'They Ripped 'em Up...'

Well one of us did... lol Jeff Stuhan is the MAN! Yesterday Morin and I did something a little different. We hired a guide. doh! This is something I never thought that I would do.... Not that it was beneath me or anything ...because I am not like that...but more because of the fact that when I fish a river I am looking for an experience that I didn't think that I would be able to find with a stranger present,....particularly one that was actively involved in my day on the water. This is the same reason that I don't fish with just anyone ..and almost never in large groups. As usual Morin was able to talk me into it. It was easier for him this year because of the way the season over here ended for us. After the floods we both felt kind of cheated by mother nature and were eager to tie up again in order to get that monkey off our backs. Morin harps and harps about Michigan. You'd think the Mfer was getting kick-backs from the Dept of tourism over there. To be fair, I love it over there too, except for the fact that I can't seem to catch any fish over there. Jeff Stuhan of Jeffs Guide Service was to be the guy who could lift my curse. I don't know how Brian found out about this guy but I am really glad he did.

Jeff has one of these Jet boats that he uses to fish the Muskegon River. The Muskegon River is an awesome river with tons of big healthy fish that are full of piss but the river isn't one that is waded easily....At least that is the word on the street. I can understand now after fishing the river out of Jeffs boat that fishing it from a boat is really the only way to go. With his boat we were able to cover tons of water in a very short period of time and I was very surprised to find that we could even fish out of his boat comfortably with the float rods. Christ...Morin even brought his 15fter.

Jeffs intimate knowledge of the river and of where the fish hold coupled with the centre-pin trotting techniques we brought with us were the ticket on this cold winter day and we really put the boots to 'em. ...Heavily slanted in Brians favour of course. lol Oh well...what else is new. I don't need much ...but I do need something and I have to admit that I was really starting to sweat after Morin got up about 5 Zip. (POS) This is where I started to realize that Jeff Stuhan is more than just a guide. He is a Steelhead nut just like us and more importantly he is a great guy who I would fish with again in a heartbeat.

I could really tell that if I didn't get a fish that he was going to take it personally!!! Well I did finally get a fish....actually I was 2 for 6 on the day...which I will take any day...particularly this time of year on a river like this one. Getting the bait down with the pace just right and getting those hooks to stick when you're trotting through 7- 8 ft holes is a real trick and Morin really has a knack for it.

We all lost count of how many fish he got but it was well into double digits and for a five hour trip..that is awesome. The Michigan fish are no push-overs and it was pretty neat watching Jeff lift the anchor and break out the oars to give chase when the big ones would bolt down the river.

Brian got one legit 30 incher that really put on a show.

This thing was behind the boat ..in front of the boat ...under the boat... I was glad it was him...I know he needed that fish...and to be honest I don't think my back could've taken it. Great Day on a beautiful world class river with non stop Steelhead action for $200 split between two guys is a bargain in my book and I will encourage all my fish nerd buddies to give it a go. What a great way to extend the season for the Canadians and I can't wait to go back. Truth is I probably would've given Jeff $100 for that bag of venison pepperettes!!! :o)