Great day today! Heck, they’re all great but today was special. Bright sun, low, gin-clear water—but cooperative steelhead. And especially happy I was because today I hosted my youngest son Ryan for his first steelhead trip of the year. Ryan works full-time in the metals fabrication industry and has little time to fish, but he has Fridays off so to the Muskegon we went. Ryan led off with two quick steelhead, one of which is the eight pound buck he is holding. Wasn’t too long, and Dad joined in with a couple, one of which was the six pound male I am holding. Toss in a couple of lost fish, and there you have it—a wonderful day on the water for father and son.
Best flies today were pale peach eggs and caddis pupa. Long leaders and light tippets are a must with the clear water. We were just plain fortunate today: the bite was strong for about two hours. Otherwise, it was tough, as evidenced by the lack of success we witnessed and reported to us from other fishermen. But thankfully, fishable steelhead are in the river. The two other fish we brought to hand were chrome skippers—the early scouts for the grown-ups soon to arrive. All in all, a great day for Ryan and me.
Captain Tom Kuieck
