Diaries of a Lodge Owner
Episode 48 - Guide Stories With 'Johns'
Experience the adrenaline rush of two worlds colliding as we invite you to meet John Jarvis and John Bryan, extraordinary fishing guides at Nordic Point Lodge with backgrounds as unique as they come. From the fearless falls of professional skateboarding to the wild rides of rodeo cowboy life, discover how these two men transitioned into the serene yet thrilling field of musky fishing. Cowboy John captivates us with a riveting and enlightening tale from his rodeo days involving a bull named Bullwing Bull—a story that’s sure to leave you both awed and inspired.
We then journey through John Jarvis’s transition from the skateboarding scene to the tranquil waters of fishing. Hear about the high stakes and health challenges in competitive skateboarding that led him to find a new passion and purpose in fishing. Jarvis opens up about the bittersweet farewell to his skateboarding career, underlined by a severe wipeout and a doctor's advice that changed his life. His narrative showcases how fishing became a fulfilling and safer obsession, providing a new kind of thrill that captivated his heart and mind.
Lastly, we dive into the essence of being a fishing guide—from the rewarding moments of helping clients land their dream catches to the camaraderie and techniques shared among guides. Learn about the meticulous preparation for traditional shore lunches and the unique recipes that make them unforgettable. We also explore the deep connection guides foster with nature and their guests, turning everyday fishing trips into lifelong memories. Whether you’re an experienced angler or an eager beginner, this episode brims with adventure, insight, and inspiration, promising a fresh perspective on the world of fishing.
Experience the adrenaline rush of two worlds colliding as we invite you to meet John Jarvis and John Bryan, extraordinary fishing guides at Nordic Point Lodge with backgrounds as unique as they come. From the fearless falls of professional skateboarding to the wild rides of rodeo cowboy life, discover how these two men transitioned into the serene yet thrilling field of musky fishing. Cowboy John captivates us with a riveting and enlightening tale from his rodeo days involving a bull named Bullwing Bull—a story that’s sure to leave you both awed and inspired.
We then journey through John Jarvis’s transition from the skateboarding scene to the tranquil waters of fishing. Hear about the high stakes and health challenges in competitive skateboarding that led him to find a new passion and purpose in fishing. Jarvis opens up about the bittersweet farewell to his skateboarding career, underlined by a severe wipeout and a doctor's advice that changed his life. His narrative showcases how fishing became a fulfilling and safer obsession, providing a new kind of thrill that captivated his heart and mind.
Lastly, we dive into the essence of being a fishing guide—from the rewarding moments of helping clients land their dream catches to the camaraderie and techniques shared among guides. Learn about the meticulous preparation for traditional shore lunches and the unique recipes that make them unforgettable. We also explore the deep connection guides foster with nature and their guests, turning everyday fishing trips into lifelong memories. Whether you’re an experienced angler or an eager beginner, this episode brims with adventure, insight, and inspiration, promising a fresh perspective on the world of fishing.
This episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner is brought to you by Nordic Point Lodge a luxury outdoor experience with five-star service.
Speaker 2:I caught ten, Johnny caught ten and Marlon caught ten. Yeah, and me and Marlon were having the best time in the world. Johnny was having a great time too, don't get me wrong. But he had his cowboy hat and his waders on. You could tell he had just done that before.
Speaker 1:He was just like yeah, I'm just going to go around, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like he looked very comfortable in that home while he was doing it. Yeah, and that was a banner day, we got a whole bunch. Oh yeah, it was good.
Speaker 1:This week on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Networks Diaries of a Lodge Owner. We live a day in the life of a professional fishing guide times two, and I can tell you it takes a certain kind of person to be a great guide and I've hog-tied two of them to join us today.
Speaker 1:One was once a cowboy ranching by day and rodeo riding by night. The other spent countless hours in half pipes and skateboard parks, immersed in his professional skateboarding career. Two men from opposite ends of the spectrum of life collided on the dock at Nordic Point Lodge and are now living their best lives as professional fishing guides, and it is my pleasure to welcome to the Diaries family guide John Jarvis and cowboy John Bryan. On this show we talk about some of their fishing techniques. That will no doubt add some ammunition to your fishing arsenal.
Speaker 3:We share stories from the rodeo and halfpipe and even tell some take a peek behind the scenes guide stories, but before that, I want to thank you, the Diaries Faithful, and welcome all of our new listeners to the family.
Speaker 1:I am so grateful to spend this time with you and now please join us as we live a day in the life of a professional fishing guide and share some stories from the north. Here's my conversation with cowboy John Bryan and John Jarvis.
Speaker 3:Welcome gentlemen, thank you for sitting down. Now we're here at beautiful Nordic Point Lodge. I've searched out two of the finest guides in the land. I like that. I appreciate that we got. We got Little John and Cowboy John. Yes, sir, yeah, yeah. So thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2:Glad to be on the show.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, it's a pleasure, yeah. So listen, I know guiding is one of those jobs that is, in any fisherman's eyes, it's glamorous, yeah, it's wonderful. It's glamorous, yeah, it's wonderful. But let's talk a little bit about your beginnings and where you guys come from, and why are you here?
Speaker 2:right, absolutely, johnny. Do you want to start with your story?
Speaker 3:Yeah, go ahead, yeah, go ahead, cowboy John, and listen folks.
Speaker 5:Cowboy John's sitting here and you look like a true cowboy man. Thanks, steve. Yeah, I've been around, been doing the rodeo stuff for quite a while, no shit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, really, yeah. Well, okay, before we get into the guiding stuff, I love watching the rodeo. I and I grew up on a uh, well, I worked on a on a cow-calf operation farm and you know we had a hundred head around. So, and bulls, we had a couple of bulls and I learned very young, um, my boss, wild Bill Durkin, actually Jarrett, and I I made mention of Wild Bill, but um, uh, he always told me, never turn your back on a bull. Actually, jared, and I may mention a wild Bill, but he always told me, never turn your back on a bull. No, you don't want to.
Speaker 3:No, we had one bull. His name was Bullwing Bull. He was a Charley Limo Cross he was. He had mass, no horns, but mass. He was the friendliest guy you'd ever want to meet, like when you're in the field. He'd kind of come up to you and you never turned your back, but all he ever wanted was you to scratch him behind his ears. Yeah, right, you know you give him a couple of real good hard scratches and all. He'd make these wonderful groaning noises and he'd look at you with love in your eyes and I, uh, uh, I was looking after the farm and this was when I was in grade eight.
Speaker 3:Um, uh, bill lived a concession down from us and we lived out in the country. So he gave me his old 1979 Ford pickup truck for me to drive back and forth. And it was in the wintertime. So this one day in particular I drove, got up before school and drove the truck down and big old stick and pulled in and doing the chores and old bullwinkle, we had him out in the barn in a pen and in the wintertime the shit would build up. So you know, the gates we had were probably six-foot gates. It was frozen, stiff. Oh wow, the cows kept it pretty warm in there, so the shit never froze, but it was deep, yeah, yeah, and the gate was real high and, uh, old bullwinkle had knocked over the, the water bowl, and, uh, I, without thinking, I, I jumped right into the, into the, into the pen, to turn the water bowl and and I turned my back to him and he was just playing, but as I was bent over, he stuck his nose right between my legs and he lifted his head and it it threw me straight up.
Speaker 3:I, while I cleared the six foot gate. Oh yeah, he threw me right up and over the six foot gate. He threw me right up and over the six foot gate and if not for the three feet of soft, wet shit, I would have hurt myself Right, and it was one of those lessons that I learned in grade eight. Oh, now I know why you don't turn your back on a bull. Yeah, now you figured it out.
Speaker 5:Oh, yeah, so tell us a little bit about your experiences doing that so I used to work at a ranch in like the northern interlake, because I'm from I'm from manitoba, yeah. So, uh, at that ranch we used to do like he was a stock contractor so I used to work for that and we'd look after we had what like 200 head of cattle, I think, yeah, all from like steers, calves, you know, cows, bulls, heifers, bulls, horses, you name it. Yeah, because it was all rodeo stock.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah, they were all Texas Longhorns, so they had some attitude to them. Oh, yeah and yeah. So every time, every weekend, we'd set up. We'd set up, we'd grab all the steel, haul it down, load up all the animals we need, haul it down, set up for the rodeo. We'd run the rodeo, do all that. You know fun stuff. And if I got a chance to ride I would, you know, I'd hop on and like bull riding, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I didn't really like it too much because he said well, if you get hurt, you can't be working yeah, no doubt, and I'm not sure, but I probably I'm imagining that when you ride a bull, that's probably you've got a fairly high risk of getting a bruise here or there.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, or a broken something that's a given.
Speaker 3:Them clowns are your best friend, yeah well they are.
Speaker 5:But I tell you it is one of the craziest eight seconds of your life, like your heart is going. You can't hear anyone talking, even though you got six guys around you to shoot. You know eight seconds, that's all you got, yeah yeah, you try, yeah, no doubt well you look more like a jockey.
Speaker 3:you're a born jockey, you and Peter.
Speaker 5:Yeah, he'd be good at saddle bronc, I think, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I'm intrigued. Tell me about your most memorable moment, when you were on the back of a bull.
Speaker 5:It was probably at Granthal Rodeo and we were getting well funny story, we we?
Speaker 3:had to tip a steer that was going out. So what do you mean?
