Tight Lines Smallmouth Guide’s year in review 2008
Tight Lines Smallmouth Guides look back at the 2008 season.Another smallmouth season has come and gone at Tight Lines. I asked each of the guides to sum up their season for all of us. I hope you enjoy their comments and insight from hundreds of days on the water chasing River Smallies.
Bart Landwehr - Senior Guide
At the close of another guide season, I can now take the opportunity to reflect… 2008 started out with a whole bunch of water, which actually held on and kept flows at real “fishy” levels for a good portion of the season. Weather patterns, for the most part, were consistent enough to keep the fish happy, and I was fortunate to once again spend a lot of time on the water with a client list any guide would envy. I had several bests this season, including my biggest smallmouth to the net (way to go Chris from Tate & Lyle!), a 40″ class northern expertly wrangled to the boat by Alan Finesilver, and my pal Andy Krysiak sticking a seven pound walleye on a day that started really bleak only to finish as one of the coolest of the season!–all extremely memorable moments not soon to be forgotten. These are just a few cool things that happened out there–believe me there were lots more! 2008 also saw the introduction of my new first mate, Marley. A mutt in the truest sense, thanks to all my clients for putting up with a young pup learning what it takes to be a boat dog–although I have to admit she made me look like an expert trainer way more than I deserved. And finally, thanks to my guide family who share a ridiculously small space for a lot of nights together, you guys are my best friends and make this job all the better! Being able to return from the river and compare notes i.e. drink a beer and talk smart with some really great guides makes the long strings with no days off a lot more manageable. My job is about creating an experience for people, and I take it very seriously. Let’s be honest, we’re out there to catch some fish, but fun is the most important part, and that can be had whether the smallies are smashing flies or not. I feel truly lucky to spend time on the water, day after day after day after day, always anticipating the possibilities found at the next good “spot”. Thanks again to everyone who has helped make my life as cool as it is!
Best,
Bart and Marley
Nate Sipple
June 7th marked the first day of my first full-time season with Tight Lines. I can’t believe that I’m sitting here now writing this and in front on me is a calendar displaying the month of October. 2008 has flown by like a pair of wood ducks hell bent on staying ahead of another harsh winter. The smallmouth season is almost over for me, with just one trip left on the calendar, and it couldn’t have gone any better. It was a summer filled with epic topwater fishing and some of the biggest bass we’ve ever seen. Sure, there were days that we took a beating, but being a guide means that you beat back. Every day that I spent in my boat this season was a great one. Be it a group from Florida that have been guiding and fishing since before my parents were born, or a couple from the area that had never fly fished and were celebrating their first anniversary, I sincerely enjoyed having all of you. The “funny in retrospect” trip that Matty and I had, Bart losing his topper window, sleeping four deep in a little trailer with our guard dog and all the nights that discussions on what is really important were had over a PBR were what made 2008 a great year.
Thank you Bart, Nelson, Matt, Charlie, Kim and Jim. We have a great thing going and I look forward to many more years of working with you. Thank you to my wife, Kristy, for supporting my dreams. And lastly, thank you Tim and Sarah. You’ve made all this possible. You have a tremendous staff and following and I look forward to helping that grow in the future.
I couldn’t have asked for a better summer of smallmouth fishing on the Menominee River. The high water of late spring and early summer, a product of our record winter snow fall, gave way to a summer typical of the last few years-little rain and low flows. Although a few tough days of fishing were had, my memories are of amazing popper fishing in late July and August. I can recall trips when we could fish topwater all day long, and the biggest fish of the river didn’t hesitate to crush a popper. My favorite patterns were home-made Clouser poppers and the Ham Sandwich (in 1/0); a new favorite is Rainy’s Mini-Me (2/0)(the loudest popper I’ve heard.) But believe it or not the best day of popper fishing I had was on Penobscot-style bass spiders that resemble Chernobyl Ants. Fishing the spiders was brought our way by ong time smallie fishermen who happen to be Florida guides. When the bass didn’t eat on top, I used a variety of minnow patterns this year including sparkle minnows and buck-n-bunnys (the Murdich is still in there too). My most consistent dredging patterns were the Menominee Mudbug and a simple rubber-leg crayfish pattern tied on a tin-head jig hook. Nate Sipple turned me on to some of Kelly Galloup’s articulated patterns, especially the Sex Dungeon-a great pattern especially during the early season. They were hard to come by in the Tight Lines shop by mid summer. I’m excited about several new patterns I tried as well, a floating/diving crayfish pattern for ‘fishing the flats’ of the Menominee, a new fly-rig for crayfish hopping, and an articulated diving minnow that is probably best for lake fishing(think pike/musky). They still need work…can’t wait until next year. I greatly appreciate my clients and friends who came back to fish with me this past summer. And I especially enjoyed the opportunity to take out those of you who brought friends who were new to the smallmouth world. It’s an honor to guide for you, and I look forward to seeing you again in 2009. Please keep in touch.
Well, its fall already and it really snuck up on us quickly. I’m sure some of you are getting ready to chase that Steel. This summer was an interesting one. To start, we had high water until the middle of July, fishing poppers on those glass pockets on the banks, fishing water that’s only fishable in May and if you’re lucky through mid June, and I’m sure a lot of us are trying to forget about that wind that was blowing at mach speeds. I’m glad we all had our safety goggles on (and the fire chief hard hat that the Yaekel brothers provided, thank God.) We can’t forget the days when you really believed it was November and you didn’t think there was a fish in the river. You got to love the no-lookers, when every time you would take your eye off that popper all you would hear is HIT HIM HIT HIM!!!!!! Then there were days when you could do no wrong, were every spot you hit there was a fish, and boy your guide looked like a God or for Bart a Goddess. I won’t forget the day the ants hit the water and Nate and I had the day off. (Don’t worry, Beadie, next year.)
I want to thank Tim, Sarah, and Bart for making this all possible, the Subi power for lasting another season, and to all of you folks who hung in there and fished your hearts out, even when the bass were being bass, I’m looking forward to seeing you all next year.
Matt
Tim Landwehr
It’s hard for me to sum up a season in a few paragraphs. So much has happened in the course of four months. As a whole, the season was good. High water early, no water late, and WIND WIND WIND. I could have entered the Tight Lines guide staff in a world arm wrestling competition and we would have swept it. The one thing that stands out the most to me was the evenings. Typically on corporate trips, Bart and I would be racing downstream to catch a windless popper bank around five o’clock pm. This season it felt like the wind waited to blow till then. All in all it did not affect the final outcome of the year. Some of our biggest bass ever landed, big pike, brief meetings with musky, and that not so common walleye. As usual, our largest bass came top water. Chris from the Tate and Lyle group landed a giant 22″ (taped) and Lynn Langefeld a massive 21′ fish at the put in. Fly patterns remained about the same. Big baitfish when fish would not eat on top and popping bugs whenever possible. As the water dropped by the first part of August I began fishing smaller poppers and Whitlocks Crystal Dragon fly. The Crystal Dragon was a revelation to me. The other part of our guide season is how close all of the Tight Lines guides are. We live in a 14ft trailer for 3 months straight. In most circles there would have been a killing or at least a restraining order slapped on one of us. The closest thing that came to a fight was Matt’s night terrors or me freaking out over who is on what float the next day. I suppose I am the boss of this band on bass pirates. It sure doesn’t feel like it. Like Barto pointed out, we are like brothers. We all have the same love with the river and a great respect for each other. I am lucky to have a group of guides that has been with Sarah and I from the start and I hope to be sharing that same stinky little trailer with them for many years to come.Cheers,Tim
” levels for a good portion of the season. Weather patterns, for the most part, were consistent enough to keep the fish happy, and I was fortunate to once again spend a lot of time on the water with a client list any guide would envy. I had several bests this season, including my biggest smallmouth to the net (way to go Chris from Tate & Lyle!), a 40″ class northern expertly wrangled to the boat by Alan Finesilver, and my pal Andy Krysiak sticking a seven pound walleye on a day that started really bleak only to finish as one of the coolest of the season!–all extremely memorable moments not soon to be forgotten. These are just a few cool things that happened out there–believe me there were lots more! 2008 also saw the introduction of my new first mate, Marley. A mutt in the truest sense, thanks to all my clients for putting up with a young pup learning what it takes to be a boat dog–although I have to admit she made me look like an expert trainer way more than I deserved. And finally, thanks to my guide family who share a ridiculously small space for a lot of nights together, you guys are my best friends and make this job all the better! Being able to return from the river and compare notes i.e. drink a beer and talk smart with some really great guides makes the long strings with no days off a lot more manageable. My job is about creating an experience for people, and I take it very seriously. Let’s be honest, we’re out there to catch some fish, but fun is t
month of October. 2008 has flown by like a pair of wood ducks hell bent on staying ahead of another harsh winter. The smallmouth season is almost over for me, with just one trip left on the calendar, and it couldn’t have gone any better. It was a summer filled with epic topwater fishing and some of the biggest bass we’ve ever seen. Sure, there were days that we took a beating, but being a guide means that you beat back. Every day that I spent in my boat this season was a great one. Be it a group from Florida that have been guiding and fishing since before my parents were born, or a couple from the area that had never fly fished and were celebrating their first anniversary, I sincerely enjoyed having all of you. The “funny in retrospect” trip that Matty and I had, Bart losing his topper window, sleeping four deep in a little trailer with our guard dog and all the nights that discussions on what is really important were had over a PBR were what made 2008 a great year. 
