One of the greatest hazards of being a fishing guide is becoming friends with your clients. It's terrific to make good and new friends but it is tough when bad things happen to them. I often think of my fishing friends, the stories they share with me, some funny some very sad. I guess a fishing guide is like a good bartender, people want to talk to them but unlike a bartender you get to catch fish instead of a DUI.
When I get an E-mail or a phone call from a fishing friend and the news is bad, it really bothers me. I feel helpless and I can only send my best wishes. If someone is out fishing with me, no matter what is happening in a persons life, the fishing and the outdoors always puts life back into perspective. When a friend is sick and in hospital, a fishing guide is so incredibly useless. Well maybe not. As long as we have made memories of a terrific time on the lake, catching smallies or pike in a secluded bay, away from the daily grind, perhaps a fishing guide has provided a friend in trouble with an outlet in their memories. I can only hope so.
I had a client who was 98 years old the first time a took him fishing. He was a wonderful mischievous fellow. A fishing guide gets picked on a lot but I've never had the ,"what fer" , from anyone like this guy. We became instant friends. He being almost 100 didn't make a difference, when I got a phone call that he passed away, (he was 101, he celebrated his 100th on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge!) my heart sank at the news. I had only known him for a few hours really, the time we fished together, yet it hit me as hard as if we had been friends for his whole 100 years.
So folks, take care of yourselves and each other. Me and Rainy Lake will take care of you when you come up again next season.
Get well Gary, I will remember you in my prayers.
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I like ur post! i read them all, however this one really got to me. its like u make a little fishing family out on the water. even though u have a family at home, it is nice to get to know new people and talk about things that only a select few get to hear. im envious that u can listen to people's problems and praises all summer and become a friend to these people u get to take out. im glad ur r the kind of guide that people get to know and love, thats why they will always come back!
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