Speaker 5:tip a steer. So tipping the steer basically would be to just cut off the tips of the horns. Just they don't spear a guy, yeah. So you gotta do some sort of knot because you know there's little bits of blood vessels in. Yeah, so you have to make sure it's you know it's all set up properly yeah, we used to.
Speaker 3:When we cut the horns out, we had this powder that you put on the to stop the bleeding yep, same thing.
Speaker 5:We just do a really neat kind of knot for an x pattern at first, yeah, so then it doesn't, you know, bleed and all that, yeah, so then it's all fine. But as we were doing that, we had it in the chute and my hand was on on his horn and my boss was like, just hold it and I'm gonna, I'm gonna cut. So we had the saws all out and we're cutting and the bull, just you know, cranked its head sideways and smashed my, the back of my hand, between the gate, the, yeah, between one of the bars of the gate of the shoot, yeah, and, uh, its horn. Right away my hand was swollen, like broken, it was done. And he's like, wow, don't be such a wuss, you know, here I'll hold it. And he goes and he starts holding it. Now I'm starting to cut. Same thing. Whack, smashes his hand, you know.
Speaker 5:Just like later that day I'm like, ah, that's right, I paid. I paid to ride because you have to pay to ride, right, yeah, you know if to ride right, yeah, and you know, if you stay on, you get some winnings, yeah. So I was like, okay, my whole family came to this rodeo and they're like, oh, it's his first ride.
Speaker 3:Was it your strap in hand or was it your free hand? Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5:Oh no, I'm getting tied up and it is like time to cinch it. Robbing, oh boy, okay, and we cinched it and, oh my goodness, did it hurt? It hurt like crazy. So I was like, all right, whatever, let's just get this going. And I'm sitting there and about to go and I, like I said I I had about six guys all around the shoots. They're all talking to me, they're telling me what to do.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, like you're a boxer in the ring and you got people barking.
Speaker 5:Uh uh, their advice yeah and the only thing I heard was boom, boom, boom, boom boom just my, just my heart and I was like all right, and I gave a nod because I was ready.
Speaker 5:But the gate didn't open up and I I'm like, oh what? Also, I'm like give another nod Gate comes flying open. I'm like, oh crap, here we go. Yeah, went out there and then I got like six, six something and my rope came loose. Eh yeah, came off the side. You just see me hanging off the side and then boom, hit the dirt.
Speaker 3:Dirt nap. Yeah Well, that's how they all end. I got very few rodeo riders, I see. I guess some of the best ones maybe land on their feet 20% of the time.
Speaker 5:You know? Yeah, there was a Brazilian rider that I watched at Canada finals that did a backflip off of the bull with his hat in his hand, landed it and put it on his head and walked off. Oh my God.
Speaker 3:He won, he won yeah he won, no doubt.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I've never seen something like it my entire life.
Speaker 3:wow, yeah, it was pretty crazy that's awesome, yeah, well then, hey, listen, um, uh, cowboy john, uh, the name now. Uh, I have so much more respect for that name because it's true. Yeah, that is so cool. Strong handle, yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:I've definitely been around horses and bulls, and all that for quite a long period of life.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's great, and you're still young too. Yeah, is there anything? I don't feel it anymore. Wow, hey, don't we all? Yeah, is there anything? Wow, hey, don't we all? Yeah, I can imagine what are some of the, the, the things that you learned from that that have made you successful as a guide.
Speaker 5:Honestly, it's given me a lot of life skills and just working on the ranch and all that stuff like that, and I kind of figured out well, instead of hurting myself, I want to go fishing. That's a great thought man. Might as well not break any more bones.
Speaker 2:I'm going to go fishing, yeah yeah, my story is very similar in the breaking bones category.
Speaker 3:No doubt. Well, let's hear about your story. Okay, no doubt.
Speaker 2:Well, let's hear about your story. Okay, so when I was young, probably about eight years old, I spent a lot of time at the skate park and I was kind of a skateboard rat. Nice, yeah, I did that very confidently and very often all the time. It was kind of my passion as a youth and I actually ended up at one point in time I think I was about 13, I did a few tours with Alien Workshop, which is a skateboard company. Oh shit, so you were good, I was good. I was good. I had trouble in regards to getting on board with the whole street skating, because that's, you know, modern skateboarding, that's what everybody does.
Speaker 3:It's, yeah, it's the well, when you're doing the ollies and grinding on uh, on handrails, and jumping over the stairs concrete stairs and all that shit yeah it.
Speaker 2:It is a little bit more technical. I do and I did enjoy technical skateboarding, but I did a lot more like vert ramps, mini ramps, quarter pipe and anything that I kind of sent through the air quite a bit more. I enjoyed, yeah, and even though all my buddies were were were doing the whole street skateboarding thing, I was still flying off ramps and trying to get as much air as I could and that was just kind of what I enjoyed. Well, no shit, you must have felt like you were flying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my initial experience with the whole alien workshop thing was I was at a summer camp in Muskoka called Muskoka Woods and they're an action sports camp for youth and had things anywhere from dirt biking to mountain biking, to paintball, and they had a fishing class at one point, but I think that was phased out. Um, and that's kind of where Alien Workshop was, there doing a little tour thing and they they were taking on a couple of young, um savvy skateboarders towards the end of the tour and I just so happened to be one of those, so I managed to go and do some of that and that was really exciting. Um, right at the time I turned about 12, 13, I really started to get into fishing quite a bit more. I'd always fished you know I was seven years old down at the dock slinging as many sunfish as I possibly could on the Trent River, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3:So when you were I'm going to call you a professional skateboarder Sure, what are some of the most memorable times doing that, like you know for yourself when you think back at that segment of your life.
Speaker 2:Winning trophies, a lot of it. You know, being young and learning and growing up, the people that you're around, you end up not having an ego. But there's so many Competition yeah, there's so many. Yeah, yes, there's a lot of competition. And when your mind is young and molding and you see somebody better than you, you want nothing but to be better than them. Yeah, and you know. But I got to a certain point where I had far too many concussions.
Speaker 3:Well, I can imagine, and you're on the quarter pipe, or did you do half pipe, or those bowls?
Speaker 2:Absolutely everything. I was really savvy with old school skateboards. I had a lot of the old fish boards with rails and nose bones and tail bones and big slime ball wheels and I had the big, wide independent trucks and I was pretty, pretty, pretty what's the word awesome, retro with my skateboarding. Um, that's not what I rode as my daily, but to get from A to B and just to have fun on. I used to love those old school skateboards. I had a Powell with a skull on it ripping out of the board. Nice, that was wicked. I had a vision frankenstein, they were wicked anyway.
Speaker 3:So how fast is top speed for you?
Speaker 2:oh, that's a long board and I did do that for about a year towards the end of my skateboarding career. Um, because I got too many concussions and my doctor told me to stop because there's a your brain's gonna fall out. Yeah, there's a hereditary brain condition that runs in my family called tiari malformation and, uh, through my mris, after all the uh concussions that I got, it was showing signs of coming out and being a issue that thing in my life. So I kind of was just like whoop, this fishing thing is, uh, yeah, starting to get really cool anyway.
Speaker 5:So I notice, there is a common thing here fishing guides all have many concussions.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it seems to be a popular thing right on, absolutely well, and yeah, both of those sports are probably two of the highest uh sports, uh, next to football and maybe hockey, although, like I mean, tell us about your worst wipeout. Oh, like what, there must be one that stands out it wasn't when I was competing.
Speaker 3:You know, there there have been times when I had won trophies and I landed everything seamlessly and everything was great well, like I mean, I look at all of these people that do these extreme sports like skiing down a hill and doing like backflips and everything else, and I'm like I bet you practicing that move was rough.
Speaker 2:Absolutely the practicing. That's what I was just going to say. When I'm practicing to do something repeatedly, that's generally when things would go wrong, because I would slowly gain more confidence, more confidence, more confidence and well, eventually, you got to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Some people just had the ability to commit right away.
Speaker 2:I had been injured several times prior and was just a little on edge of knowing my limits, as to when I was going to hurt myself and just how slow I had to take things in regards to learning things. And one day I was doing a trick on a quarter pipe. I was just a fakie 360 into a rock and roll and then back, and when I was coming back I wasn't paying attention to the size of the rail or the lip on the quarter pipe and my front truck caught on it and I just fell backwards and smashed my head. And then I got up and apparently blacked out but I don't remember that because most people don't when they black out. And I got up and I was still young, I was probably 12 and I got up and I had a great big goose egg on my head and it was getting bigger and bigger and bigger and everything that I was looking at was foggy, like it looked like there was haze through the sky, no matter where I was looking.
Speaker 3:And did you get that buzz in your ears? Yeah, everything.
Speaker 2:And I started and all the way and I like the fogginess is what did it to me? Because I was just like I'm seeing foggy stuff, you should take me to the hospital, dad. And they took me to the hospital. I puked outside of his car all the way there. Bad news, yeah, went through the whole process of you know, don't go to sleep because you got a concussion, just probably the worst one you've had, so on and so forth. But fishing was kind of my saving grace in that regard, because right at the end of my longboarding career, which I did for about a year, at the end I just kind of and is that racing?
Speaker 2:No, it's just kind of a long skateboard that's ideal for traveling from A to B. People do it downhill, and so on and so forth. I used to do it downhill.
