Childhood buddies, Ryan and Ken, were my special guests today on the Manistee. Ryan, my youngest son, has all too little time to fish and hunt due to long hours in the fabrication shop with his welding career, and Ken, having recently returned from a danger-filled four year Marine tour in the Middle East, had a ton of catching up to do…. So, what better time and place to get it done than on the Manistee at the height of the Chinook Salmon run?
And better it could not have been: fresh, big—very big—salmon every where. For the guys, it proved their best fishing day ever. Double digits in the boat and more than we remembered to count lost. More than the spectacular fishing, though, the day was about two young men who just click together reliving the past and creating an all new day to remember. For me, having watched both of them grow up—downing their first whitetail deer, landing their first steelhead, and hearing about all the crazy stuff that boys like them get into—it was a heartwarming, smiles galore kind of day.
Indeed, blessed we all are for our health, our natural resources here in Michigan, and the freedom to enjoy it all. Thanks from all of us at RiverQuest, Ken, for your service to our country; we are deeply indebted to you and your comrades. Ryan and Ken, happy I am that the day you waited so long to experience proved even better than you ever could have imagined. Pictured top to bottom are Ryan, Ken, the guys together, and a Manistee King on the Boga.
Dad and Captain Tom Kuieck