10-21-09

Great time on the Muskegon today with two young veterinarians: Jeremy and Marty. Outdoorsmen both, Jeremy and Marty had never fly fished, but were eager to learn. As Jeremy remarked early in the day, “I’d like to land a salmon, but I really just want to learn how to cast, how to rig flies, and how to get into fly fishing.” Wow! What guide wouldn’t flip over clients like this!

So we got into it—the entire enchilada of C&D, which the guys got very quickly. When we moved to some shallower redds, I laid some switch rod indicator rods on them, and within a very short time, they were laying out respectable casts, replete with mends and hookups and fish landed. Marty holds a buck that took a green caddis with an indy rig.

Good luck guys as you jump into fly fishing. Again, as I mentioned in the boat, I recommend that you contact Glen Blackwood or members of his staff at Great Lakes Fly Fishing Company in Rockford for counsel about how to get started. With your close proximity to the Thornapple and desire to get into steelhead fishing, too, I recommend that you consider a 9′ eight weight rod. With appropriate lines, you will be able to fish bass, steelhead, and salmon. In short, lots of choices with one rod.

It was a pleasure to host you both in my boat today. I hope to see you come April/May steelhead season on the Muskegon. In the meantime, best wishes for continued success.

Captain Tom Kuieck