our record winter snow fall, gave way to a summer typical of the last few years-little rain and low flows. Although a few tough days of fishing were had, my memories are of amazing popper fishing in late July and August. I can recall trips when we could fish topwater all day long, and the biggest fish of the river didn’t hesitate to crush a popper. My favorite patterns were home-made Clouser poppers and the Ham Sandwich (in 1/0); a new favorite is Rainy’s Mini-Me (2/0)(the loudest popper I’ve heard.) But believe it or not the best day of popper fishing I had was on Penobscot-style bass spiders that resemble Chernobyl Ants. Fishing the spiders was brought our way by ong time smallie fishermen who happen to be Florida guides. When the bass didn’t eat on top, I used a variety of minnow patterns this year including sparkle minnows and buck-n-bunnys (the Murdich is still in there too). My most consistent dredging patterns were the Menominee Mudbug and a simple rubber-leg crayfish pattern tied on a tin-head jig hook. Nate Sipple turned me on to some of Kelly Galloup’s articulated patterns, especially the Sex Dungeon-a great pattern especially during the early season. They were hard to come by in the Tight Lines shop by mid summer. I’m excited about several new patterns I tried as well, a floating/diving crayfish pattern for ‘fishing the flats’ of the Menominee, a new fly-rig for crayfish hopping, and an articulated diving minnow that is probably best for lake fishing(think pike/musky). They still need work…can’t wait until next year. I greatly appreciate my clients and friends who came back to fish with me this past summer. And I especially enjoyed the opportunity to take out those of you who brought friends who were new to the smallmouth world. It’s an honor to guide for you, and I look forward to seeing you again in 2009. Please keep in touch.
start, we had high water until the middle of July, fishing poppers on those glass pockets on the banks, fishing water that’s only fishable in May and if you’re lucky through mid June, and I’m sure a lot of us are trying to forget about that wind that was blowing at mach speeds. I’m glad we all had our safety goggles on (and the fire chief hard hat that the Yaekel brothers provided, thank God.) We can’t forget the days when you really believed it was November and you didn’t think there was a fish in the river. You got to love the no-lookers, when every time you would take your eye off that popper all you would hear is HIT HIM HIT HIM!!!!!! Then there were days when you could do no wrong, were every spot you hit there was a fish, and boy your guide looked like a God or for Bart a Goddess. I won’t forget the day the ants hit the water and Nate and I had the day off. (Don’t worry, Beadie, next year.)
thing that stands out the most to me was the evenings. Typically on corporate trips, Bart and I would be racing downstream to catch a windless popper bank around five o’clock pm. This season it felt like the wind waited to blow till then. All in all it did not affect the final outcome of the year. Some of our biggest bass ever landed, big pike, brief meetings with musky, and that not so common walleye. As usual, our largest bass came top water. Chris from the Tate and Lyle group landed a giant 22″ (taped) and Lynn Langefeld a massive 21′ fish at the put in. Fly patterns remained about the same. Big baitfish when fish would not eat on top and popping bugs whenever possible. As the water dropped by the first part of August I began fishing smaller poppers and Whitlocks Crystal Dragon fly. The Crystal Dragon was a revelation to me. The other part of our guide season is how close all of the Tight Lines guides are. We live in a 14ft trailer for 3 months straight. In most circles there would have been a killing or at least a restraining order slapped on one of us. The closest thing that came to a fight was Matt’s night terrors or me freaking out over who is on what float the next day. I suppose I am the boss of this band on bass pirates. It sure doesn’t feel like it. Like Barto pointed out, we are like brothers. We all have the same love with the river and a great respect for each other. I am lucky to have a group of guides that has been with Sarah and I from the start and I hope to be sharing that same stinky little trailer with them for many years to come.Cheers,Tim