The Muskegon River spring steelhead run continues to build with bright new arrivals mixed in with fish having been in the river longer. Today was a guides’ day out with RiverQuest Captain Don Graham, who, once again, put us on steelhead. We hooked fish all day, but our landing to hooking ratio was pretty grim. No foul hooked fish; just hooks pulling out inexplicably. Here, though, is one of the fish we boated, a hen which took a shine to my Antron Stone fly. Not too surprising, though, since stone flies are just starting to get with the program on warm afternoons. Look for steelhead to supplement their egg diet with stone flies in the days to come.
All in all, Mother Nature greeted us with a chilly, wind-swept morning that gave way to a most pleasant, sunny afternoon. Given what Don and I experienced today, we continue totally pumped about this 2018 spring steelhead run. Stay tuned!
Captain Tom Kuieck