Speaker 2:The only, yeah, the only reason I got into longboarding was to cure the blues of oh boy, I shouldn't be skateboarding anymore because I'm going to crack my head open. Yeah, I started to think that longboarding was not as exciting anywhere near and I was getting kind of tired of it. Yeah, you weren't getting that juice, you weren't getting that adrenaline. Adrenaline was not there. So I I this was right around the time that, uh, I just grew up in South Ajax, in the Durham region in Ontario, southern Ontario, and uh, there's carp all in the river and I said I was looking at them like those are great big fish. I wonder how to catch those.
Speaker 2:So I asked my dad yeah, I asked my dad and he said corn and a hawk and he gave me everything I needed and off I went and I was a cat, basically bull rider, on the river fishing for giant carp. You know what I mean? That's awesome. All of a sudden I'm in a stream with a fly rod and that next thing. You know, I'm just totally obsessed with fishing and anything skateboarding I've got. So wait in my closet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, that's you know what. Those are very interesting beginnings, Um? So now let's talk a little bit about how you uh, obviously you just ate up fishing. Um, um, I know that both of you are wonderful multi-species fishermen. And what tell me about the part of guiding? Because obviously you were a bull rider and you were a skateboarder and those are really high adrenaline sports. Where do you find that in guiding?
Speaker 5:Big fish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, musky fishing, yeah, 1000% musky fishing.
Speaker 5:Musky fishing is the way to go for that.
Speaker 2:Don't get me wrong, I'm just as fired up with a very large of any other species, but generally any musky I'm pretty amped up for. Otherwise, I do have a solid appreciation for multi-species fishing, but there's definitely subcategories that I call extreme and other categories that I call not niche, but more finesse, more technique, more thought, more so on and so forth. More of a hunt.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, even not even that cause. Musky is a big hunt, but everything is a hunt yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I just you know, like walleye, there's so many techniques, it's just so expansive ah, and I'll tell you when they don't want to cooperate, man it's. Uh, you got to switch it up and you got to think. You really got to think. Musky fishing, you really got to think too, but it's in a different way. It's more than a big aggressive manner, even in the fall when you're finesse fishing large plastics, it's, it's you're, you're thinking, you're absolutely thinking fishing is definitely about thinking where you're fishing, yes, and how you're going to fish that spot.
Speaker 2:yeah, you have to be physically prepared as well as mentally prepared, whereas if I'm going walleye fishing or flexing crappies, you know it's not, it's physical. Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 3:So we'll talk about muskie fishing a little bit later. Yes, but I've never claimed to be a guide myself, but when you own a fishing lodge for 10 years, you inevitably end up being a guide. I thought that I was going to get all kinds of time to go fishing and I loved fishing and I fished bass tournaments All of the Diaries family know, if you go back, you've heard the stories. But I was forced into being a guide because I got to guide when one of two things happened my guides or a guide didn't show up, or I overbooked, yeah, and I needed more. Yeah, right, and for me, um, I was the opposite. Really, I could fish but, being the owner of the lodge, my sole focus was the experience that operations, the that my guests were going to get, and if you guys are the brains of the operation, right when you're in those in that boat, is there any of those rushes that you that you get? Because I know for me I did being able to give experiences to people that never have had those experiences.
Speaker 5:Yeah, absolutely Like when I'm'm in the boat, I get more excited over some of the fish than the guests do, because I'm sitting there, I'm like I just searched this long for this species and now we just got into them. Yeah, you know, and that moment, right, there is one of those adrenaline rushes, one of those like confirmation, good feelings, you know, and it just makes you want to want to get and they are catching them exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, you're doing, you know, and it just makes you want to want to get and they are catching them exactly, yeah right, you're doing something right and it feels good.
Speaker 5:It's like gratification, yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2:And like if you're searching for a certain species on your own and you're out, uh, you're not necessarily practicing, but pre-fishing, making sure you're on top of fish and so on and so forth um, it's, it's, it's cool when you catch fish, but at the same time, when you get on those fish, you're like, oh, my guests are gonna love this, and then you can bring them to them. You hold off and then they get on those big fish and the feeling for me, after 10 plus years of doing it, is significantly. I get significantly happier when somebody else catches it and they're just very very happy.
Speaker 2:I had a lady this spring and we were catching a bunch of pike and a bunch of walleye and she was, she was audibly, she was happy, you know, and that made me happier than anything At the end of the day. When I when, when you've got happy clients, you have nothing but a smile on your face at the end of the day because you've done it.
Speaker 5:That's the goal?
Speaker 6:Yeah, absolutely smile on your face at the end of the day because you've done, that's the goal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely in every angler's heart lives a fishing paradise with stunning scenery and wildlife on a trophy, multi-species fishery, having outstanding accommodation and a food experience to die for. They treat you like royalty, tailor making a package that works for you. Nestled in northwestern Ontario, nordic Point Lodge is that paradise, and Will and his team can't wait to show you a luxury outdoor experience and five-star service. So follow your heart.
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Speaker 7:Hi everybody. I'm Angelo Viola and I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast.
Speaker 2:That's right Every Thursday, ang and I will be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Hmm, now what?
Speaker 7:are we going to talk about for two hours every week?
Speaker 2:Well, you know there's going to be a lot of fishing.
Speaker 9:I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch. Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
Speaker 2:We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors, from athletes, All the other guys would go golfing Me and Garton Turk and all the Russians would go fishing. To scientists.
Speaker 9:But now that we're reforesting and letting things breathe, it's the perfect transmission environment for life To chefs. If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated, you will taste it.
Speaker 7:And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you are. Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside.
Speaker 2:Find us on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3:So for all of those people out there listening our Diaries family, just with your experience, if there's any young aspiring guides out there, kind of look back on your journey and what are some of the important tools that for somebody that is interested and is a fisherman just like you guys were, how do you become a successful guide?
Speaker 2:Well, everybody has to start somewhere. Generally in this industry you start as a dockhand, unless, of course, you know somebody that knows you're a highly savvy fisherman prior to. So there's select scenarios, but for the most part everybody does that two, three years. Sometimes they show up their first year and they have to fill in because, again, just as you were saying, somebody didn't show up or they've overbooked and you just need to go out and take people fishing. Uh, that, that, that was my scenario. That's kind of what happened to me when I was a fill in and when we got back the guy said I've been coming here for 10 years and that's the best time I ever had. He was uh, the word was he's like a rat on acid.
Speaker 3:Well, I'll tell you what uh, the TD guys that you uh that you took out, um, we're here at Nordic point and um, uh, through the fish in Canada television show, we, we are, are on a shoot and um, we had four guests who had bought a trip from the Eric Lindros Easter Seals event and they came up here and I think both of you had the pleasure of being in the boat with them and they had nothing but awesome things to say. But the one thing they did say was man, that little John was all over the place. He was outstanding. Like I mean, he would be on one end of the boat and I'd look around, he'd be already on the other side.
Speaker 2:He's a quick guy, oh yeah, I do try to pride myself on service and making sure everybody's taken care of, whether or not there's one client in my boat or five, and if that's anywhere from taking weeds off your hook to making sure your minnow's on straight, depending on what we're doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, like I mean, actually, pat Tryon is a. He worked for me for my tenure at Chaudière. He started, he was a guest and he come to me in the first year and said, hey, listen, I, I would love to guide for you. And we built a wonderful relationship and we just, uh, we did a podcast a while ago called um a guide to guide. And one thing and you you mentioned it right off the top is you got to start somewhere, and for me, some of the best guides that I found were guides that started on the doc and and it is a great place to start because you learn- from everybody that comes in and you're slowly picking up that information, and you're slowly picking up that information as you're sitting there 100 you've got.
Speaker 3:You've got guests that are coming in, and part of of outstanding service and and I use the the term outstanding a lot because I like it outstanding means that your service is above Noticeable. It's people notice it, that's a great way to put it. And part of outstanding service is getting to know the people that you're servicing and I always told everybody at the lodge you know they come as guests but leave as friends and family Absolutely, but leave as friends and family Absolutely. And to learn about your guests, you have to interact and ask those questions how was your day? Did you catch anything? Oh, you caught. What did you catch when? Wow, what were you doing? And you soak that information up.
Speaker 3:Your first resource on the dock is the guest and if you're doing a good job servicing those guests and building the relationships that I, as somebody who was the person looking after the lodge, those relationships were huge. The other resource on the dock are the guides themselves, right, and you become friends with the guides and I'd like to talk a little bit about too, when we're on this topic with doc hands, becoming friends with guides and then learning from them and apprenticing from them, kind of, and going out and enjoying it and seeing how people operate. But within the guide community, inside of the lodge environment, it is a very let me see if I can phrase this right, phrased this right. It's a very interesting relationship that I've seen in the past because there's always internal competition, right, and you've always, and one of my rules with the guides was you tell me everything that you know, where are they, what are you doing, right, and I knew that there were some guides that absolutely told me everything. And then there's some guides that were very guarded with their information and you know that goes to talk to guides that have been in a place for a long time.
Speaker 3:And you know there's stresses when you're a guide, because at the end of the day, one of the most stressful things running a fishing lodge actually there's two um, the um, the, the first, and you might not think this for all of you out there. I just closed the window. We've got a beautiful view and I'm sure that you've heard some guests walking by. So anyway, back to those stressful moments. The one thing that I didn't even think about for me was carrying food in the dining room when I was serving and I had, like I mean servers and this and that, and you think about this. And you know, I had one girl in my first year she was a crackerjack, portuguese girl, sarah and this girl would carry five plates at a time through a full dining room and you look at that and you think, wow, that's pretty, that's pretty good. But you know you don't think about that, right? But me carrying three plates was stressful because in a full dining room you're walking between the tables and and you the last thing you want to do is dump hot food on somebody. You know what I mean. That was one of the most stressful things that that I did as a, as a, the um, the, the curator of the place.
