My Dad got me started salmon
fishing back in the mid to late 60’s. This
was before the age of "Downriggers"
, "Fish Finders", Loran and GPS navigation
units. We fished exclusively with leadcore line
and most of the time we used live bait instead
of lures. The trick was to learn how to sew these
on the hooks. Needless to say, it was "hit
and miss" most of the time but we did catch
some real nice fish.
Over
time, I became pretty proficient at this and
in the early 70’s we saw the advent of
downriggers (miniature cranes, as one of my
friends described them) that enabled us to engage
in "controlled depth" fishing with
light line. About the same time, the "flasher"
depth finders hit the market. These two items
opened up a whole new world of fishing for me.
Having been a big game hunter
and taking a number of guide trips, I began
thinking of doing the same on a part time basis.
At that time I was practicing retail pharmacy
and had my own drugstore, so time off was a
luxury.
In any case, I was already
a licensed NH guide, taking clients out for
Bear & Bobcat and decided to drop the hunting
and concentrate on fishing.
Finally, about 1983, I sold
the pharmacy and moved to the Lakes Region and
began guiding full time for a couple of summers.
This enabled me to gradually build up a good
client list.
As time went on, I was approached
to join the "Pro Staff" for a number
of tackle companies, some of which I am still
with today (Cortland Line, Luhr Jensen and Walker
Downriggers).
When I began working for the
state, 1985, I went back to guiding "part-time"
and concentrated on "ice-out" spring
salmon fishing as a specialty. Each year I take
the 3 weeks after ice out off from work and
book up two charters a day. However, I do guide
ALL season long.
In 1987 I began spending 1
to 2 weeks fishing for King Salmon on Lake Ontario
and over the last 19 year have honed my skills
at catching these freshwater giants. I have
also developed some very cherished relationships
with a number of charter boat captains out of
the Little Salmon River in Mexico, NY.
One of the aspects of the
charter business that I really enjoy is having
the youngsters on board. They are the fishermen
of the future. I also enjoy teaching both the
adults and kids how to fish for spring salmon….Every
day is different and over the years have made
a lot of friends from doing the charters. Many
of my clients book aboard year after year, even
thought they can fish on their own very successfully.
We do have fun!
As I look back over my articles
for the "Times", it appears that I
have been doing this for about 14 years and
love every minute of it. Shortly after I began
providing articles for the "Times",
I became an active member of the New England
Outdoor Writers Assn. (NEOWA). I try to provide
articles for publication every other week but
often, my work schedule and personal commitments
put time constrains on my ability to sit down
and "dribble" out a few words of wit.
However, it is quite refreshing to have people,
on the street, approach me and tell me how much
they enjoy reading them.
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