The 2020 Chinook salmon run on Michigan’s Muskegon River is winding down, big time. Fewer and fewer may be seen with each passing day. Although undoubtedly, some late season stragglers will trickle in, a new season is upon us: fall steelhead.
Devin and his brother Brent, whose wife gifted him the float trip for his birthday, spent today hunting steelhead with me. Since it’s early in the fall steelhead run, more will enter the river system as the days go by, but, nonetheless, fishable numbers are present. So, the guys accorded steelhead their full attention all day. I was impressed how they continued to give steelhead their best shot, even though takes were hard to come by. They could have easily become impatient and asked to pursue some of the salmon that we saw. But, cast away and cast away some more they did, time after time, with Devin ultimately having been rewarded with the fresh run hen he poses.
All in all, today was a delightful experience on the river with two great guys—a day that ushered in the start of yet another fly fishing season on the Muskegon River.
Captain Tom Kuieck