Speaker 3:The other most stressful thing that I did as the curator was the period of time when you guide. That starts in the morning up until lunch, because we always did the traditional shore lunch, because we always did the traditional shore lunch and I really believed that guides shouldn't really fish, because your job as a guide, in my opinion, and I tried, and there were some guides that were just old school and it is what it is and you get what you get and that's it. But I believe that the key job is experience and teaching and I, and it's a very fine line between putting lunch on the table and having those people do it, yeah Right. So the stress, the stress of not having lunch, shit. I just did it three days ago with the TD boys we were talking about. Or two days ago boys we were talking about are two days ago.
Speaker 3:Uh, dean and I, and you'll see it on, uh, for all you folks out there, uh, you'll see it on one of our fish in Canada, episodes this year from here. Um, it incorporates the TD the guys, uh, and they're the fantastic gentlemen. It incorporates their experience. Part of that experience was Dean and I guiding and doing a traditional shore lunch, and I've done so many shore lunches that the shore lunch is not the issue. I know that I can perform that. Stuff's easy Getting what you need, getting what you need. And it was 2 o'clock by the time we hit our fish and that northern pike that Scotty caught, man, oh man. Just the jubilation inside that boils, because I know up until that point we don't have enough.
Speaker 3:A weight is lifted off your shoulders. Oh, absolutely, we don't have enough like we're, we're. It's lifted off your shoulders, oh, absolutely, to the point where I did a, I did a shore lunch, uh, at, uh, at, chaudiere, um, and we ate drum.
Speaker 5:We ate sheephead, yuck, oh, I don't like drum have you tried it?
Speaker 3:yes, I have. Oh wow, being from manitoba, I'll tell you we ate it and I didn't mind it at all. But the key for me was I grew up in a Polish family and anything red on fish is not good. So when I took the skin off, on the side of the fillet there was about probably an eighth of an inch thick red line, and it wasn't even like the mud line or the lateral line. It was right across the majority of these fillets, the lateral line. It was right across the the, the majority of these fillets.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very wide.
Speaker 3:You get those on whitefish and stuff like yeah I cut all that off, I pulled the the mud line out of them and, honestly, when you're cooking in a frying pan that's two feet in diameter and four liters, liters of oil, and you're in a beautiful setting and you've got the fresh cut fries and beans and everything else, it turned out great. Yeah, one thing I've always loved is doing shore lunch.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh yeah, and so that, for me, was one of the stresses. So, when you're guiding, the question I have for you guys is where do you find your stresses and how do you deal with them?
Speaker 5:I would say probably with the shore lunch fish. You know, you always go out and the first goal in your mind is, you know, run out, find some walleye, yeah. And you get some days where they're too, and get some days where they're they're too big and some days where they're too small and that's the only things you can catch. So then you start stressing more and you're now thinking, hmm, do I go for bass? Do I go for pike?
Speaker 3:we need to get something in the boat, like, yeah yeah, and and and that bass pike thing or walleye pike thing or walleye bass thing. When I come to the lodge, we had a lot of Americans and Canadians, and this was I took over in 2009 and everybody wanted to eat walleye Because walleye traditionally, in the minds of most anglers, was the candy of the lake.
Speaker 5:Yes, the food fish. You know, everybody thinks of it as walleye, as food, that's right, and for me, man, northern pike.
Speaker 3:If you can clean it properly, if you can bonelessly fillet it and that's the key, because nobody likes to run into a bone I will go to my grave. The last meal, if I'm blessed to choose a last meal, would be northern pike on a shore lunch on the side of the Upper French River. Oh yeah, because in my opinion there's nothing better.
Speaker 2:On a on a side note, really quickly when you boil pike or burbot, it becomes firm, whereas everything else that we basically swims in Ontario will flake apart in your water. So one of my favorite things to do is Johnny does it with seven up. I appreciate that and I like it too, because it does make it increasingly firmer because of the, the sugars, the citrus, yeah. The acidity, the acidity, yeah, absolutely. But I myself, I like Redfish Magic. It's a seasoning from down south and I'll just mix that with water and it's basically seafood seasoning. I strongly salt the water and I'll just mix that with water and it's basically seafood seasoning.
Speaker 3:Um, I strongly salt the water and I boil it and then I get butter after and just a little bit of dill.
Speaker 5:Oh my god, so does it have yo. It turns into like a lobster type?
Speaker 2:no way it is deadly.
Speaker 3:If you haven't had it. Oh, that's a great recipe. Yes, I uh, I haven't, uh, I haven't tried that. I've tried pickled pike and pickled pike goes firm, yep, right with the vinegar. Yeah, it's, it's, uh and it's. It's really good. Nice snack on the boat, oh, my nice snack anytime, yeah, so we've kind of talked about the stresses of guiding and I want to bring that back to the relationships between the guide family within a lodge and how I struggled with being the guy that relied on everybody and you know, inevitably when you've got half a dozen guys, I tried to bring people together and share all of the information, right, yeah, and I found it tough, especially when you're bringing new people in and guides would be very guarded with because the other, the other, the other situation, what and we'll lay it all out on the table and, uh, and from my point of view, what I've seen, you've got factors that you're dealing with, like your customer service, and catching fish is a big part of that customer service.
Speaker 3:But I'll preface that by saying the way that the litmus test that I would do with my guides to know who is knocking it out of the park per se, is in my dining room. I talked to every guest every night and I would talk to the, to the people that went out on the guide, especially, and not more or less than anybody else. But that was the topic that we, that I, gravitated to because I wanted to hear the experience and I wanted to hear everybody. I wanted everybody else in the dining room to hear the experience, because on the upper French River and Lake Nipissing it is massive water, it's tied for the second largest lake inside Ontario borders and you guys and I know that 90% of the fish live in 10% of the water and when you've got 100,000 square kilometers of water to search through, it can be difficult.
Speaker 2:Do you know what that leaves you with 10% of the fishermen catching 90% of the fish?
Speaker 3:a lot of the time, and that's why we need guides.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you've got the guides. Generally speaking, they should be on that 90%.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. But you know. So when I would talk with the guests that were with the guides, the people in the dining room that come and they didn't want the guide experience or whatever, and they spend a couple of days and they go out and they, you know, catch two or three walleye and a couple of northerns, and then they hear the group that just come back with Billy and they've lost count oh, we had 100 or more. And they're like what? Then they start to think when? So it's a place to sell guides. But the litmus test where I really felt out my people was if I talked to a group about their day and the fishing wasn't the main experience. You know they go on about oh, my God, we went out and we saw Abby the osprey and she swooped down and took a carcass and and, uh, pat told us so many great stories and you know, we saw a bear and you know, at shore lunch, we, we, we, we went swimming and jumped off the boat and you know it's it's. It's so much about the experience and figuring out what the experience is. But so, so for that you've got your, your, your guiding experience right, then you've got tip money right and that's a big revenue for guides. And then when you a lot of guides I think they focused on we've got to catch fish and that's how I'm going to make tips and and you know what it's fair to say, there's sometimes when you've got people coming in that is is part of that, that tip, so um, and then there's there's the ego. That comes into play, right, and um and and and. Again, it's hard when there's competition and there's, you know, guides and one guy's, the, the big swing, and Dick, all the time, who's out and and smashes it and and funny story, I, um, I was, I went out, right, and when we had big groups, I would insert myself as a guide, guide, but I would always preface it with the group and I would say, hey guys, listen, we've got billy, we've got marcel, we've got pat, we've got matt, we've got all of these, all of the guys, and we would do shore lunches and guides for up to about 40 guys, right, and anybody that wants to come with me.
Speaker 3:I'm not a guide, but I'm going to, I'm going to fish with you and we're going to have fun. Yeah, I would never fish, but I would take them out. Well, this one um group in particular, um, uh, tribute homes. And there was, there was, um, yeah, a couple of guys uh, frank, god rest his soul and you know, ted, teddy, and we all jumped into the boat and they always wanted to come with me. Just because, you know, I knew the spots, we always caught enough fish and we had a great time. You built the relationship. Oh, I love these guys.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I went to the typical Comfort Island spot in the morning and you know, and there was nothing, and then all the guides all went towards Lake Nipissing and it was rough and, to be honest with you, my trolling motor batteries were dead and you know, I had an anchor and this and that and I said to the boys, I said listen, and I was always the boys, I said listen and I was always an open book.
Speaker 3:I said my trolling motor batteries are dead and I can tell you right now, nipissing is going to be rough. But I heard a story a number of times from some of the locals about September Hole and I knew because I talked to Johnny Dokies he's the Dokies ambassador, he's a fantastic guy, right and he's friendly and you know and Johnny had told me where this September Hole was and it wasn't a place that was frequented and it just happened to be September, perfect. And it wasn't a place that was frequented and it just happened to be September. So, and it was the opposite direction it was into, it was into Five Mile Bay and I said do you boys want to go and spend some time?
Speaker 4:over at.
