Muskegon River Steelhead - 4/7/12

David w/ a hard hitting, healthy drop-back

Charlie w/ big smiles and a great fish

Today was a great one.  Fishing pressure was unbelievably low, skies clear, and fish in the mood to eat.  Spent most of the day searching for drop-backs, fishing deeper/faster runs.  To top it off Charlie and David were close to 100% for steelhead!  One of those days that really makes you appreciate the amazing fishery that the Muskegon is.

Jay Allen, Guide

Muskegon River Steelhead - 4/5/12

David and son Ryan w/ an awesome buck!

 

another nice one on a fry pattern in the dark water

   Spent today on the water w/ father and son team David and Ryan.  While it was a bit nippy this morning the day turned out to be a great one.  A few fish in the boat helped heat things up as well.  It was great to see a father and son enjoy a day out on the water having fun.  They make a pretty good team.  Great job guys!

Jay Allen,  Guide

Muskegon River Steelhead - 4/3/12

after an epic battle Frank boated this Muskegon River leviathan

memorable

Hope for us all...Frank still loves being on the water after all the fishing he's done

Muskegon River Steelhead - 3/28/12

Al w/ a hard earned buck

Jake wasted no time on his first Steelhead!

Muskegon River Steelhead - 3/27/12

Tom w/ a real Hog!

A well placed fly brought Mike this nice fish

 

 

 

Muskegon River Steelhead - 3/17/12

Mike w/ an early morning chromer

Never takes John too long to settle the score

re-tooled mid afternoon for some nice trout(had to rest the arms)

coming to get ya!

2/4/12 - Muskegon River trout trip

beautiful bow

Jay w/ a nice bow caught on his Sage esn 10' 4wt!

this fish was caught on a 8' 3wt; what a fight 

Jay on another fish streak landing this fine rainbow.

Fishing today was challenging but very rewarding and Jay stayed on task to make it happen.  While I would say that the overall "bite" was a bit slow for a typical winters fish, Jay was rewarded with some great action for his persistence.  Almost all the fish fell to the Muskegon river scud(#16-#18) and were taken with methodical and slow drifts.  Jay was fishing his new Sage ESN 10' 4wt.  If you haven't fished one of these I'll just say WOW!  The weather was incredible which added to the overall days experience.  Water levels continue to stay high but fish are still eating well in some of the slower edges.

guided trout trip - 1/30/12

Milan w/ a stout brown trout

strike confirmed

Milan w/ his first Steelhead; nice work

Today was Milan's first day of winter nymph/trout fishing and what a day it was.  After getting the basics down he was fast into fish.  Working on the nuances of nymph fishing throughout the day paid off as he continued to get better.  He even thought it might be a good idea to throw in a nice steelhead to complete a Muskegon River sampler!

guided trout trip - 1/26/12

John's good cheer seems to always drive our fluvial friends crazy!

Josh...you can be my friend

A fly-fishermans version of antique bronze

"that's a good fish!"

variation on a theme

Fishing today was great despite high water levels.  After the water shot up to 3,000 cfs yesterday I had my worries but John and Josh, undaunted, managed to work the slow seams and present some flies that the trout could not, or should I say would not, refuse.  Fished some attractor nymphs but once again the Muskegon River scud(gammarus scud) #16-#18 put the majority of the hurt on the boys.  That along with John's "hair-trigger" that begged to be tripped.  Woe unto the unsuspecting trout that grabs his loaded scud!   John maybe the only person I know who can give a trout whirlings disease by mechanical means.  Actually , if you've seen John on my blog before it's because he often ends up with some nice fish.  What a great day to be out; saw some nice trout caught, had reasonable winter weather, made a new friend.  My apologies to those of you who missed it.

Muskegon River trout update - 1/18/12

Do big browns still have an appetite when it's cold?

This stomach pump answers that question

Steelhead love scuds

What's the next trout gonna look like? The question that drives us

winter has arrived - 1/14/12

Snow can't stop this girl

Open your eyes, breathe in deep, take it all in

Heather had three fish in the net before I could get a fly wet!

just like a guy; trying to catch up

perfection! tell me there is no Creator...

what's that...scuds got your tongue

I'm dreaming of a fishy Christmas - 12/27/11

Hudson w/ a hefty dusk steelhead

scud eating brownie

Noah w/ a fine fat rainbow

late season rainbows never get old!

surprise eagle lake rainbow holdover!  

Amidst all of the Christmas festivities I did manage to get out for a couple of fishing spurts around the holiday.  Hudson, Noah, and I got out for a couple hours one day and while the fishing was mediocre we did manage some nice trout.  The weather was nice and it was a great time in the boat with my boys.  Water levels are starting to hit some form of regularity and the water is in great shape!  Hope all had a reflective Christmas and look forward to a fishy New Year!

Muskegon River - 12/18/11

Gavin w/ a nice bow

Released to fight again

He didn't quit smiling like this the rest of the day

Hello lady!

11/2 and 11/3 pics

Ron with a spunky, bright, fish

good friends Ron and Chuck enjoying the afternoon together

we quit counting the leaps on this one

family fun

Yes, 10yr olds can catch fall steelhead!