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Welcome to RiverQuest Charters/Muskegon River Lodge
Greetings!
The calendar has rolled to one of my favorite months of the year. May is here and with it comes the trout fisherman's paradise. Be sure to read of the coming hatches and streamer opportunities. Muskegon River Lodge guests will find the May river banks alive with color and all the life that spring brings.
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Muskegon River Lodge 
The grounds of the lodge are alive with the beauty of spring, as the morning sun prominently displays Trillium along the banks of the river. Black and White Morel mushrooms are popping up and providing some of the most tasty treats the woods of Northern Michigan produce.
To better serve our guests, we have installed a new hot tub, larger than its predecessor, and featuring more jets than one would care to count. Perfect for unwinding after a day on the river.
Looking to add some special features to your stay? Consider our Catered Chef Services or maybe a tour of Napa Valley wines with D Schuler's, all the while relaxing in comfort on one of the lodge decks overlooking the grounds and the Muskegon River.
Spring options abound as you stay with us on the river:
Fly Fishing with RiverQuest Charters;
Championship golf with Pilgrims Run Golf Club;
Kayaking with Powers Outdoors; and
Private golf and fly fishing instruction by appointment.
We look forward to sharing some time with you at the Muskegon River Lodge!
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RiverQuest Charters  Time for Trout! As most of you will remember, the summer of 2009 left us wondering if it would ever warm up. While this certainly meant we would wearing be jackets most of the time, the trout of the Muskegon River were on an extended party! Cool water and higher than normal flows produced growth rates that rivaled Western streams at 1.5 inches or better a month! As we head into the height of trout season, the Muskegon River holds some of the best trout we have seen in years! Currently, both rainbow and brown trout are gorging on chinook salmon fry and copious amounts of black stoneflies. Caddis hatches are just getting started and will be quickly followed by grey drakes over the next few weeks. If you are a trout fisherman, the spring/summer of 2010 will be one not to miss on the Muskegon River with RiverQuest Charters! Let us put you on a trout of a lifetime! For dates available, drop us a note or call 616.293.0501. |
What's In Your Guides Box? 
Trout season brings about our first real opportunity to bring our "game" to the fish. By this, I mean we are able to present fly patterns, or more specifically, streamers to the waiting trout. So much of the year, whether it be for steelhead or resident trout, we rely on well-drifted small flies swung through likely holds to entice soft takes from holding fish.
Streamer tactics, on the other-hand, afford the fly fisherman an opportunity to take advantage of aggressive, predatory behavior of larger trout . Armed with a hefty sink-tip line and stout fly rod the fly fisherman "strip retrieves" large streamers through likely holds, hoping to trigger the smashing strikes of large trout. Stripping streamers is my preferred method to pose large trout consistently for the camera. Pictured is a new pattern for 2010 called the "Ditch Pig". To purchase all 7" of this trout-hunting machine, call Bob Linsenman's Au Sable Angler at 989.826.8500 or visit them online.
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Kayak Spot Light 
Kayak Review submitted by Gabriel Slominski of Powers Outdoors and Paddle Guide for The Outdoor Adventure Co.
Jackson Kayak - The All-Water
"The boat meant for
whatever water you are paddling."
This edition's Kayak Spotlight focuses on a paddling
superstar, the Jackson All-Water. Like
the name says, this boat covers all of the bases: Functionality, Comfort and Performance. You will feel just as comfortable taking the
All-Water through Class III whitewater as you will paddling it along the
shoreline of an inland lake. Many would
call this kayak a whitewater/touring hybrid because of its versatility and
ability to take on all those different kinds of water
situations.
The All-Water offers whitewater features such as
aggressive foot-bracing and a sure-lock backband. However, this kayak is also equipped with a
waterproof hatch for dry stowage on those overnight trips you may want to
take. Then, drop down the hidden skeg to
help you track straighter on flat water. With
this Kayak, you really will be able to take on just about any water
discipline that the Midwest has to
offer.
The specs on this boat are just as impressive as the
features. It comes in either 9' or 10'
lengths and has a capacity of 200 - 280 lbs respectively. The 10' cockpit has external dimensions of 37" x
21.
So, if you are looking for a
hybrid boat designed to paddle flatwater and navigate some intermediate whitewater...the
Jackson All-Water is for you!
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Become A "Fan" on Facebook  Most of you have heard about Facebook by now.Some of you undoubtedly
have your own Facebook page. RiverQuest Charters and Muskegon River Lodgeboth appreciate the fun and benefit of offering "Fan" pages to our
clients. The fan pages offer discussion, forums, photo albums, and, of
course, a place for you to share that experience or fish tale with
fellow fans. To join one or both of our fan pages, please click on the
above links and give it a thumbs up! If you are not a Facebook
subscriber, you will be prompted to open an account to join the fun.
These accounts are free! |
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Sporting Literature Review
REMEMBERING DUD
DEAN Memories are a strong part of our
outdoor lives. While we don't want to live only in the past (I'm a firm
believer that the next cast may provide the fish of a lifetime), taking a float
down past trips and rivers allows us to reflect on that day at first light with
the Kings rolling in front of the boat or sunsets hidden by massive swarms of
Grey Drakes. Guides also have memories. They tell tales of brown trout
charging streamers off of a specific bank or of a steelhead that leaped toward the
sun, only to smile and wink before casting the client's fly back to the water. These stories and memories allow us to get through the slow times of life,
whether we are on the stream or elsewhere in our lives. The book "Remembering
Dud Dean" is a compilation of stories that will do just
that.
Dud Dean. Who is he, you may be
thinking? Well, he is not a new guide for RiverQuest, but the brain-child of
Arthur "Mak" MacDougall. Mr. MacDougall created this fictitious guide and based
him in the State of Maine in the 1930"s. MacDougall, the son of a
Scottish immigrant, was born in 1896 in Enfield, Maine. He protected our country in the first
world war, serving in France. Upon returning, he graduated
from a theological seminary in Bangor, Maine. He was called in 1923 to a church in
Bingham, Maine along-side the Kennebec River, where for the next three plus
decades he would preach the gospel and trout fish. It was in this time frame in a
small cabin on Wyman Lake the Dud Dean stories were hatched. He wrote 56 stories in all, and they were published in "Field and Stream"
magazine. Like Robert Ruark and Corey Ford, MacDougall was a mainstay in the
outdoor publishing world and subscribers awaited the tales of "Dud," his beloved
Maine guide. I first found Dud Dean in a stack of old magazines as a boy. It
was a stormy day in June. We were to be fishing, but the lighting wouldn't
allow. I stumbled across a pile of old magazines in the corner of my
grandfather's deer camp, and read and reread MacDougall's tales until the storm
blew toward the Atlantic.
Remembering Dud Dean is a
compilation of stories that were chosen by Arthur's son, Walter M. MacDougall. Published by Countrysport Press, this paperback title for $15.95 has 16 stories
and a preface that details the author. Titles like "Dud Guides a Lady" or "A
Duplicious Incident " show the reader the backside of guiding while others show
the humor. This book has hunting stories as well. The story "A Deal in
Hounds" is a very fun dog tale. While set 60 years past, MacDougall's yarns
show that fishing is still fishing, and people are still people.
We all have a favorite guide- someone we click with on the water. Someone who has taught a lesson or helped
land a special fish. I am not trying to take business away from Steve, Dave, Don
or Tom, but spend some time with Dud Dean. This famous Maine guide is someone I
think you will enjoy. Glen
Blackwood For information on purchasing this book please contact Glen at Great Lakes Fly Fishing Co. via email or call toll free 1.800.303.0567
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