Offseasons have become a more normal thing for me these days. The grind the of season makes me enjoy the first three weeks or so of sitting around doing jack shit. Its nice. My body likes the rest, so does my brain.
I play a lot of video games in the offseason. I dont get a chance during the year. Ita nice to take the time to not be always working. I’m still working, but it’s all boring back-end stuff. The day to day business maintenance stuff. Prepping and scheduling. Emails and posts mostly.
Working is non-stop. And it’s busier more than ever these days. I have to limit days or I am inundated. Which is right where I wanted to be in guiding 10 years in. I feel fortunate and privileged to have made a living out of fly fishing thanks to my clients and this community.
As we enter into the holidays we get to what I call the Offseason Lull. Its when business really slows, and I tend to hermit myself a bit and unplug.
Kristen is keeping me busy with casting classes, SRC chasing, steelhead, and content creation. I’ve slowed down on a lot of that kind of stuff over the years, focusing on guiding and honing those skill sets. Its been a long time coming me getting back into more than just guiding.
Change is good, keep things fresh. I need that as I keep this gig going. It’s why I added bass, am in the process of figuring out SRC on the Sound, and am limiting guide days and taking more time for my own pursuit of fish.
With everything going on off river in the ‘real world’ I’ll take my hibernating hermit time in the winter. Emerge cromchy, bushy bearded and ready to chase fish. Leave the rest and hope a big melt washes a lot of that away. Fresh for spring. A new season, more adventures, chasing trout and trout bumming around.
I have been fishing the Yakima River and its surrounding tributaries, creeks, and lakes for 10 years. I have been tying flies specific to this river for 10 years as well. I have guided not only the river but also many of the hiking and mountaineering trails in the area and fished some of the more remote lakes and streams. I love to fish the Yakima River and have been running my driftboat here for 5 years. I guide a little differently than the other services here and have a slightly different philosophy on guided fishing trips.
Its all about the experience, and while I can't promise there will always be cooperative trout, there will always be good times. I learned from some of the greatest anglers the Yakima has both on the water and at the vise and I guide to share and pass on that knowledge and expertise so others can enjoy this river as much as I do. I love to teach people to fish, I love to teach people how to read the river, and I love showing people the beauty and art of fly fishing. My service is a bit cheaper but that is because I have no shop taking a percentage.
I use a lot of my own fly designs and patterns that no other guide has and have spent the past 10 years fine tuning my tying and patterns specific to this river. I have flies, leaders, tippets, and fly rods and reels, and always welcome anglers to bring their own gear. If you need waders and boots I can arrange for a rental. I support my local fly shop for my trips as well as it is important to me that our local shops stay open.
When you take a trip with me it all about fishing and the experiences that happen along the river. I love getting my clients to have great moments with our trout here. Ask me all the questions you can, I want to teach as much as you want to learn. Whether you are an experienced angler or brand new to the sport I love sharing this river with people. I guide the Yakima River and many other secret waters in the area. When you give me a call I will ask you lots of questions as I want to make sure you have the best experience possible while chasing the trout we have here. Whether its a guided river float or a hike and fish, or a walk and wade to the secret places, I can help make your fly fishing experience memorable and fun.
Give me a call today and lets set up a time to go fishing.
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Tamarack's Guide Service 