Well according to the calendar “peak”salmon season is here. On the Manistee things are not far off. I would guess judging by the amount of new fish in the pools that a week or so should do it. Jeff Boyd along with his brother Greg with their boys Ty and Grant joined Dave and I for the last two days. Everyone enjoyed many battles with fish. Both boys landed their first salmon on fly rods along with a nice steelhead brought to net by Ty. Green caddis, pale egg flies, and small hexes are top producers. We hope to switch back to the Muskegon by the end of the week so lets keep our fingers crossed!

Tight lines,

Steve

With my first day off in quite some time I am getting all of my loose ends handled. For the last two days Bill Sidor and his crew of engineers from Avalon Laboratories joined us for the company trip. Myself , Dave, Don, and Fred all had an exceptional time with these guys. With the salmon run finally looking pretty good all of the guys had sore arms. Just about all of the normal fly patterns are producing. Salmon are present in nearly all of the runs, gravel, holes etc. We finally broke out the indicator rigs on the spey rods for gravel fishing.

Tight lines,

Steve

One of the special aspects of guiding are the wonderful friends we are privileged to make—friends who return season to season, year after year. Included is a sampling of those special people. Kyle and John are in the financial services industry here in Michigan. Ken is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, having made this his first (and he says not his last) trip to our Michigan rivers. Tom Sr. fishes as passionately as any of my clients, usually ignoring the missives of his son, Tom Jr. to put down the rod for lunch. Dave, my boss from another career life, is from Carmel, Indiana, and this trip marked a celebratory occasion for him—his having completed his last round of chemotherapy the week before. Finally, Shannon, decided to put all the guys in their place by bringing a beautiful summer run steelhead to hand, much to the approving hand claps of an admiring and envious audience. These are great times for all, and we at River Quest count ourselves most fortunate to host and to make lasting friendships with people who, through their comraderie and graciousness, only enhance the sport we love so much.

Tom Kuieck

Yesterday was quite the busy day on the water! With low water wading anglers are accessing more water than normal this year; this would not usually be an issue but trying to drive back upstream is quite a treat! Bill Smith from Pulte Home along with a few of his “boys” from work joined us for a great day on the water. All of the guys managed to land salmon. Chad held out for the quality fish landing this beautiful buck brown in full spawning colors. This brown weighed 13.5lbs on the boga. Seems that this year a few of the big lake browns escaped the nets in the lake; good for us!!

Bill and Ida Sidor made their annual stop to the river with us today prior to Bills coorperate trip later this week. Ida landed her biggest salmon to date-18.5lbs on a black bodied bead head caddis. Bill also caught my first fall steelhead of the season. Small eggs and Caddis were the ticket. Bill also broke out the spey rod and “speyed” the salmon of the season on it.

Tight lines,

Steve

Scott Misaad and his father-in-law Sandy joined me yesterday for their first Manistee River salmon trip. Bright afternoon sunshine was on order and with the “Race Face” sunscreen products owner on board we were prepared. Scott was dialed in for the morning action while Sandy waited for afternoon. Small egg flies seemed to be the ticket while small hexes followed closely.

Today Dan Bowen and friends joined Dave and I. Fishing was tougher today with “lots” of boats and “bubbas”. We fished a combination of gravel and pools. After a group “union” meeting with the rest of the RQ crew it was determined that fishing was just tougher for Dave and I. I can’t say that one pattern stood out today but nearly all took fish and certainly found there way too other parts of the fish than the mouth. It looks like rain tonight???

Tight lines,

Steve 

Well I am sorry to say that I have been slacking with the daily reports. My internet connection here in the North is less than ideal.

Dean Weerstra joined me with his buddy Dale today.  Dean and company enjoyed numerous hook ups with several making their way to the net. “Pete” its going to be a long fall for you…. Salmon that are present in the system are fast making their way to the gravel. I was able to make out to the big lake last night to see that most of the fish remain in the big lake or the inlets to the river. I saw nearly 50 boats trolling of the mouth- crazy!! With the salmon on the gravel beautiful trout along with a few steelhead and coho salmon are starting to feast on the eggs. Therefore egg flies will start to be a necessity. Water levels are very conducive to floating lines with only minimal weight needed to reach most of the fish.

Tight lines,

Steve

Fishing continues to improve. Fish are concentrated in some choice locations but after a tour around today small pods seemed to be hear and there and everywhere. This sounds great but these pods are not always fish-able. Micheal Kamin and Mike Rontal joined me today for what turned out to be a pretty darn good day. We hooked many fish and lost most. Green caddis and hexes provided most action. Egg patterns are starting to produce with a few fish spawning. Coho numbers are impressive in some locations and are favoring small peach estez eggs.

 Tight lines,

Steve

Cooler weather has moved a few more fish into the system but the “big” push is still on the way. Jeff Segard and his two sons Zach(11) and Jordan(8) joined me today for the boys first salmon fishing trip. Both boys were rewarded with great action with each landing two salmon a piece. They also learned that most find a way to get you in the snags! Great job guys!!

Tight lines,

Steve

Pete Vredeveld and his father Art along with Bill Lettinga and his buddy Charles joined Dave and I for their annual salmon fishing trip. Bill and Charles put the hurt on the competition today! (Sorry Pete!) Well that might be an over statement- the morning started out very slow only to improve as the skies brightened. We fished relatively hard for the fish we managed today. But between the guy’s-Pete lost! Green caddis, Antron Bugs, hexes, and leeches all provided “fair” hook ups today.

Tight lines,

Steve

p1010034.JPG

Jeff Segard of Grand Concept Homes and architect Wayne Visbeen along with his associate Paul joined me on the river today. Jeff has never until today had to work hard for his fish but we were in for a change. The river has plenty of fish but they are all very skittish! We fished very deliberately and were rewarded with some nice salmon but we had to put an unusual amount of effort. The weather is promising with rain and cooler temperatures!!!

Tight lines,

Steve