Speaker 3:September Hole and Frank, he had his G Loomis rod, he called it Trigger. He said you know what Trigger says September hole is the right spot, right? So I said okay, perfect. Well, we went out to September hole and back then it was the regulations where you were allowed to keep two over 18. And Nipissing, it was a tough lake. It was basically a moratorium on walleye because you didn't catch very many big ones. Right, you caught enough, but it was always a struggle and we started eating northerns and smallies and that was always great too. But anyway, we went back to September hole and this goes back to the whole eagle thing. Wow, buddy, we and with 40 people like we, you're looking for your limit yeah, right, yeah we knocked it out of the park.
Speaker 3:They were all that you know, 19 to 23 inches and beautiful, and it was just a, a magical moment, yeah, while I, while I, on that system are beautiful looking fish, oh gorgeous, um, and then so we, so we come back with the live well full, and, just like in the old bass tournament days, we hung back, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, you know I'm like boys, you know this has never happened to me before and you guys have done this for us. Yeah, right, they made it happen. Yeah, and so we let.
Speaker 3:And Billy Comanda, he's a native and honestly, he's the best walleye and all he wanted. He only guided for walleye. If somebody wanted to go for Northern Pike, he'd say okay, and he'd just go drift through you know Marshy Bay and say cast here, cast. But that's not his thing, walleye, there is nobody better. The guy can smell them. He was fishing walleye back when there was no well and no technology. He was triangulating off of points and trees and shit that his grandfathers had taught him, dropping a rope down to check out. Yeah, he wasn't even doing that. Points and trees and shit that his grandfathers had taught him, drop the rope down to check out. Yeah, he wasn't even doing that. He just, you know, light the smoke, cast the jig out, set his rod down and when he was done his smoke, pick up the rod and reel in a fish.
Speaker 3:You know, and he was up there and Billy, because he, he's, he's filleted more walleye than McDonald's has made Big Macs. That's what Billy did. All the guides would bring up the walleye and we all kind of had. It was a symphony. We had three or four pits set up and everybody got their fires going and fries on and this and that, and Billy was filleting. So, you know, everybody's up there and Billy had the biggest and best. Yeah, while we strut up there with this rubber net dragging the ground with all these walls, billy's like where'd you find them?
Speaker 3:And I said, oh, I found them in September hole. What September hole? How do you know about September hole? Oh, he was mad. Oh yeah, he didn't talk to me for the rest of the shore lunch, oh yeah, and you know what? I was so happy, oh, but you know. So there is that, that competition, and I'm just the real question that I'm getting at and what I'm pointing out to all of our listeners that are listening, it's the behind the scenes stuff that happens and honestly, there were some times where there was some real bullshit, drama, man, and again, I tried to. My end goal was to try and bring everybody together, share all of the information, because my belief is that all boats rise with the tide. Right, good job with it. Yeah, that's awesome. And I'm just wondering, and I know that here, seeing you guys and knowing the kind of people you are, I don't imagine that there's that kind of thing going on here. No, no.
Speaker 5:We tell each other exactly what's happening, absolutely Down to the finest detail.
Speaker 3:Have you ever worked in places where you went in and you don't need to mention the places or, or names or whatever, but tell me, tell me some of those situations so that it makes me feel better about what was going on with me, and I'm not just crazy.
Speaker 2:A lot of the time it has to do with old school mentality. A lot of the young guys that are in the game, like even myself. I've been in it for quite a while, but I'm still a young person with different outlooks, I guess, different views on how to do things, yeah, on how everybody succeeds. And a lot of the time here, in specific, I try to make sure, like when somebody comes in and they didn't get their lunchers or whatever, and they had a bad time, that genuinely makes me sad. So we sit down and we share information.
Speaker 2:A lot of the time it's technique. It doesn't matter where you work, local knowledge is king, realistically. So one technique is going to trump other techniques and obviously, as things change, um, obviously you know you'll, you'll see, you'll see that guide's boat and you'll say, oh, that's a great spot, he must be getting them there because he's been there a little while and and you know, you talk to him and it's just like, oh, I marked 300, but we caught two of them. Yeah, that happens, you know you. Just you talk about techniques that you've been using and a lot of the time you know, downsizing is the key, um, but every fishery is different. Local knowledge is king and if you're just getting into it, don't do not be discouraged by no, the older fellas and the older scene who want to hide all their things. Don't get me wrong if I find a 60 inch muskie, I'm probably not going to tell anybody until I put it in.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I found one last year. I even told john where it was. I I hold no secrets with fishing. What? Even with guests, like what he was saying if they have a bad day out on the water, stuff like that you give them pointers, you send them to certain spots that you know are going to hold fish. We're all here to have that good experience and make it fun.
Speaker 2:Even if they're not here on that fully guided experience, you, even if they're not here on that fully guided experience, you still sit down with the map and you try to make sure everybody's having fun and staying within their conservation limits and just making sure everything out on the lake is there for us in the future and to just to help people out. That's what being a guide's about.
Speaker 2:Come here for an experience and we want you to have that experience. Even if you're not the guest in my boat, it doesn't matter. You're here to have a good time, you're. You know you're having the experience. We're here to make sure that you succeed.
Speaker 5:Yeah, create lifelong friends through that type of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%. I can't be there in your boat to take your weeds off or put your minnows on, but I can tell you some of the spots and techniques that we have been using. And, uh, it's all fine and, dandy, go to it there's. There's more than enough water on this system. I'm not going to be torn out somebody's at my honey hole. Let me try it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I get it and and and and. Don't get me wrong. Um, we really didn't have a whole lot of issue, um, but I've heard that that is an issue and you know what you see it sometimes. But did you guys ever have, when you were learning, those experiences with those guys, and was there one that really sticks out?
Speaker 5:So when I started guiding, I had very not good gear, like when I was musky, like this was my first year. I had a catfishing rod for musky. Yeah, I had, you know, some walmart rods I was just getting started right. So I didn't have everything that was awesome and so I didn't get a lot of respect from the other guides. Yeah. So I'd be like, wow, I'm just not finding them, I'm not finding finding them. And uh, you know, they'd be like, well, I'll just look harder or go over here and they'd send me just somewhere else.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Away. Yeah, exactly. So then you kind of key in on that, you go, okay. Well, they told me to go to, you know, tokyo Bay. Yeah, well, I think I have to go to Eagle's nest, yeah, cause they're all going that way and I'm the only boat this way. Yeah so you start to cue in on things.
Speaker 2:And then? So wait, you have been sent the opposite way on purpose. Yes, that's okay, so that goes a step further than what Steve's talking about.
Speaker 3:No, that's what I'm talking about. Like I mean that's, that's not vicious. Like I mean that is, the People do that yeah.
Speaker 5:And so over time you eventually start getting closer to these guys and then you know maybe they're not sending you far away but they're not going to tell you where their fish are. Yeah, so then you start kind of going towards those areas and you start learning You're seeing where their fish and doing that kind of stuff. Then you start getting more comfortable in the system and then you start catching fish. And then once you guys, once everyone's starting to catch fish yeah, there's a little bit more, you know talk. It gets loosened up a little bit. But definitely there is a lot of guides out there with that old mentality of this is my hole and don't, don't go there, if I see you on there then.
Speaker 5:We're going to have to have a talk on the dock later. Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah, were you ever involved in any of those talks? Oh yeah, oh yeah. How'd they go down?
Speaker 5:Well, I went to a spot and I used to guide with this guy named Jamie, yeah, and we went out to this one spot and we were fishing and he's like, hey, just come with me. So we went and we slayed it, we killed it Like lots and lots of big walleye. It was awesome, yeah. I got back to the dock and people right now I'm super happy, I'm like, yes, like we got, we got good fish. And so the guys they start asking they're like, okay, well, where'd you get that? Well, right away because I'm not a guy that holds back I told him the spot, I told him what we were doing, everything like that. Next day every single boat was there. They fished it dry.
Speaker 3:The spot was dead for the rest of the season. Well, and you see, that's the other issue too, right, and Jamie gave me crap. Oh, yeah, so you told all the guests where you found it. Oh, I told the rest of the guides. Oh, no shit.
Speaker 3:So it was the guides that well, yeah, and then that Jamie guy, he, he wasn't too happy about that because he was like, well, you know, this was a spot and I was like I thought we were here to work together, but yeah, no, I get it, and, and, at the end of the day, I can see that point of view, but I still, I still believe that, okay, so you've got that spot, and if the other guides are working together and this is what I try to do with my guys, because there are those spots out there oh yeah, right, there's a few spots you hold.
Speaker 3:But it's not even you don't hold it in. You tell everybody all the guides, but the conversation that I would have with them is listen, this is an. A spot Like this is the emergency spot. Don't beat it up, yeah, and when you need it, go there, grab your one. You go there and you use that resource wisely. It goes back to the Boy Scouts.
Speaker 3:Be wise in the use of your resources and when you build a family of guides that understand that you're all working together, it's not a rape and pillaging, you know, free for all. It's one of those things where, where the spot type thing and respect each other and and use it to to um, enhance the client's experience. And you know what, when you get the clients there, you this, you go on the spot and you, you get them those couple of fish and have a great experience, and then you kind of drift off the spot and you can save that for the next experience. You know what I mean. And those are those little situations that go far left, far right, or when you can manage them together, it's a symphony. That was what I was looking for, because I know that it's like that and I know as well. 90% of the time the shit turns out bad yeah.
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Speaker 2:A question for you yeah, in your experience, I remember just 15, 20 minutes ago you were talking about being the host of the lodge, having to go out guiding. Yeah, on a day where you had to do that in the morning, what was your protocol? Since you hadn't been on the water, you didn't really know what was going on. And how is your mental state when you left that dog?
