fly fishing lodge not just a B and B. She must have never stayed at this type of bed and breakfast to not know that everything she was complaining about it how every fly fish lodge is structured. Fly fishing lodges are catered to Fly fishermen and like myself Fly fisherwomen. It is a place where people do like to hear stories about fishing and fish that has been caught. It is also a place where food is part of the experience and they cater you while you stay. It is part of the price you agree to pay before you stay at a bed and breakfast. I stayed at this lodge with my husband this past week for our honeymoon. It was nothing less than amazing. Matt the owner and his wife take their lodge very seriously and when they were in the living area it was far away from the guests and they were cleaning up after us. They were never there to socialize or interrupt, they were simply keeping order in the lodge so that everything looked appealing to their guests. I find it interesting that a guest would complain about the owner wanting to acknowledge their guests. Matt and his wife were always very pleasant and professional. We never once felt uncomfortable. Their lodge was so clean and organized-just a breathtaking place to stay id you love fly fishing and the outdoors. We had such a wonderful experience here at this lodge and we are already planning on when we can visit again. The room we stayed was the master room suite. I will post a picture so you can see-it was so beautiful and the architecture was very unique. Right outside the door was a Jacuzzi overlooking the river which was such an unexpected bonus (which I may add was never advertised so I am not sure why the woman on the previous review was complaining, since it was she didn't even know they had one until she got there...). Matt himself took us fly fishing on his DAYS OFF. We thought that was really fun. He was so helpful and was great at giving direction when we needed it (and I needed it a lot). My husband is an avid fly fisher and we have been to many lodges. He was very impressed with the whole experience we had with him. I highly suggest staying here if you are looking to fish in Michigan. I also highly suggest not staying here if you want to be antisocial and complain like the last review-if you want to stay at a cold place with cold people, go to a motel. THIS IS A FLY FISHING LODGE. Not sure if you will see this Matt, but thank you and your wife for such an awesome time and awesome food and fishing! We absolutely will be back. read more

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It has taken me a while to gather my thoughts on this place. On one hand, it was great to get away and experience Michigan river life at a beautiful B&B. On the other, I felt that the couple that ran this place interfered with our family vacation. My family had booked their lodge for a weekend getaway, but the weekend before we were to go lightening struck it and the power went out. As a substitute, management offered for us to stay at their neighboring B&B instead. I was looking forward to a fun family weekend spent relaxing and drinking vino, so when I arrived to this beautiful lodge I was excited. The B&B was big enough to fit our party comfortably (four couples and a single), and was gorgeous. There was a big deck with a fire pit and a hot tub (which was drained and out of operation when we stayed: big bummer!) for relaxing outside. A path leads from the deck to the river, which made for a few midnight dips! I got the sense that this is management's home, and they lived in the bottom part of the lodge. Due to this, the couple that ran this place was in and out a lot. I felt like I could never truly relax, because I did not know when they would come walking through. One night, the owner (Matt I believe) sat at the table and drank with us. I did not enjoy this, as I felt it was encroaching on my family time. I got up and left the table, and was promptly followed by a few other people. It's not that I'm not social, but I wanted to catch up with family, not someone who bragged about fly fishing with celebrities. This place offers some extras that I wasn't so keen on. If you're into fly fishing, this is a great place to go! Matt is knowledgeable, and led a few guys from our party on an afternoon fishing outing. They also offered a gourmet meal prepared for us, but please do not take this option. The woman they bring in to cook for you is nice enough, but she charges an arm and a leg to make lasagna! I think it was $40 per person for a salad, lasagna and microscopic piece of cheesecake. In addition, she sat in the kitchen chatting with the owner and eating within plain sight of us. It was nice to have someone cook for us, but the price is completely out of whack. We could have made that meal for all of us for the price of one person. All in all: I would recommend this place for someone who is looking to fly fishing. I would have liked to see the owners less. I think if we would have been able to stay at he lodge they wouldn't have been in and out. read more

Gray drake is the best guide service I've ever been on! Matthew Supinski taught great techniques and even showed me a little in fly tying! Best lunches I've had in months and an overall great experience! Hooked into 7 salmon and 8 brown trout! Great time! All these posts about bad things on here I don't understand! It's truly a great experience. I had no bad experiences with him and have been out fishing with Matt many times. Definitely worth 5 stars. read more

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A friend and I bid on and won an Atlantic Salmon fishing trip at a local Trout Unlimited banquet. Matt had donated a one day trip. My fishing partner and I paid full rate for an additional two days. Three days of fishing, not one single fish, of any kind. However, I guess that can happen. The real issue is that after we drove away back to Pennsylvania his company overcharged my card by $200. He has acknowledged the mistake. Over three weeks now, eight emails and responses from Matt assuring me that they would give me a refund, still no refund...Refund transaction completed the day after this review posted. read more

Wow! Lodge and scenery are beautiful! Food was scrumptious and company was awesome! Matt's teaching style is wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a more passionate guide! Cannot wait to book a spring trip!! read more

The lodge is beautiful, set in the woods next to the Muskegon River. You will be hard pressed to find a nicer lodge. The amenities are top notch and the meals provided were very good. Matt's knowledge on Salmonoids is one of the best I know. His passion for sharing his knowledge and getting you on big Trout is infectous. You will not be disappointed with spending time at the Gray Drake Lodge with Matt and Laurie. read more

