Today was a very special day. I had the privilege of hosting David Murdoch and his friend Kirk. David is doing his farewell to Michigan tour. He has taken a position in Anchorage, AK and leaves Michigan in a few short days. One of the things he wanted to accomplish was landing a nice summer run Steelie, something he had never done.

The St. Joe is fishing a bit harder than it did last week after the cool wet weekend. We knew it was going to be tough fishing, we tried everything from indies to swinging spey flies with very spotty strikes but the boys worked hard and David finally managed to complete the deal with the nice fish pictured below. He will remember this fish fondly, especially on the wet ride home. You see, David had no waders but sacrificed his clothes and risked a good case of poison Ivy to coax this fish from one of the spring creeks.

Congrats David on your fish and the best of luck in Alaska. Kirk, I hope to see you back out again soon.

Capt. Dave DeVries

Ron Wassom and his buddy Matt from New Orleans, LA joined me this week for a tour of the West side of Michigan. Fishing Tuesday we spent the day top-water smallie fishing on the middle branch of the Muskegon River. Bass fishing was very good with a good number of fish charging the poppers. Wednesday ChuckHawkins of Hawkins Outfitters floated the guys on the “Flies Only” section of the Pere Marquette for some hopper dropper action. Thursday found us on the lower Manistee for my first salmon trip of 09′. Salmon fishing was slow and only brought one decent pike to the boat. While we did not score on the kings we did see a good number and things should ber “rockin’” by Monday after this big cold front “rolls” Big Blue. Pictured is Ron and Matt with a few from this week.

Salmon fishing is going to be in high gear next week and with opennings on the calendar you should try to make it out. Streamers and heavy sink tips are key though we will be equipped to through “sticks” which are salmon candy this time of year. Smallmouth fishing will hold strong for a couple more week as water temps are at their peak. The St. Joe is fishing very well and Capt. Dave and Don look to bring you more shinny chrome pictures with their guests next week. Pictured below is an early season King for our archives.

The Muskegon River Lodge is nearly furnished and we are very exited about kicking the new website out to the public in a couple weeks once our occupancy permit is granted. Please stay tuned to www.muskegonriverlodge.com for a complete look into the lodge! I can only say that two years of devotion has brought a very large smile to both Dave and my face……..

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Some days are just extra special! Today I had the pleasure of hosting Scott Nichols, Brad Hadraba &Tom Demery, another group of fishing buddies from the Chicagoland area. The stars all aligned today to make for a fabulous day on the water.  We got our “A” position, the weather was excellent, water levels were much more consistent today, but most of all these guys have skills. It was great fun for me to watch this crew get it done. I love point and shoot days. Needless to say we had a very productive day, whether it was indies, or swung flies the action was good throughout the day. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end this short stint on the “Joe” before heading back up North. Congrats on an excellent day guys, and I hope to get the opportunity to fish with you again soon.

Capt. Dave DeVries

John and Ramsey fished with me to day on the “Joe”. Ramsey in the white hat, landed his first steelhead today. By their smiles you know what kind of day we had. Thanks John and Ramsey for a great day.

Capt. Don Graham

Well it felt really good to be out on the water today. It has been a long summer in the office working on the paperwork & all the details of the new lodge. Today was the day we officially took possession and to celebrate, Captains Steve & Don joined me on the St. Joe to host Lee Greewhich and his fishing buddies Bob, John, Ramsey, Paul & Todd. The guys drove over from the Chicagoland area to join us in chasing some summer run’s.

It was the perfect day for fishing the “Joe” warm sunny day and a nice breeze to keep it comfortable. Despite the wild fluctuations in water level (No joke, at the end of the day I parked my boat at the landing to off my gear and within 30 minutes my boat was totally dry docked. An hour later it was floating in a foot of water.) All the boats had successful days. The big prize goes to Lee, who should have played the lottery today, as it didn’t matter where you put him or what he threw he caught fish. Pictured are a sampling of the fish from today.

Don’t forget September is almost upon us, which means Salmon Fishing, we still have plenty of prime time openings so give us a call we would love to get you out on the water!

Capt. Dave DeVries

Capt. Don Graham

Capt. Steve Kuieck

Steve DeVries and his son Harrison from Indiana joined me on the Muskegon river for a half day of fishing. Steve wanted to share his love of fly fishing and teach Harrison how to fly fish. This was Harrisons first time and he landed two trout on dry flies this morning before the wind kicked up. Thanks Steve and Harrison for sharing this morning with me.

Capt. Don Graham