Tenkara on the MO

Bob cradling chrome.
Bob cradling chrome.

Well, not quite, but when Bob hooked a late September-bright hen Chinook that just made her appearance on the Muskegon River, she tore down the river with the speed of a steelhead.  No problem, except yours had truly neglected to firm up the drag on the reel before handing the rod to Bob  (I always back the drags on my reels completely off before storing them).  The result? A massive birds nest of a backlash, so bad that Bob had to battle this amazingly fresh hen King Tenkara style—no reel, just strip and let the line burn out as she would shot up and down the river.  Meanwhile, I’m chasing her with the boat while Ron works on the tangle only to suggest that I cut the backing from the fly line so he can better untangle the mess and then nail knot the backing to the fly line. I agree and cut the line and remove the spool from the reel frame, all the while poor Bob is stripping and feeding line like a maniac.  We finally reassemble all the parts, and Bob was able to bring the fish to net.  Quite a feat by Bob and Ron on a hot-hot King.

Seriously bright for a late October hen.
Seriously bright for a late October hen.

Meanwhile, Ron was hooking steelhead right along with Bob, the largest of which we lost when it barrel-rolled on top and parted the tippet. Ron struck back with another, though, in this case, a very feisty young hen chromer.

Ron's Hen Steelhead MS

But there’s more!  Would that the fine fishing was our full day, but fate would have it differently.  I had been having trouble with the fuel gauge in my boat reading accurately as well as the fuel tank somehow shutting off the flow of fuel at the pump for some unknown reason.  For the last four float trips, I would stop at the gas station in the morning, put in a gallon, gallon and a half or so, only to have the fuel flow shut off. The gauge was no help; sometimes it read half full, other times empty.  So, today, I concluded that the tank must be nearly full and therefore decided to skip the station stop.  Big mistake! Nearly to Anderson Flats, Susie quit running:  out of gas!  Moreover, to compound matters in the wrong direction, I had earlier removed the bow-mounted electric trolling motor since we were C & D ing, and I had little need for it. Hence, there we were—stuck out in the Muskegon River literally with no paddle and no way to get to shore, let alone get back to the Henning Park landing.  What to do?

That’s when things took a turn for the better. We noticed a young woman walking her German Shepherd along the bank, so I called out to her, explaining we had run out of gas. Sympathetic to our plight, she said she would return to her home and bring us some fuel, much to our great relief. Meanwhile Drew, a guide from Nomad Anglers, graciously stopped and offered to tow us to the shallows—an offer I quickly accepted.  Task completed, he left only to have his fellow guide from Nomad (I’m afraid I don’t remember his name) pull up and offer me some fuel from his portable gas tank.  Fantastic! We chopped off the top of a Gatorade container and began transferring fuel, bit by bit.  By then, Jamie, the young woman, returned, gas can in hand.  I emptied it and thanked her for her kindness and paid for the gasoline.  Then, up the river comes Drew again, this time with a five gallon container of gasoline from Dave who has a place just down river.  Tank emptied, I thanked Drew, his fellow guide, and Jamie and fired up Suzie.  Down the river we went to Dave’s where I thanked him and paid for his fuel. What an adventure or misadventure on my part, as the case may be!

All of which I share here to make the point that when people come together to help one another, whether on the river or elsewhere, good things happen.  I therefore am indebted to Jamie, Drew, Drew’s buddy, and Dave for coming to our aid today and here give them all the props they so richly deserve.

What a day: great fly fishing; great company with Bob and Ron; and much appreciated help from some wonderful Muskegon River people.

Captain Tom Kuieck