Fun times with the Driers

[agelesssone]

Spent the last two days fishing with some of the finest gentlemen in the south this weekend.
Had Daddy Kyle, who is more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, with his sons, Matthew, Jacob, and Blake, plus Grandpa John. A person could not ask for a better group to be on the boat with. Gentlemen all, a pleasure to be around.
Grandpa John spun tales of fishing in Alaska, carefully backing away from grizzlies, to catching salmon and trudging the streams to get to the next lake where abundant trout ignored their varied offerings, to hungry trout that ripped lines and snapped them like they were thread. Made me wish that I was there to do the fishing part.....not the bear thing though!
We had some slow times and then we had some exciting times. Grandpa John hooking into the biggest hybrid (8.25 lbs) of the day right at the end of the day. Middle fella Jacob was wearing them out, never losing a fish and landing one on Sunday that rivaled his Gramps 8.25'er of the evening before.
Seeing as how I'm the guide reading the scales, I'm calling Jacob's fish a very solid 8.26 lb'er!!
Matthew landed a hybrid on Jacob's boat that looked to be about half as big as he was, coming in at a solid six lbs.
Blake didn't catch the big ones but that would be my fault. He had a hawg on and was handling it just fine until the fish stripped line and got to the backing, which was only 10 lb test vs the 20 lb braid that had been stripped off. When the fish got to the 10 lb backing , it easily snapped it, leading me to believe that he had the biggest fish of the weekend. Sadly, guide error! Call me a big dummy Blake and I'll accept it. Next time, I'll make sure to have a stronger backing!.
I could not have asked for better clients, they were all a pleasure to have on board.
Looking forward to our next trip fellas, whether it be chasing crappie in the spring or hybrids in the summer, we'll GET IT ON !

[TNBronzeback]

Great report man! im sure guiding can be a very stressful job from many angles, but when it all comes together, you put smiles on peoples faces and give them memories for a lifetime.

[tkwalker]

Merv, Great report, Guiding is a lot of work, Take a guide party out get back home after dark Clean and wash the boat , go through the bird nest reels and freshen up and inspect the tackle which sometimes means replacing line ( in my case it was 50 pond test) ... In bed at midnight and up at 4:30 AM to do it again ... It is a true pleasure when you have a Guide party who is family that is top notch and understands "fishing" ...

All you can do is have a clean boat and top notch tackle ... The rest is up to the fishing gods (and there is a lot of pressure on the Guide) ... And a Good Guide is one who works for what ever it takes to try to catch fish ... And when it does pay off .. It is very rewarding ... Congrats on a good Day ... <'TK><

[Heiny57]

Great read Merv. Thanks and great job.

[Reel Tune]

Those smiles are priceless.

[Alphahawk]

Congrats on a great trip.


Regards

[Dakota]

Thanks for sharing Merv good stuff


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[SAMBOLIE]

Dang it. Now I gotta say something nice about Merv.

Great story. Makes all the work worthwhile doesn't it.

[Travis C.]

Good trip Merv thanks for sharing.

[agelesssone]

SAMBOLIE, DON'T YOU DARE!

Don't cause me to get all misty eyed this late at night!

Thanks all, for the kind words.

Guiding can be tough AND rewarding. Nothing makes me feel any better than to watch a youngster battling their "fish of a lifetime" and landing it for them.

Of course the smiles on their Dad's faces is pretty impressive too!

[Fishaholic]

Good Job and nice report Merv!!

[fishfindergeneral]

Great job plugging your guide service! I remember someone giving someone a load of crap for doing this here.

[fishfindergeneral]

I guess the thorn that is still in my side is the epic level of hypocrisy you exhibit. When I posted here regularly, I put no link to my web site nor spouted out about being a guide. You felt the need to publicly attack me for doing much less than you are doing yourself because I would not share the methods of my catches. I have the permition to post what ever content I choose from TK yet you felt you had the right to say who could and who couldn't post on someone else's forum. I never quite understood why TK never man'd up and pointed out to the aggressor his trespasses.
Whether you became a guide via spending lifetime on one body of water learning the shuttle differences that made that body unique amongst all other bodies or you gained the knowledge some other way, you like me probably guided many, many years for free with friends or family members. In your case it was probably strangers from this forum because I can't imagine you having many friends. Either way you are now in the hot seat. If you're any kind of guide at all. You take it personally if you don't put people on fish.
I've only been on a few charters in my life and I was young. I can remember not being able to sleep the night before with excitement. The anticipation was emence. I think about that before every charter and the pressure is on. Add to that when you get booked a year in advance for multiple days by an adult son to take him and his father out because he took him his whole life and he's trying to pay back the memories. Or the Dad of the ten year old with leukemia that want his son the feel some joy, the pressure is on.
Most people would think that getting to fish for a living is the best thing about being a guide but it's not. I'll admit it's a great perk. The best thing about guiding is the people. By this I mean as a guide we catch larger and more fish than the average person and we've all had great trips full of excitement, adrenalin rushes and fellowship that left us high or giddy for days. Going through these emotions with people, seeing them have a blast. We are with them when they are happy, having fun and at their best. It's a true blessing to be part of their experience and memories. These intimate things I keep for myself. I don't use them to try to get business.
By the way, he beat the leukemia in case you were wondering. The memories of days like that are for me, his dad crying to me when i refused to take his money at the end of the day about how he hadn't seen him laugh let alone smile in over a year. I watch the videos we shot that day often but you'll never see them on my YouTube channel because they are just for me, not to be exploited for profit.

[Fishaholic]

Yes I agree the thorn is still in your side. I thought the purpose of this forum was to help each other out. So to post a great report and then not share whats working for you kind of defeats that purpose. I'm not talking about locations but methods. A lot of people on here do that, myself included, and that's what makes this forum great. Sorry if your feelings got hurt in the past but you need to let it go because its only hurting yourself at this point.

I agree with you though you should not have been attacked for plugging your guide service. I must have missed that thread because I would have jumped in on that one had I seen it.

[Pookie]

Originally Posted by Fishaholic

I thought the purpose of this forum was to help each other out.

What a crock!