One of the most rewarding (and quite common) things I get to do as a guide is fish with multiple generations of a family. Wednesday I fished with Bob (pictured left) and his two sons. We had what has to be the best day weather wise this season but we could have done with a little less wind. Both sons caught fish, and lots of fish but it was their father who landed the big one of the day. 
Click Here for a link to more picture from the 2008 Mad River Outfitters’ season at The Wilds.
Size matters? Sure size matters if it matters to you. I have the great pleasure of spending about 50 days a year taking other people fishing. The most important thing I can do as a guide is ensure that the client has a good time.
A good time can be measured many ways. For some it’s big fish, others it’s lots of fish. For some it is truly the experience of sharing the day with a friend, a family member or perhaps enjoying a day away from people they know and just going fishing.
As the guide it doesn’t really matter what the angler is looking for as long as I can help them find it.
The picture above left is from earlier this season. I fished much of the weekend with Rick and his buddy in the cold unending rain. We got soaked, my truck got stuck in the mud but they caught fish and we had a great time. Rick had fished the Wilds before. He’d caught some big fish and he’d had some big number days. On this day he wanted to fish for panfish with his light rod and flies that he’s tied.
Right: Ken Q. holds a record sized bass he landed on Sunday while fishing with Brian Flechsig the head guide and owner of Mad River Outfitters. They too had a great day on the water enjoying a beautiful May afternoon. The success of the trip, just like Rick’s can be measured by the size of the smile. Although that is a $*&#* nice fish.
Sunday was a good day on the water. I guided Brian B. for the second time for largemouth bass. The weather was ideal and as soon as we got onto the water it was evident that the fish were moving and willing to come to flies.
Brian fished two rods, a five weight set up for bluegills and my Sage smallmouth bass rod strung with large floating flies. I really wanted to get Brian into a big fish. Big fish-big fly. Last year we’d had a great day on the water with many fish caught but none that would be considered large.
We fished two lakes on Sunday. In the morning we moved some nice fish, caught a number of small bass and bluegills and got one “photo fish” to the boat. After lunch we moved to another, bigger lake. Again we moved some big fish and had a couple of nice “photo fish” in the 3 lb range but the big fish I was hoping for still alluded us.
Mid afternoon Brian switched to the lighter rod and enjoyed catching the gills and some smaller bass. Later as the day was winding down the bass turned on again. As I eased the canoe around the contours of the lake, Brian cast the large fly to the shadows and next to downed trees. He made a long cast and put the fly on the far side of a downed log. The line was over the log and I was momentarily concerned about a snag.
As Brian stripped the fly past the end of the log the bass in the picture struck. The fight was on. The bass went deep and for a while was buried in the weeds. Soon the fish was lipped and we had the “photo fish” we were looking for. Before we returned it to the water, I put a tape on it. A hair under 20 inches (we’ll call it 20.) We didn’t weigh the fish. What’s your guess?
A fantastic day made all the better by a nice fish. Congratulations Brian. I look forward to fishing together again.
