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Welcome to RiverQuest Charters/Muskegon River Lodge
Greetings!
As fall ebbs into memories past and the morning chill presages winter white, the Muskegon River Lodge stands witness to it all. With morning temperatures in the high twenties and thirties and the Muskegon River in the low fifties and creeping into the forties, wisps of fog rise from the river, as the sun low now on the horizon beams gold down the river valley. Enjoy the day; savor its warming glow for tomorrow could well dawn grey with rain and snow showers rendering the warmth of the Muskegon River Lodge compelling to the max. It's time to cozy-in at the Lodge, whether following a full day with River Quest Charters' guides chasing chrome fall steelhead, or a day walking the woods, or reading that "must read" novel, or crafting with friends, or just kicking back with the big screen in the Muskegon River Lodge "Man Cave." Nothing like the warming glow of a full log chalet on a November day.
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 Muskegon River Lodge
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 RiverQuest ChartersChristmas comes early for the fly fisherman each year as the fall steelhead ascend the river. The year's most coveted quarry--fall steelhead, wrapped in silver, sky-bound with multiple leaps, and line melting runs-sends late fall fly fishermen, no matter the weather, in search of silver.
November waters, yet relatively warm, provide the two-handed angler the year's best opportunity to connect with steelhead on swung flies. Brightly tied Spey patterns fished down and across stream spur smashing strikes by silver-bright bullets, fresh from Lake Michigan. Not to be outdone, fly fishermen preferring Great Lakes style nymphing or classic indicator fishing with small nymphs and pale egg patterns hook-up and pose fine fish for the camera.
If November steelhead fishing is not something you are familiar with or perhaps just haven't had time to get your dates on the schedule--wait no longer: the season is here and has a silver lining! For dates available, please call 616.293.0501 or drop us an email; the season typically holds strong until mid-December. To see the latest silver brought to hand and the anglers who posed them for the camera, please vistit our daily blog/fishing report.
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 Product Revisited
Back in September when we were first introduced to the new MOW tips from Rio, I passed along the product news to both inform you and promote a new industry product for the two-handed fly fisherman. Knowing full-well that "swing" season was fast approaching, I placed an order for these tips in hope that they would be everything that manufacturer claimed. Upon receiving these tips I knew immediately that I was going to like them. First and foremost, gone are the days of making loops at home in bulk T-8 through T-14. While certainly this process is not all that difficult, it certainly is time consuming. All of the tips come with welded loops. As the river levels fluctuate, most two-handed fisherman have found themselves fishing tips that were too long just so they could get the rod to load properly. Now, with the integrated floating section to "T" section, struggling with proper length is a thing of the past. All of the tips, from very shallow running to bottom dredgers, are measured for optimal casts. It is not often that something new comes along that a) actually works, and b) actually saves time. This product gets an A+ on both counts. Try the MOW tips before your next two-handed trip; you will not be disappointed.Pick them up at our affiliate fly shops:
Great Lakes Fly Fishing Company, Rockford, MI
Bob Lineseman's Au Sable Angler, Mio MI
Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, Chicago, IL
Fly Masters, Indianapolis, IN
Mad River Outfitters, Columbus, OH
Reel Fly Rod.com, Dayton, OH
The MOW tip concept is simple; keep the tip length the same, regardless of how long the sinking section is. The majority of MOW tips are 10 ft long and feature a combination of floating and sinking line that gives anglers the greatest depth control. The six tips are as follows: 1. 10 ft floating tip 2. 7.5 ft of floating line seamlessly integrated into 2.5 ft of sinking tip 3. 5 ft of floating line seamlessly integrated into 5 ft of sinking tip 4. 2.5 ft of floating line seamlessly integrated into 7.5 ft of sinking tip 5. 10 ft level sinking tip. 6. 