This is a long review, but this guy is so bad we decided to document our entire experience... Two of my friends and I recently fished with Matt Supinski and found it to be one of the worst experiences we have ever had. Matt is arrogant, self centered and utterly deceiving. We started the day with another guide, John, and then Matt at 8. Two of us went with John, who did a fantastic job. We knew it was a crap shoot finding salmon because they just weren't moving yet. We understood the risk and greatly appreciated all of John's effort. Fly Fire Guides is his company, which we would recommend. On the other hand, Matt decided to take one of us to a river on which he had a lot of experience. He dilly dallied around and stated he had to transfer all his gear over from his boat to his truck. This was an obvious lie as he had just gotten a new boat and it wasn't even rigged for fishing yet. He must have taken us for unobservant idiots. On the way to the river, he stopped at two Family Dollar stores and two bait shops looking for beads and needles which weren't even needed. At 11:30, he still hadn't put a line in the water. One would assume a guide would have all his gear and a spot to fish given he had the prior day off. The White River, which he had so often fished, is in a park where there is a $5 fee. He parked not knowing there was a fee. When the park ranger came later on and asked for the fee, our guide Matt proceeded to berate the ranger calling him a nazi. This also happened the next day when I was with him. Great way to treat a 75 year old public park attendant. $5 was a pittance compared to what we were paying this miscreant. After locating two fish he decided to film them on his phone rather than get a game plan to at least try an attempt to get them. After 30 minutes, he asked if my buddy wanted to fish for them. Of course he said yes so Matt went back and spent even more time getting a pole set up. During this time, two kayakers came down the river and spooked the fish. They finally made it into the water and fished for a total of 45 minutes. They then preceded to go to other rivers in the area Matt supposedly had extensive knowledge of. At one time, they pulled into a park and he said they were near a spot he fished often. After 150 yards, my buddy looked at his GPS app and told Matt there was no water in that area. Matt said maybe you're right. He was 4 miles off according to the GPS. 4 flipping miles. They went to several other spots to no avail and called it a day, but not before Matt pulled over to get sweet corn for himself. My buddy had a line in the water a total of 45 minutes. But at least they were able to get all of Matt's errands done. I fished with Matt the following day. Upon arrival, he came out and said " ok guys what's the game plan today". Last I checked he is the guide, wouldn't you think he would have a game plan? Two guys again fished the Muskegon with John, who did great as mentioned above. Once again Matt dilly dallied stating he was rigged for the Muskegon, once again lying. We proceeded to the White River all the while listening to a cacophony of racial slurs and demeaning statements about my buddies who were farmers from Minnesota. One who has a degree in agronomy and the other a masters in education. He also made it clear that all people from Chicago would bitch and moan all day about the fishing rates and never tip. I am from the Chicago area. With most of his business coming from Chicago, he sure does seem to despise us. All he did all day when he wasn't on his phone, or yelling racial slurs was state that he couldn't believe Obama hasn't been shot in office yet. He is originally from Poland, maybe they have somewhere for him to live since he despises the US so much. Anyway, back to the White River. I was told to sit and watch a hole while he was going to "check down river for more fish". After walking out of sight I could hear a car door slam. He would later get out of his car and hit the alarm, a horn would go off, and come back and say he had seen several fish down river. He did this several times throughout the course of the morning. I had two girls fishing near me ask me if he was my guide. I responded yes and they responded, "then why isn't he with you?". Great question. Every once and a while he would look in on me stating once the sun came out we would be able to see the fish and be able to cast directly to them. He said the sun would take about 20 minutes but only at noon did it finally clear the trees. He's also a fan of yelling,"look over there". Stating he had seen a fish. At the end of the day, we hadn't caught a single fish and he handed me a bill. When I asked for a breakdown, because I wasn't sure what hours we were paying for, he responded "you're a big boy you can f....ing figure it out". We figured it out all right, we had been had by a silver tongued, racist, pompous ass. There's more but I only get 5000 characters. read more

My teenage daughter recently expressed a desire to learn how to fly fish. We took a couple half-day trips on our own, but I realized that to do it right I should involve a pro. I contacted Matt at the Gray Drake to book a couple days on the Muskegon, a river I've always loved. I had never fished with Matt before, but I've read some of his books and knew of his great reputation. My daughter and I weren't disappointed. We had a phenomenal trip! As this was my daughter's first real trout outing, Matt suggested that we spend our first day on the Muskegon, and our second day on some local spring creeks for wild browns and native brookies. Wow, how it all came together. A blizzard caddis hatch on the Muskegon had us hooking trout after trout on our first day. But, the real treat was seeing how Matt worked with my daughter to have her not just casting well, but mending and tailoring her presentation to the active caddis... and, hooking and landing her first trout and many others! It was a very special first day. The second day had us wading the cold small spring creek and casting to eager wild trout. Matt had my daughter roll casting in no time. She hooked no less than 14 trout in one hole alone, including 4 on 4 roll casts in a row. Matt's skill as a teacher, friendly demeanor and fun nature made this a trip that my daughter and I will never forget! My daughter is hooked, and I have a new fishing partner. We cannot thank Matt and the Gray Drake enough for such a special trip. read more