Forget the deer: go fishing

Rivermouth fishing can produce winter steelhead like this one.

It's hard to imagine but there are some Michigan folks that don't hunt deer. Some wouldn't do it under a death threat; some wouldn't do it because they don't like to hunt; and some simply find their outdoor pleasures elsewhere. And that is fine and dandy with me.

Some good friends prefer fishing. My buddy, Steve VanAssche of Harrison Township, is a muskie fishing guide. He is out on Lake St. Clair every day, weather permitting, until the lake freezes up or the season ends. He is a hunter, and loves deer hunting, but the job is the job, and he fishes muskies as often as possibleto pay his bills.

"The fishing isn't as fast for muskies in November or early December as it is in July," VanAssche said, "but the fish are bigger, much bigger. It's the time of year when fish weighing 30 pounds or more are caught, and it's a time when an angler can tangle with a giant muskie that can weigh well over 40 pounds.

Anglers can always go fishing right now. No ice but the Great Lakes & some rivers are open.

"So far this season there have been several muskies over 40 pounds caught in Lake St. Clair. Last year, on a dark and overcast fall day with flat-calm water, my friend Brad Goldhart caught a 38-pounder. It was his biggest muskie, and a fish that size is the catch of a lifetime for most people."

VanAssche feels the likelihood of catching muskies improves dramatically during the fall but the weather can be dicey. He runs charters through Dec. 15.

For more information on late-season muskie charters, contact VanAssche at 38344 Elmite, Harrison Township, MI 48045. Phone (586) 524-2827 (cell phone) or (586) 783-8985 (home before 10 p.m.).

Another friend, Mark Rinckey of Honor, is a river fishing guide. He's been hammering steelhead most of the fall in the Betsie and Platte rivers, and business has been good up until a couple of weeks ago. A friend and I fished with Rinckey some time ago, and we landed eight steelhead and one mint-silver coho salmon in four hours of fishing. The largest fish was a 16-pound steelhead.

There’s always the opportunity of steelhead in streams open to year ‘round fishing.

"I enjoy deer hunting but spring and fall are the two busiest seasons for a river fishing guide and I simply can't take a day or two off to go hunting," Rinckey said. "It's a very busy time of year, and fishing has been good. I look for excellent steelhead action into late-December unless the rivers freeze over."

Some anglers feel it's too cold to fish for steelhead but it's no colder fishing than hunting. Wading the river keeps the blood flowing and helps anglers stay warm. He has had times where 20 to 30 steelhead are hooked in one day, and there are very few places in North America where that kind of steelhead action can be found. Of course, huge catches don't happen every day but the likelihood of catching a fish or two is very good.

For more information about a wade-fishing river trip, contact Mark Rinckey at (231) 325-6901 in the evening until about 9 p.m.

Jack Duffy, a charterboat skipper at Leland, doesn't deer hunt. He works as a carpenter during the off-season, and  walks out into the surf to cast out his spawnbag.

"I don't care whether I catch a fish or not," Duffy said. "I catch plenty of fish during the charter season. This fishing is just for me, and if I catch one or two steelhead, I consider it a great day. There are no telephones on the water where I fish, and it's a chance to fish an area where I've caught steelhead for over 40 years.

"It's just a great feeling to bait up and run a spawnbag along bottom where the river current meets the lake. I kick back, relax, drink some coffee, watch my rods and enjoy the quiet solitude if I'm the only person there. If the area is crowded, I enjoy watching the others. It allows me to do what I used to do before life got so hectic, and I really enjoy late-season fishing."

Duffy doesn't guide for steelhead anymore, and he usually fishes alone. He feels he has earned the right to fish his way, and I admire his patience. He is a great river-mouth angler, and his skills are legendary.

Duffy favors solitary fishing at this time of year.

It's just too bad he doesn't hunt but that is forgivable. Perhaps I'll just sneak down one day this week and relive some of our memorable fishing trips while fishing and relaxing with him. Or, what is sometimes even better, we don’t talk.

Neither of us is anti-social, but sometimes when good friends share a day fishing, there is no strong need to carry on long conversations. Both of us have been around long to recognize the signs, and we just kick back and enjoy the day together. It’s rather a unique experience.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors