06/14/2026
I’ve been out jigging herring in preparation for the upcoming season, and while doing so we had salmon repeatedly grabbing the herring right off the jig. It instantly took me back to my early guiding days, which all started when I was just 14 years old.
The memories came flooding back, so I gave our youngest daughter, Jacqueline, and her partner, William, a call and invited them to join me for an afternoon of fishing the way I learned all those years ago.
The herring weren’t easy to catch. I managed just one on my first cast, so we rigged up the old-school gear—light fly rods with Hardy Marquis reels—and sent our only herring into the water.
While I continued jigging for bait, that lone herring got hammered by a beautiful coho! After catching enough herring to keep two rods in the water, the action was nonstop. Coho and Chinook were both on the bite, with a couple lost and a couple brought to the boat.
Fishing the old-school way is challenging. No downriggers. No rod holders. Just light tackle, a live herring, the rod in your hands, and the patience to wait for exactly the right moment before setting the hook.
It’s something every angler should experience at least once.
Today wasn’t just about catching fish—it was about sharing a piece of my past with the next generation and reliving the memories that made me fall in love with guiding in the first place.
Sometimes the old ways really are the best ways. 🎣