12.5 ft level sinking tip Each tip features RIO's new skinny welded loop in both ends for the easiest and fastest rigging. The Heavy MOW tips utilize T-14 in all sinking sections. The Medium MOW tips utilize T-11 and the Light MOW tips utilize T-8 for all sinking sections. As a guideline, Heavy MOW Tips are best on Skagit line of 575 grains and heavier, with the Medium MOW Tips most suitable for Skagit lines between 475 and 575 grains and the Light MOW Tips being most ideal on Skagit lines lighter than 475 grains. Though this is a guideline, fly size is actually most important and big flies will cast easiest on the Heavy Tips, while light flies will respond best on the Light MOW Tips. Skagit MOW tips are perfect for fishing through a pool at a variety of depths. An angler can literally "mow" through the pool - starting off shallow when necessary, and then changing the tip to fish a little deeper, changing again to get deeper still and again until all depths have been thoroughly covered. |
Become a "Fan" on Facebook
Most of you have heard about Facebook by now.Some of you undoubtedly have your own Facebook page. RiverQuest Chartersand Muskegon River Lodge both 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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Book Review by Glen Blackwood
I realize this is a broad statement, but by in large when it comes to fishing and shooting, many American outdoorsmen believe their skills with rod and gun rival that of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. We come to this belief honestly. Our forefathers beat back the British, tamed the west, and saved Europe with our outdoor and marksmanship skills. Fishing line, sinkers, and Royal Coachman flies were staples in military survival kits. With stories like these, told to us as youngsters, we embrace these skills as genetic inheritances passed from parents to offspring. Fly casting, on the other hand, is one skill that doesn't fit the mold. The activity of casting a fly is an unnatural motion at best. It is one that takes patience, not power. It is a movement that is counter-intuitive. It is a skill that requires some degree of instruction, but most of all an understanding of how the line and rod work together to cast the fly forward and to cock or load the rod on the backcast. Many books and magazine articles have been written on this subject. The list of authors having written about casting is a "Who's Who?" of fly fishing giants. Names like Kreh, Wulff, Swisher, Krieger and Gawsworth are just a few. Henrik Mortensen, though, is a name you may not know, but with his new book, Fly Casting Scandinavian Style,
I believe he will join the ranks of the authors listed prior. If you are thinking, "Why read a book by some guy with a European name and who writes about Scandinavian Casting, when we fish in the Unites States?" Please give me some leeway. A few years back, noted American author Jim Harrison spoke at Michigan State University. He was posed the question of what he thought the biggest problem American readers faced. His reply, and I am paraphrasing, was that Americans never read anything other than American authors. That American readers by in large didn't look at the modern poets of Spain or South America, let alone European novelists led Harrison to state we Americans are myopic in our tastes and knowledge. I believe the same holds true in fly fishing literature as well as in casting. Fly Casting Scandinavian Style is a book that looks at fly casting from a different point of view-a European one. The book contains 11 well-defined chapters on the various tenets of fly casting, supported with well-illustrated diagrams and four color photographs. Published this fall by Stackpole Books, the 192 page work covers both single and double handed casting. Mortensen's chapters discuss not only the basics such as "the Physics of Fly Casting" but moe advanced topics such as the "Single and Double Haul". Mortensen's third chapter on fly lines and leaders and how they affect casting is superb. The book retails for $39.95-less than the cost of an hour's casting lesson-all the while covering a great deal more. With more and more anglers looking to swinging for salmon and steelhead, Scandinavian lines and casting are becoming more common on rivers like the Muskegon and Manistee. It is a great way to not only cast but to present the fly to a bright fish. Since hearing and considering Harrison's comments in Lansing a few years back, I have opened my eyes and read those poets from Spain and novelists from Eastern Europe. Doing so has opened my eyes to the world. So, too, with the literature of fly fishing; read Henrik Mortensen and enter the world of Scandinavian Casting. Glen Blackwood
To purchase this book or other fine sporting literature, please call Glen at 616.866.6060 or drop him an email.
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