April 2014
ISSUE 42
 
 
Here we are-early April with the spring Muskegon River steelhead run in full swing. We RiveQuest guides will fish them through early May with some great results we hope.  So, what have researchers learned about Great Lakes steelhead?  Here are some highlights:

**Authorities suggest that in any given run of steelhead, five percent are age one (i.e., after returning to the Great Lakes as smolts, they spent one year in the lakes); 24 percent, age two years; 58 percent, age three years; and 13 percent, age four years.

**Steelhead are multiple year spawners; estimates vary but scale samplings have revealed that some steelhead spawn yearly up to five years;

**Females comprised 75 percent of repeat spawners in a study of Big Huron River steelhead; and

**Among the oldest returning spawning steelhead one researcher has documented, via scale sampling, was a ten year old Pere Marquette River female which spent two years in the river where she was hatched; three years in Lake Michigan before returning to the PM to spawn for the first time; and then ascended the PM to spawn each year for five years.  Her age?  10 years!

People sometimes ask us RiverQuest guides why we are a "Catch and Release" fly fishing guide service.  We explain that although we respect the rights of fishermen to take a steelhead (and trout, salmon, and bass for that matter) for the table; we choose to release fish in part, due to research findings such as these. We value all steelhead, but especially those naturally reproduced in our rivers so we're doing all we can to maximize the number of steelhead hatching in the MO and in its tributary streams. Moreover, as validated by our recognizing unique markings and body shapes of particular steelhead, steelhead handled carefully and released quickly can live to provide our customers (and other fishermen we presume) more opportunities to pursue and land these great fish.  In all, Muskegon River steelhead and the river itself are amazingly spectacular national resources we seek to respect and protect.

Tight lines all; it's April!
Contact RiverQuest Charters: 616-293-0501
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