Speaker 3:John, that is a great question and I'm going to answer it truly as honestly as well. I'm going to answer it straight out. So, for me, being the host, I didn't have a whole lot of time, nevermind fish, to think about the situations I lived in the moment. So, uh, there were many nights where I would be up until two o'clock in the morning jamming, uh, playing guitar and singing and and doing all of that entertaining, right, because I would never leave the main lodge right until I was the last person there, right, right, I. I believe that my responsibility was to my guests, and damn it. If there's somebody that enjoys music or talking, or wanted to spend time with me, they're getting it a hundred percent. Whether bad, good and different, that's just the way it was.
Speaker 3:Now I will preface that with saying I didn't drink. Uh, I, I, I was a drinker when I was young. Uh, in the beginning, I, um, um, when we were, when we were setting up the lodge and getting things ready, I, I had some drinks then and, and my mom took me aside and said you've got a hundred thousand dollars of of of your dad and my money and you can't drink, like, you can't do this and um and another what my first show before I went to um, um, uh, before I was ever at the lodge, I did the Toronto sportsman show and um, the uh Sportsman Show and the Diaries family have heard this story too. But I'm going to tell you this because it's important. The guy next to me in the booth his name was Mike Apron and he had a trailer park and resort on Rice Lake and we hit it off and had a great time and he was just enthralled with my story because I bought a fishing lodge. I was a sheet metal mechanic. I had didn't know my ass from a hole in the ground and when we left he gave me a big hug because the man was a bear and he stood back and he said listen, you know, we've been joking around and having a great time and I really wanted to give you a piece of advice as a lodge and resort owner that that's important. And he said, steve, there's two kinds of owners and only one of them make it. There's the ones that drink and the ones that don't Make sure that you make the right decision. And in my head I'm like, well, geez, I, you know I drink on the weekends and this and that and everything else, but it is, it rings true. So back to your question.
Speaker 3:I I was dealing with all kinds of problems Well, not problems situations, good, bad, indifferent and one of them is you know what? I know I'm overbooked, I'm going. So my protocol when I woke up in the morning, I would always be up at no matter what time I went to bed and I was up and out of bed and for me and my guides, the first thing to any job really is look good, look good. So I had a guide shirt, similar to the button-up shirt, shody Air Lodge guide. I had nice pants. I had, uh, my, my gear, um, uh, you know, I was a tournament fisherman. So for the first couple of years I had good gear and then after that I was constantly replacing it. Uh, but I had my gear, and then inevitably I would, uh, I would lean on Pat he was a very trusted guy. But everybody, I would ask them, okay, where are we getting them? What are we doing? And I would quiz them all and they would say, okay, we're getting them here, we're getting them here, we're getting them here. And I was one that I didn't. I liked depending, you had to play the crowd.
Speaker 3:So you knew who could double up or get together for shore lunch and do two boats and two guides and two different groups, and sometimes you had groups that were friends and you could do that together. And sometimes you you had people that wanted their, their family experience and and all of that stuff and it was. It was one of those things where, first of all, my first concern and thought was can I double up? Because if I don't produce, at least I know that I can back in there. That's right. So if I could double up, I would.
Speaker 3:I would always tell pat or billy or matt, okay, listen, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, we going to do a guide together or the shore lunch together and keep a little bit of extra fish if you can, because typically for us we were looking for those 15-ish inch walleye and we usually accounted for one and a half per person in the boat, which would be lots. So we would do that stuff and that was one thought. If that wasn't the issue, I had spots where I was confident to go and again, sometimes it doesn't work and you end up eating drum, which was part of it. You know how fun those are to catch.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, they're like freight trains. As a youth, we'd go up Highway 69 and go right to the dokees native reserve and we would head over to some areas where neck down and blast it out. And they've since put power dams, or uh, yeah, or something yeah, the dokees, uh the dokees, or the uh chaudier dam yes, um, I.
Speaker 2:I think I might have just been hitting it wrong last few times that I went there, since that was put in there. Yeah, yeah, no, I get it Now. Before, though, I've got so many days just memories catching drum. I would just use a… they are freight trains. Yeah, yeah, you just…. I'd sit from shore and use a ledger rig, which is an egg weight, and then a floating jig with a leech Catch everything you could possibly imagine. Such good times there when I was a kid.
Speaker 3:Wow, we found a flat pad actually with when the mega side imaging come out on Hummingbird, he would mark the drum and then just take a hook and you know, just like goo, dew worms on it, put two dew worms and just you know willy nilly, hook them on and throw them in that direction and let them sit and they just pick them up and go. But to tie up your question, for me the, the, the, my mindset, when I walk down, I always would just take a minute in the office, take a deep breath, clear my mind. And it was very key for me to leave everything at the lodge. At the lodge, all of the thoughts and worries and the to-do list and all of that stuff. It didn't matter to me Once I walked to the dock and I looked into my guest's eyes. Once we pushed off from the dock, it wouldn't have mattered if the place was burning down.
Speaker 3:My time was solely devoted to my guests and I'm going to say 90% of the time. I'm going to say 90% of the time I was not the top performing guy out that day, but I'm also going to say 90% of the time my group had the best experience, because the experience and this is one thing that I learned early about myself myself is that I love people like I really enjoy spending time with people and getting to know people and and once you start to apply that in a situation like being in a boat with four people for eight hours, you get, you learn about each other, you talk about each other and then you you're. Some days people like I mean I had situations where people would come in and have caught a 45-inch muskie and they weren't typically happy. It wasn't anything to was a great muskie fisherman and liked fishing muskie and talked them out of a shore lunch and catching walleye and doing all of that.
Speaker 5:Taking away from the experience.
Speaker 3:Not being in tune with the experience that your guests are looking for every guest is a little bit different.
Speaker 2:All of them. Once you shake somebody's hand and talk to them for 10 minutes, you can read a person. To me it's like okay, we're going walleye fishing and bass fishing, or we're going to go check for musky immediately. Some of them just have that drive and you can tell right away there's a lot of big fish, let's go catch a huge one, yes, or we're going to go check for musky immediately.
Speaker 3:Some of them just have that drive and you can tell right away they're on a big fish, let's go catch a huge one, yes, and I'm going to say to everybody listening the key word in that analysis is feel. And if you look at somebody and you can't feel what they're feeling, that's where you've got to work on your trade. Things will go wrong, right, and I totally believe that positive attracts positive, absolutely. Negative attracts negative. And for anybody out there that doesn't believe in that, okay, try an experiment. Walk into a bar or a restaurant or somewhere where you're social with people you don't know and say pick somebody and walk up to them and say, how you doing asshole, yeah, and see what kind of reaction you get. You're going to get a pretty negative one. Negative attracts negative, yeah, but go into another situation and say, hey, how you doing? My name's Steve, you know we're here. What are you doing here? I'm here because you know we're here with the whatever it always, and when you can feel your guests, that's the first indication on what direction you need to go. And always being gracious with those people in the boat, right, and talking about different things. And hey, everybody has a bad day in the boat Fishing-wise.
Speaker 3:It's Mother Nature, for Christ's sake, yeah, you know, we're at her mercy, absolutely. But and this is another question I have, and it's one of the things that I always relied on was I knew my water, but not I'm not talking about the fishing, I'm talking about the hieroglyph paintings that were done on the cliffs over by Keystone Rock. That were done on the cliffs over by Keystone Rock. And you know, another wonderful suggestion that Pat made was you know, when you've got a family and the kids are getting a little antsy and they're not catching the fish, and you know you got a bit of a shore lunch and this, and that, well, he would stop and say, hey, kids, I got something for you. And in blueberry season, pull the boat right up onto the shoreline, take the kids out and say there's a field full of blueberries, let's pick a bucket. Hey, here you go, pick a bucket right. Or another technique that I stole from Pat, especially with younger kids. But believe me, I found that this isn't just for younger kids. You know them ankle biter, house flies, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, pat, I think they're called cow flies. They look like a house, yeah, but they bite.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, yeah, they attack your ankles and your feet and everything else All over the boat. Absolutely, or the horse flies or the. You know what I mean. Well, pat went to the dollar store and bought about two dozen of these little plastic guns with spring-loaded Salt guns. No, no, it was a spring-loaded fly swatter about uh three inches in diameter. And you stuck this fly swatter into the, into the spring-loaded gun, and it had a wee rope on it and when the kids would start getting or anybody, they'd hand them a gun and say, yeah, this is what we do with the flies. And all of a sudden, now the experience has changed from this is is boring, mom.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm hungry, or Dad when are we going to catch a fish, pat or Steve? When are we going to catch a fish? And you hand them the gun and all of a sudden, they're happy. They're so happy. There were so many times I'd go into the dining room and the kids would be just. And we shot so many. We got 150 flies. Yeah, right, they and be just. And we shot so many. We got 150 flies. Right, they don't care about the fishing anymore.
Speaker 5:But they just have the time of their life doing that.
Speaker 3:It's the experience. They'll talk about that experience for years, right, and the first thing that I guarantee when they get home that they have to have is we got to go to the dollar store, dad. You know what I mean. So what are some of the the techniques that you guys use when you're having one of those days adventure?
