What a Delight…

Gary's 11:18:13 Buck iPhone

What a delight it is to host guests who respect our beloved steelhead and Muskegon River fishery.  Gary, an Ohioan who fly fishes across the United States frequently enough to make even the most fanatical trout chasers drool, simply gets it; he understands that our sport is not about numbers, trout boated, or numbers of pics posted. Rather it’s the chase, the hunt—indeed, the experience with a fishing method that is satisfying in and of itself on a national quality fishery.  Of course, steelhead in the net make it all the better, but even as Gary brought a second steelhead to the side of boat today and I reached for the net, he pulled the fly from the fish’s mouth, only to explain, “I don’t need a picture.” (And it was no minnow either; it easily would have gone six or seven pounds and shiny chrome.) For Gary, though, the hookup, the fight, and the very opportunity to connect with such magnificent fish on a river as special as the Muskegon were enough.  I’m not sure I’m even there, but I surely respect his appreciation for all that fly fishing the Muskegon River for steelhead means to him and the rest of us who hold it in such high regard.

So, thanks, Gary, for a most enjoyable day;  here you go, in deference to your Kalamazoo College allegiance, “Hope” we can do it again!

Captain Tom Kuieck