Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 20 February 2024 09:17

The Fun of Guiding

by Mike Gerry

As time moves on your life flashes in front of you just about every day, often during quiet times, you think back about your life and forward as to what is next.
I certainly don’t have much in the way of money to keep paying my bills so keeping an income and enjoying what you do is a blessing, at least it is for me. It’s hard, it’s fun and some days its painful, but keeping in touch with your life forwards and backwards is a blessing. Guiding keeps it in perspective for me and keeps me in touch with people that move from clients to friends over time and many I will never forget.

Every year folks ask me how long I am going to continue to keep guiding. I know they are just being nice and trying to create a conversation, so my answer has been pretty standard, “as long as it is fun!” The thing about it is without making a day fun on the water it wouldn’t be worth being out there. Yes, the fun is in catching but it’s also in the relationship you have with the customers in your boat, the smiles the interaction and the thrills all add to what it is all about for me.

Fishermen are by nature just good folks. They go to the water for a way to pass off pressures, or interact with their children or a friend and make fishing something special in their lives and it makes my day all worth it. This for me is what being on the water watching the sun rise or set is all about, catching fish is the goal but the secondary goals and accomplishments, the friendships, the conversation and the time together are the rewards and for me it makes some of the tough days the reason I get my solace being a fishing guide.

I also believe that when you’re working with the public day after day and year after year in a service industry like guiding can take the fun out of anything if you let it. So, being upbeat, making the best out of cold weather, intolerable winds or the fish not acting right and getting lock jaw gives you a reason to live.
Captain Mike