(image courtesy of Steve @BBT)

Since “Global Warming” is upon us It has been a bit difficult to hit the river lately! I just wanted to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Great Christmas present to yourself or your gift list?

For sale: New Scott A2 13′ 8wt Spey rod with case.  $300 obo.

For those of you who have spent much time with me on the water this has been the spey rod we have fished exclusively prior to this fall. I will gladly send you a picture if needed.

fishon@riverquestcharters.com or 616-293-0501

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Well, my father and I, along with our guests (who are also friends and customers), Pete Vredeveld and Dan Holtrop, are fresh back from a muzzleloader hunt with Sugar Creek Outfitters in southwestern Illinois.   The owners of Sugar Creek have long been fishing clients and friends of my Dad and me.  We respect them and their operation and hence recommend their services to our clients who hunt whitetails and to the public at large via our River Quest Charters web site destination page .

Sugar Creek Outfitters offers world class whitetail deer hunting, and in the past few years, Sugar Creek has grow to nearly 8000 acres of Illinois’ best whitetail habitat. The deer are free ranging but are drawn to the Sugar Creek properties and held there by the land’s extraordinary topographic and habitat features, sheer size, and carefully managed food plots.  Coupled with highly restricted harvest antler minimums and very low numbers of hunters, the properties hold especially large, fully mature bucks.

This past week, my dad took a truly awesome buck scoring 155″ gross Boone and Crockett. The five year old buck is a main frame eight point with two kickers, placing it solidly into the “great whitetail buck” category. Estimated live weight, post-rut, was 270 pounds and dressed at 230.  Sugar Creek guides believe that the pre-rut weight of the buck would have topped 300 pounds.   Dan Holtrop also took a beautiful buck-an 11 pointer that, while smaller than my Dad’s, was a wonderful trophy in its own right.  So, two memorable bucks in three days of hunting for four hunters.  In short, an excellent hunt for all.

As many of you know; in addition to fly fishing, whitetail hunting is my personal passion.   Being able to accompany my dad on this hunt and to have him harvest his best buck ever, though, was very cool! Pictured below are Dan on the left and my Dad.  Oh, and by the way, check out the buck rub.  Not the stuff of spikes!  My Dad and I would be happy to tell you more.  Information about Sugar Creek Outfitters is available at www.sugarcreekoutfittersillinois.com .

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Another great, cold and enjoyable day on the river with Bill Haagsma. The day started out very slow for us, then after lunch we fished a spot that the action really warmed us up, nothing like a winter steelhead to warm you up, especially your hands. Pictured is Bill with a bright steelhead from today.

Don Graham