Mike’s Guide Service

Mike,

Wanted to thank you again for the hospitality and great time this passed weekend on your private lake and on the Susquehanna River. Ive been on tons of guided trips before and no one has ever done as much as you had to show us a good time and make us feel like we were fishing with a friend rather than a professional guide. Thanks again for the great time and look forward to future trips! P.S. Tell your wife the cookies were great and much appreciated!

Tom Giordano

Went fishing with Mike M today. I can’t wait till the conditions get a little better. Air temp 40, bluebird sky’s, water temp 38.9, muddy. We caught 6, they all came on a Mike’s shaky head, with a black craw, had to fish slow, all in all, a pretty tough bite. Come on Spring…………Here’s a few pics of his fish………………

Well I was finally able to get back on the river today. The water is finally starting to go back down. Spring is still being stubborn though. It was 35 degrees with broken sun, water temp was 38.9 at best, muddy and fast. I was able to find a couple of slow pools where I boated three nice fish all 3 plus with one pushing 4 pounds. All of my fish came on the dropshot. It looks like the river will be better as the week progresses, I’ll let you know how it go’s.

Well I was able to go fishing for a couple of hours today, It was a good time to check out the Jet boat and make any adjustments and repairs before spring hits and the season gets started. Good thing I did found a couple of things and got them taken care of so the boat is good to go. I fished for about two hours spent most of the time looking for slower water since the river is really high from the winter run off and all the rain we have been getting. I was able to boat two nice Smallies both over 3lbs and chunky. No pic’s though, I left my camera in the truck the night before and it killed the batteries, maybe next time. Air temp 30, overcast, water temp, 37, mix of sleet and rain, water light coffee with creme. Fish came on a Mike’s Jig, black and blue koolaid, 2.5 yum chunk with a shot of gulp alive crawfish.

You know its about this time every year that I get really anxious. I don’t think I’m alone either. If your a serious angler, this is the time of year when the days seem to drag on like molasses. I am ready to fish and the weather is preventing me. Its 32 degrees right now , Raining, the river is flooded, I think spring is close, at least close enough for me. I don’t want to watch fishing shows, I’m sick of reading about catching fish, fishing boards on the net have lost their distractive appeal, shopping for new stuff I don’t need has become boring, working on my boats, and going through my tackle, well lets just say time has run out. Its time to get the line wet I can just feel the strike, I have already fought my first fish in my head. Man that thing hammered it, no no no, get out of there, boy he’s digging, get the net it’s a toad. camera click and back for more. I know it’s not far off but the weather this time of year almost seems to taunt me, two days ago it was almost 60 and now this. I know that we will probably get another snow storm, it will probably freeze next week, when is it going to spring already. The answer….when it does. It’s an unfortunate dilemma that I face each year in the Northeast and one that you just have to get used to. I guess I could move to the South or to the West where I could fish year round, but the truth is when Spring finally does come it will be wonderful. I have lived in the West and fishing year round is cool, but even though I go through this every year, when it finally does get here its always worth the wait. Watching the explosion of life that seems to just appear from this barren landscape is one of the most amazing things to witness. One day your miserable and the next you wake up to look outside and everything is alive Birds have come back and are singing, all of the creatures have come out of their winter haunts and are running around and almost overnight the grass has turned a rich shade of green. You walk outside and something is different, it smells different, it feels different, it is different, its here. What a busy time of year for nature and everything is working hard at what they are working on, no distraction no rest, just busy. Almost overnight the trees have filled out, nests are built, spiders are waiting on their webs for the next meal to arrive and its like the winter was never here. It makes me think, maybe there is a reason for my anxiety, maybe its a build up to fuel productivity, maybe everything in nature feels as I do, maybe we’re supposed to feel this way, maybe its part of the plan. When I think about it like that, I guess I could watch a few more shows, no more Bill Dance though, I do have another rod to clean and the reel on my flipping stick could use a new spool of line, and you know I really don’t like the way my tackle is sorted out. You know, maybe I can wait a little longer, but just a little.

I talked to the people at Okuma today, good bunch of people and very helpful. I am going to work with them this year. I have enrolled in their guide program and will be getting some new spinning reels for my client rods. I think that they are a step up from the Shimano Stradics that I have been using. I’m looking forward to receiving the order. I will post a review soon.

I am a full time fishing guide, I live in and service the Northeast. My home territory is in the Endless Mountains in Pennsylvania. I fish mainly for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass. I spend most of my time on the North Branch Susquehanna River,  but also provide fishing charters on the many lakes of the Northeast.  Aside from my family, fishing is my greatest passion. I have started this blog to share my fishing adventures with other people in hopes that I might recruit someone who has never had the chance to know how fulfilling it is to spend a day fishing in this wonderful world that God has created for us. The funny thing about fishing is you don’t have to be an expert or even catch fish to enjoy the sport. Fishing is about spending time in nature, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (most of the time), and beauty that surround us, and for me the new friends I meet on a regular basis. In todays world I really think that people have forgotten that you need time for yourself, there is so much emphasis put on getting ahead in this world that you forget that we were meant to enjoy our life. I to was once guilty of this habit. I was a sound engineer for close to 20 years, I was very successful, well liked, completely immersed in my job. I’m not going to get in to all of that,(if your interested you can read my bio on my website) I’m just trying to explain that with all that I had, the money, the excitement, the travel, I was miserable. I had a great job with no life and let me tell you thats no life at all. I have three children and a wife that I spent maybe a total of three months a year with, a beautiful home that I never saw, a 30 acre pond full of fish that I spent very little time enjoying. I gave up that career and it was the best thing I could have done. I’m much happier now I’m doing what I love, I’m not making a fortune, but let me tell you I’m definitely rich.

“Do what you love, love what you do, everything else will follow”