What lurks below?

Muskegon muscle

showdown at high noon

Fishing on the MO continues to be productive and surprising at times.  Good numbers of healthy(and growing rapidly) trout are being caught with regularity by nymphing and dry-fly fishing.  Cinnamon caddis continue to emerge daily and have fish constantly looking for pupa.  Blind fishing in areas where trout are know to haunt with floating pupa and adults can produce excellent results.  Trico fishing is just underway and good fish can be caught for the angler willing to be persistent.

Jay Allen,  old school guide

Caddis continue to impress. Hold-over trout continue to be very very discerning on which bug they eat. Multiple pattern changes and some good clean luck goes along way! Pictured is pretty bow from last evening caught by Paul from Cincinnati.

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Super hot and super caddis! Caddis hatches on the Mo’ have been excellent despite near record temperatures that are forecasted to continue through today. Floating pupa early followed by cut-wings, and then spent wing caddis have kept the action strong. As the caddis activity peaks late in the evening fishing has slowed due to the large number of bugs on the water.

Joining Jay and I for the past two days on was Patti, Ci-ci, Bob, and Meredith of Indianapolis, IN. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share the water with–lots of laughs and good times were had by all. Thanks Patti!

Capt. Steven Kuieck

persistence paid off on this nice bow

Bob with a hard fighting healthy rainbow

Theresa w/ a fat bow that wanted it’s picture taken with her

Had a great time with Bob and Theresa today probing riffles, pockets, and shoals for trout on the Muskegon.  Fished mostly using freestyle nymphing techniques; what a blast.  They hooked/landed some nice fish and had a few real heart-breakers as well.  Dry fly fishing was a bit off.  Thanks again for a great trip.

Jay Allen,  guide

Streamer fishing with Dennis and Frank yesterday on the Muskegon river, this was Franks first time fly fishing and I believe he’s hooked for life. Pictured is Frank with a nice rainbow. Thanks Dennis and Frank for a very enjoyable day on the river.

Capt Don Graham

When daughter Julie asked me if I would take her fly fishing, I was pumped.  Julie’s completed a couple of college degrees, and now is a registered nurse for Spectrum so she’s been one busy girl, the result of which has been limited one-on-one time for the two of us.  So off to the MO we went for some pre-Fathers Day bonding.

As you can see from the photos, we had a great time:  grilled salmon and veggies in butter, some fruit of the vine, and great atmospherics.  Toss in an osprey, an adult bald eagle flying low and very close to us, two mink, a raccoon, and herons battling for prime fishing spots, and one has the makings of a major memory.  Per their recent shyness, the larger trout played hide and seek, but the small fish rose continuously the entire time we were on the river.  Jay Allen’s tan cut-wing caddis vacuumed the trout off the top, and the beadhead caddis Julie swung seduced its share as well.  No drakes or Isos above Pine Street landing where we fished emerged or fell. Shown is Julie holding her first trout on the fly in a long, long time.  In short, an absolutely wonderful evening on the river for dad and daughter.

Captain Tom Kuieck

Fat and sassy bows and browns continue to be eager to bend the fly rod. Swung Iso nymphs and soft hackles in the choppy water creates a “catch-a-thon” most afternoons. Keep in mind however, most of these fish are stockers, but some very nice fish will surprise you and probably break you off as you’re unprepared. Evening drake activity the past couple nights has been quite good, while the Iso opportunities have disappointed.  That said, if you can get into an area where the Iso’s are consistent–get ready, it’s going to be good! Big trout continue to be allusive–as they should be, but with effort can be found sipping at dusk.

Capt. Steven Kuieck

Interesting evening on the water last night—in this case the Manistee River below Tippy Dam.  RiverQuest guide Don Graham and I are hosting family and friends whom I’ve come to know by virtue of the fact that their cottage is next to our family’s cottage in Leland.  So, to spare them the long drive to the MO from Leland, we opted for a Manistee float. Hence, Don and I thought we had better trek north to assess the Manistee’s fly fishing.

The trip proved challenging and rewarding:  challenging because our “go to” streamers and nymphs did not produce, save one powerful fish that Don hooked on a streamer that eventually raked his 10 lb. tippet over a gravel bar and cut his line, most likely on a Zebra mussel shell.  We never saw the fish.  Powerful and fast, it could have been a summer run steelhead or outsized brown trout.

Cinnamon caddis, however, produced, though the fish were small, but plentiful.  By 7:30 blue-winged olives, sulphers, and grey drakes made their appearance.  The trout quickly switched to the drakes, and a few larger trout began rising.  Just to rub in his dry fly fishing superiority over yours truly, Don spotted the rise form of the fish below, moved the boat, and promptly hooked up with a classic, first drift take.  Beautiful!

We had the river to ourselves on a gorgeous night. A couple of fly fishermen waded and cast upstream; osprey soared overhead; the birds sang; and all was well with the world.  We’ve much yet to solve on this special river but look forward to giving it another go next week.

Captain Tom Kuieck

Isonychia are stealing the show and breaking hearts day-to-day near the lodge. Larger trout again are making themselves visible after a week or so of hiatus as they likely processed all the the sucker eggs and fry they had been eating. While the Iso’s have brought them out of hiding, veteran anglers as we witnessed Tuesday evening where left heart-broken from some special fish . Keeping in theme to recent posts, last evening I was joined by father and son combo–Dave and Nathan. Nathan was celebrating his 6th birthday on the river. Prior to last evening Nathan had only caught 2 fish in his short fishing career, but finished the evening with 7 rainbow trout and 3 browns on the fly. While we certainly didn’t land any fish that will find their way to the pages of your favorite magazines–Nathans 10 trout were perfect him and hopefully have him fly fishing for life.

Capt. Steve Kuieck

father and son having a great time!

Frank w/ a nice brown caught on a superfine 3 wt…sweet

Had a great time with Frank and Sok for a few days of fishing on the MO.  They managed quite a few fish, many of which targeting rising trout as they fed on pupa near the surface.  Caddis activity was good despite the weather.  Nymphing produced good numbers of fish as well.  Thanks for the great trip(s) guys!

Jay Allen, guide