Unseasonably warm

I love spring. I also love summer. If it’s nice and warm out, I’m a happy guy. Normally. I’m not exactly sure what all of the reasoning is—changing climate, rotating jet stream, freak weather—or some combination of everything, but what I do know is that we seem to have bypassed a normal spring here in northern Michigan, and gone right to summer. Mid 80’s weather and full sun in mid March? I would have said that would have been the case if we were down south, but not up here in the northern Lower Peninsula! Continue reading

The Alabama rig (Umbrella rig) and smallmouth bass

As a full-time fishing guide, I try my best to stay on top of current trends, techniques and even tournament results when it comes to bass fishing. One technique that’s absolutely taking the bass fishing world by storm is the Alabama Rig. To those of you familiar to off- shore trolling techniques in salt water, you’ll know this rig as the umbrellas rig, which has been around for decades. Continue reading

Hooting and Hollering

One of the most exhilarating and addicting experiences I’ve had the great privilege to be able to live over and over is that of seeing the true joy of my customers catching fish (http://www.traversebass.com/photos). Whether it’s their first fish, their biggest fish, their most fish, it makes no difference. I love the feeling I get when a customer is able to share their fishing experience with me. This is part of what makes my being a guide so rewarding. Continue reading

Guide’s Day Off! Let’s Go Fishing!

On a rare guide’s day off from salmon and steelhead customers, what did I do? I went fishing of course! Not only did I have the day off from my busy guide schedule, but another guide friend also had the day off. It was mid October, with the fall steelhead run in full swing. Following a hugely successful salmon season on the Big Manistee River, it was nice to have a day’s break. Driving down to the Muskegon River to meet my guide buddy, it was filthy with rain. Just pouring. No matter, we were going to enjoy this.

After a relaxed breakfast at a local diner, we hit the water in my buddy’s jet sled. Backbouncing egg sacks were clearly the way to go, as we boated 17 or18 beautifully chrome steelhead. We tried a few drifts with a float fished by a center pin rod, but that only yielded a carp. The highlight of the day was a hot steelhead that actually jumped in the boat. I’ve been fishing for salmon and steelhead for a long time, and I have to say—this was the first time that a steelhead has literally jumped in the boat. I’ve had salmon ram the boat, and steelhead leap and hit the side of the boat, but this chrome buck turned and ran straight at the boat, launching itself a few feet from the boat, landing squarely inside the boat. Absolutely a first, and absolutely no net needed! It also so happened that I was trying to do some filming and caught the entire thing on camera. Check it out!

Best Job in the World!

“Being a fishing guide must be the best job in the world”. I’ve heard this countless times from dozens of customers fishing with both Traverse City Bass Guide Service  and my other guide service, Manistee River Salmon Guide Service. Best job in the world? Surprisingly, yes it is! It’s a lot of work, worry and stress, but I find it completely rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else, considering that I get to go fishing for a living. Yes, it’s a job like any other, but it’s also a tremendous privilege to not only meet new people on a daily basis, share a boat with them, but also to be outside, doing something that I love to do. Whether I’m fishing Grand Traverse Bays for big smallmouth in waters that resemble the Caribbean, or fishing for king salmon  on the Big Manistee River, the scenery is absolutely stunning, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I have been extremely fortunate to be a very busy guide, with guide trips almost every day of the season. And when I’m feeling run down, tired and don’t think that I have the energy to keep going? I just realize that I get to go fishing as part of the best job in the world!