Speaker 2:we've got where we are in specific. We've got a number of lakes that we can kind of go through uh small canals and uh creek ways to get through, and in there the fishing is generally pretty good and we can switch up the species we're fishing for and play around with some techniques. Especially, I play around with techniques, don't get me wrong, but on super-duper windy days I kind of stick to the old faithful techniques that I use commonly on a day-to-day basis. But on nice calm days where you know you got high pressure, the fishing can is taking a turn or or being being not cooperating. I guess we'll, we'll, we'll use that terminology um, we'll do some of these adventures to back lakes and we'll do things like see moose and we'll see eagles oh nice, or you get to feed the eagle here and there.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, and, and our system is so expansive and uh, every day we'll make a plan to go explore a new back lake, and a lot of the time when you, when you do that, um, the size of the lake is relatively small. So, being a fish savvy human being regardless of whether or not I've been there as a guide before we're gonna go in there and have fun anyways, because they're relatively easy to pick apart.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and it's fun to you know, see all these crazy, you know land structures and as you're going through, and it's just, yeah, just the experience of being outside in an area you've never seen or you know you can't see from home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and and and. On the subject of young people, a lot of the time if you've spent the morning you've done your walleye fishing, maybe a bit of bass fishing, depending on, obviously, the group in the afternoon. I am a strong believer that if you can't use a bait caster, you can use a bait caster. So I've seen kids go from you know just sitting there vertically jigging, kind of feeling bored to uh, you know, okay, we go do some pike casting or throwing cranks in the afternoon with bait casters and all of a sudden they've learned a new technique and they're just honed right in on the bait casting reel and they're just having so much fun that they're forgetting that they're actually learning something extremely valuable, like technique-wise for them in the future. You know what I mean.
Speaker 5:Then the next year they come up with their own bait caster and rod, and after mom and dad went and bought them one because that's all they talk about when they go home is how they learned how to use a new rod.
Speaker 2:Mom and dad can thank me for that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all for sure, but that's the next evolution, right, yeah, that's that. And and the, the, the, the gratification that as a guide, when you see that and you're teaching kids and you're bringing like, I mean you might be teaching the next guide or the next professional bass tournament fisherman or just turning a young kid into a lifelong anger or endorsement.
Speaker 5:Those memories stick with them forever like heck half the time, like you have pictures of yourself with them on their wall of in their house. That's right they look at that all the time and they just remember that they think of it one of my, one of my, constantly one of my favorite pictures I've got.
Speaker 2:It's not of a fish, it's not of anything. It's me and a young, a young gun that I've been fishing with. I think I'm fishing with him and his dad and we get a 28-inch walleye on the English River and we put it in the net and it's just the net hanging over the side of the boat, me and him doing a big high five. I feel happier doing that than holding a 50-inch muskie. Realistically, yeah, because I feel, you know, it represents me more so than just like, hey look, here's another one that I make lifelong memories. This is what I do. I want people to learn, I want people to be happy, and I think I've gotten that from why we do this.
Speaker 3:And that this is the essence of where I was. I was driving this conversation because the the, the love that you have for for the sport and the privilege that you have for the sport and the privilege that you have for being able to give those people those experiences, is such a wonderful privilege and and and it's important that people out there know what kind of experience you can have with guides and the importance of guides in in these businesses and in in life. Really, because when I bought Chaudière, I thought that you know, um, I would have guides and then people would, because I my mindset was fishing. So I thought that people were going to come and they were going to get a guide and then they would take the guide out once for the year and then they'd figure out the spots and then they never need a guide again.
Speaker 5:But it was so come back asking for the same guide every year 100 percent absolutely it's the and and and.
Speaker 3:That's when, being a sheet metal mechanic and working as a tradesman, but really knowing how to feel what people were feeling, and and that was the only part of that business that I liked was dealing with the people yeah Right, that's when I really started to understand the importance of experience the importance of the guides, which is paramount. The importance of your chef paramount. The importance of your chef, which is paramount, like I mean the importance of the smiling faces of your dock hands and housekeeper servers and their interactions with those people.
Speaker 2:Yeah right efficient fishing is the root of it all, but without everything else it's nothing, absolutely it's.
Speaker 3:It's that experience. So I, I and, and I, really I thank you guys for your, your candor with, with, with all of the stories, and I, just before we go, I would like to get a little bit technical and I'm going to leave the floor open to you guys, and I'm pretty sure I know what direction it's going to go. But why don't we talk a little bit about your favorite personal species, and maybe not spots or whatever, but your favorite techniques, like if, if, on a perfect day, you could go and you could fish for anything any way? Okay, are we, are we guiding? Is this like? No, this is this?
Speaker 3:We, we, we, we know, we know what, the, the, the, what entails to be a guide, and we know about the importance of experience for the guest. Now I would love to know, because you're a guide, because you love to fish and you love to teach, and good guides love to give those experiences, and I know from our conversation that's exactly what you are. But there is time that you find for yourself, that you find for yourself and this is where I want to go is when you have your loved ones, your, your, the, your best fishing buddy, whatever by yourself, what is your choice on the perfect day?
Speaker 2:Oh boy, I've got three answers. I'll let Johnny do this one. I'm going to incorporate all three of them, but yeah.
Speaker 5:So what my, what my favorite thing to do is cause? Well, I'm from Manitoba, yeah, I honestly just love catfishing, no shit, oh yeah, oh yeah, just big old, you know, two ounce weight, nice long leader and and you know, so is it like a drop shot no, not not ledger. Yeah, it's kind of more of like sliding rig.
Speaker 5:Yes, gotcha so explain that to everybody listening so like what I would do is I take my two ounce weight. It looks like a tear drops, got a hole right through it and you're using like uh, like a braid or a mono or what pound test and honestly, in the river I like, I like I like to use like 30 pound mono, yeah, for that stretch, yeah I like it for that okay, that situation.
Speaker 5:So I'll put the 30 through the uh, I the, yeah, the hole in the in the weight, yep, and then you're just talking an, yeah an egg weight or it's even like a flat kind of teardrop Yep yep Gotcha. Put her through, and you can either buy these cat rigs or I make them myself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, it's better to explain to everybody listening how you make them.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so you take.
Speaker 2:you know I use 80 pound floral and then you take you know big hook whatever size you like, I like, uh, I forgot what eight, what I think it's eight or eight, eight, eight, yeah, anywhere from two watt through. Yeah, eight, yeah, yeah and uh.
Speaker 5:So I'll take those and I'll tie it on the end and then just take a big old chunk of uh, you know, gold eye or moon eye sucker, whatever you got there, and toss it on, cast it out and just wait. And oh my goodness, is that one heck of a fight no.
Speaker 3:And is it river or lake? Yeah, river, I had to do from the red river yeah yeah no way after other than that.
Speaker 5:It's got to be when I went up with john to go get rain.
Speaker 3:Tell me about the biggest catfish you've caught. Like what? What are what? How big are these animals?
Speaker 5:so normally like an average cat would be. You know, I think master ang was 36, I believe, pounds, uh, 36 inches. But um, my biggest cat that I caught was, uh, 46 inches and it was must have been close to 40 something pounds. Like, yeah, it was a tank and I was alone during this. So I was fishing and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get somebody to drop me off, because they're like, okay, I gotta go to work. Yeah, I can drop you off on the way. So I was like sure, they dropped me off.
Speaker 5:I'm now there with my lawn chair all set up. Oh yeah, I'm fishing, I hook into this big one and I'm I'm like, oh, this is gonna work, but we're gonna figure it out. So I'm fighting it for, I don't know, maybe five, six minutes. Yeah, finally get it up to shore. And I'm like, okay, now's the time. So I go in and I grab it by the tail, shoots off, gets back in the water. I'm like, oh no, you're not getting away this time. Stuff my hand down its mouth, grab it, clamp down on my hand and it got some flipping strength.
Speaker 5:Man, no way and I was all cut up. Finally I brought it up. I'm like I've never seen a cat this big. So I put him on the bump board yep 46 and I set up my phone. I set up my phone in the cup holder of my uh of the lawn chair with a timer on it, sat there and got a nice picture of it that's awesome. Yeah, after that I just I take everyone catfishing. It's my thing, I love it, I love it.
Speaker 5:That's the best, yeah right, all right took johnny and we had a great time oh yeah, we did.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I caught 10, johnny caught 10 and marlin caught 10. Yeah, and, and it goes to me, and marlin were having the best time in the world. Johnny was having a great time too, don't get me wrong. But he had his cowboy hat, his waders on, and you, you could tell he'd just done that before he was like yeah like he looked. Like he looked very comfortable and at home while he was doing.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and that was a banner day, we got a whole bunch oh yeah, yeah, it was good, but I think, definitely other than something I'm very comfortable with would be, you know, the salmon fishing or the trout fishing with johnny they. Finally I went down there and he showed me kind of showed me, the ropes and how to do it and I'm addicted to it.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah, I just that's all I want to do is I just want to go down there I want to go catch rainbows, I want to go catch salmon, it's just a whole new world of fishing has opened up and I'm just all up, I just want it. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, so I can't, I can't just have one there's?
Speaker 2:there's a few, because we have the fish, species and techniques and so on and so forth that we what's the word? Tie in with guiding and fishing lodges and our summertime experiences. And then there's the off season, and in the off season is where I primarily do most of my angling for leisure species and fish in general. But let's talk about the summertime fish. You know, like when I'm off the water here and I get it, and you know I'm on top of walleye, I don't need to go fine-tune anything that's going on. I am going to go musky fishing because I just absolutely love doing it. I love seeing fish bite in the figure eight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love when you shit my pants a few times yeah, I love when you see a fish and it does not bite, and then and you see another one and it does not bite. And then you get to sit there and ask yourself what is going on? What do I do here? I just what do I change? When you're on your own, like if you're out fishing on your own, you got the trolling motor running, you're casting a piece of structure and and these.
