10-25-09

Whew! What a difference a day makes: from cold, rain, and river that jumped from 1900 cfs to 3400 in a matter of hours to today with 56 degrees, no rain (even some sunshine) and dropping water! From chocolate flows topped with uprooted grass and leaves to the max to clear, lettuce-free currents—man, it was so different, one scarcely would think we fished the same river both days. Mark and future son-in-law, Matt, joined me for the two days, and while the guys gutted it out Saturday, hooking multiple salmon and landing one of them, today they really went to work. Both guys had fish on throughout the day, but I lost track of the number of salmon Matt hooked and fought. To top it off, Matt notched top rainbow trout honors with three in the boat. Pretty darn good for a guy who had never touched a fly rod or caught salmon or trout—all during a salmon run that is flat-out, dead over.

Of course, the subplot of this narrative was that these two days on the water and stay at the Muskegon River Lodge were final examinations for Matt, as dad-to-be Mark checked him out over the pool table, at the dart board, and, most important, on the river—all preparatory to the pealing of January wedding bells. As one can readily see from the photos, Matt must have passed with flying colors. No whining about the fishing on a tough weather and river conditions day—just lots a smiles. Pictured are Mark and Matt over lunch, Matt and I with one of his fish, and Mark with our last fish of the day, a buck mouth-hooked on an Antron Stone fly.

Thanks, guys, for two most enjoyable days. Best wishes to you both as you move into a new stage of your lives together. And, Matt, my prayer for you and Marissa is that God grants you long and happy lives, centered in Him, together!

Captain Tom Kuieck