Speaker 2:When you're on your own, you don't have a friend with you, um it or or a boat partner. It really allows you to think and, uh, get into a different thought process than if you were with somebody. Yes, um, no, don't get me wrong. We feed off each other's thoughts and so on and so forth, and when I'm fishing with somebody, but solo muskie fishing would probably be my top one for the summertime, um, in the off season, as johnny said, I am from down south, so we have lake ontario and lake huron tributaries, and some of my most memorable days, right from the very beginning, growing up as youth, have been, uh, using long rods and float fishing for steelhead and the salmon.
Speaker 2:Fishing is kind of fun, but the steelhead really hold my heart. I've been spending a lot more time on Huron tributaries in the last few years, simply because it's a much bigger river. I can go on a Saturday and see one person and cover eight kilometers of river so I can get my calories burnt. Yeah, so you're walking. Yep, hip waders yeah, it really depends. I am from shore, but the Nava Asaga is not very forgiving for wading, so I generally pick one side and then I run up and down and it's all about timing. There's always small fish in there, so there's always something for me to catch, but the large you know migratory fish that are moving through. You really have to watch the migration. Yeah, you got to watch.
Speaker 2:The water chart 's a lovely uh application that everybody can enjoy. If you google water office, um, every creek, river and stream in ontario has a uh. Well, not every, but most major have uh water survey stations and the data data is brought directly to uh water office and you can view it in chart form online. Wow, yeah, so what a tool. Yeah, you have a banner day, steelhead, and you can view it in chart form online. Wow, yeah, so what a tool. Yeah, you have a banner day, steelhead fishing. You can go and you can look at the graph and say, okay, it's dropping and we're at 1.6 on the flow chart. Save that information and try and repeat and you can pick and choose if you've got the time, which I and you're talking about the flow chart, as in the movement of of water.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the volume yep affected by rain, and so on so forth. So you can guess that the fishing is going to be good based on the rain, but every river system will drop or go up uh, differently depending on the aggregate in the river or construction going on, and there's a hundred different things. But water office is a deadly tool for tracking flow and and when. You've had success in the past, so that would be my second favorite thing to do and that you said the knotty is that closest to the mouth, like at Georgian Bay.
Speaker 2:No, I do like fishing down there Later in the season, come December, when the water's really cold and you've got ice on the shoreline, the migratory trout not the ones that are dropping back from previous years which you can generally catch upstream all year round, and they catch and release, so on and so on and so forth. But I don't really target or focus on that lower section until we get into December and everything's really cold, because those big migratory fish like to sit down there and they'll sit right there and they won't move until you know the water goes up or a temperature difference happens and says, hey, time to go up. So there'll be a period of a month or so or more, um, all winter long. Basically, if the, if the watershed is open down there, that's when I focus. But basically from trout season closure, which is the end of september there, all the way until late december, I'll be fishing up river because there's always there's.
Speaker 2:You still have fall rains and fluctuating water levels. You can time it upstream fairly easily. I like to fish a lot of artificial beads In the slow water down low. That's not generally the ticket, but when you're up high and you're moving along and you're fishing structure, a bead just kills them.
Speaker 3:I don't have to worry about it. Tell us what that rig looks like.
Speaker 2:Sure, so you've got. I run slip floats all the time. I peg them in place sometimes Just it's not necessary but it's at your discretion. You can run fixed floats on the Naughty as well, but you basically have a float on your main line, split shot on your main line as well, underneath your leader. Some people use shot lines. I don't go that far into it, uh. So I put my shot on my main line and really depends what size of shot and how many shot depends on the size of the float you're using and the flow and selecting your rig in that regard. Uh, is what separates a good angler from a bad angler? I've seen exactly. I've seen guys fishing all day long. They're fishing, you know, one foot down underneath their bobber, over six feet of water, and you know that they might catch a fish. But the odds are significantly lower.
Speaker 2:So rigging is huge um, stretch it so yeah, shot, and then swivel fluorocarbon leader and offering. And a bead is basically a single round plastic bead that imitates salmon, eggs, dirty water, higher vis, clearer water, more natural colors, whites, so on and so forth. They range from 16 millimeter to 14. I run six to tens. Most often I run an eight. And these beads, you're putting them right on your hook, right? Nope, nope, they actually go up your fluorocarbon leader and a peg goes in them, so they're two inches away from your hook. So when the fish bites it, you got the your hooks right there, for I see it slides through their mouth, yeah, and then it's I. I like to use row bags and so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong, but when you're fishing upper like that, you don't need it. The rig's different bead fishing is just a little fun. It's niche, it's something you need to experience before I can truly uh display how, how, yeah, how much fun it is compared to the slower water, a lot more complicated than catfishing, but it's ever fun.
Speaker 5:That's why I'm addicted to it as well.
Speaker 2:And then I would also say that my leisure fish. It really depends on what time of year I leave in the spring, but usually trout season opens the fourth Saturday in April. Sometimes I have a couple of weeks to do it before I got to shoot up here and focus on my career, but I like to go brown trout fishing and a significant number of our creek streams and rivers the mid section to upper sections have wild brown trout that were stocked in the 50s through the 70s and remain there still now. There's a couple of them and are we uh like lake ontario tributaries, tributaries yep, yep, that's exactly what they are.
Speaker 2:Uh, those browns do not migrate up and down, they're they, they live in there year round. You can throw spinners for them, you can float fish night crawlers for them, or you can do what I do, uh, primarily um two techniques that I like'm not. I'm not a purist fly fisherman or anything, don't get me wrong, but I like to run big flies like, uh, you know, four to five inches for big brown trout and this is on spinning gear, or are you?
Speaker 3:oh, it's fly, fly gear.
Speaker 2:Yep, okay, fly gear. I'll do that. Uh, and I'll throw Rapala F7s original floaters. They work magically because they float along the surface. You can pitch it at the head of the pool, let it drift all the way down to where you want to start fishing it and then start working it from where you want and start stripping it from there. Yes, and and uh, and the big brown trout really liked those. And that's what I do.
Speaker 2:Is I target the big ones? I couldn't care if I caught a 10 incher. I mean, some days, some days I do on a big fly and a wrap, don't get me wrong, but I'm targeting a big one and there's not a lot of people that do it. I don't see too many people doing it. It's certain rivers are dead, don't get me wrong, but there's certain ones that are just absolutely magnificent and it's all due to a stocking program back in the 50s and the 70s and they just managed to exist and become wild and imprint and become wonderful fish, and I do that. That is my other super passion, leisure fish. I mean I went to BC and caught 400-pound sturgeon and bull trout and all kinds of different salmon species and it was amazing, don't get me wrong, but we're talking about the fishing that I realistically get to do. Yeah.
Speaker 3:This is about you guys and the the, the heart and soul of your passion that we all, as anglers, share.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Well, listen, thank you, fellas. I really appreciate for your time and I know everybody in the Diaries family, uh, will thoroughly enjoy it. You know, from from rodeos to skateboards to to a passion that we all share. And thanks again for coming on with us all and for all of you folks out there that are listening and have made it this far. I am so thankful for you. And again, come on over to fishingcanadacom and check out the giveaways. We've got a wonderful rate card for any of you out there that are looking to partner up. We are always looking for wonderful partnerships and get into those contests for wonderful partnerships and get into those contests. We give away trips like wonderful, awesome trips to Nordic Point Lodge and get on there. And if you love the content, like subscribe, leave comments. It all helps us out. And if there's anything you want us to talk about or people that are very interesting, let me know, we'll bring it to you. And again, fellas, it's been my absolute pleasure. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 5:Cheers. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Steve, that was great Anytime and folks. Thus brings us to the end of another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner.
Speaker 1:I'll be making my way the only way I know how, Working hard and sharing the North with all of my pals. Well, I'm a good old boy. I buy the large and live my dream. And now I'm here talking about how life can be as good as it seems. Yeah.
Speaker 3:In every angler's heart lives a fishing paradise With stunning scenery and wildlife on a trophy, multi-species fishery, having outstanding accommodation and a food experience to die for. They treat you like royalty, tailor making a package that works for you. Nestled in northwestern Ontario, nordic Point Lodge is that paradise, and Will and his team can't wait to show you a luxury outdoor experience with five-star service.
Speaker 1:So follow your heart Book now.
Speaker 9:What brings people together more than fishing and hunting? How about food? I'm Chef Antonio Muleka, and I have spent years catering to the stars. Now, on Outdoor Journal Radio's Eat Wild podcast, luis Hookset and I are bringing our expertise and Rolodex to our real passion the outdoors.
Speaker 8:Each week we're bringing you inside the boat, tree stand or duck blind and giving you real advice that you can use to tree stand or duck blind, and giving you real advice that you can use to make the most out of your fish and game.
Speaker 9:You're going to flip that duck breast over. Once you get a nice hard sear on that breast, you don't want to sear the actual meat. It's not just us chatting here. If you can name a celebrity, we've probably worked with them and I think you might be surprised who likes to hunt and fish. When Kit Harington asks me to prepare him sushi with his bass, I couldn't say no. Whatever Taylor Sheridan wanted, I made sure I had it. Burgers, steak, anything off the barbecue. That's a true cowboy. All Jeremy Renner wanted to have was lemon ginger shots all day. Find Eating Wild now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.