About me?? This is hard.. here we go....
I was born and raised in Marshalls Creek (pop.42). Located in the Pocono Mountains of North Eastern Pa.
Thanks to a great dad, grandfather and uncles, I grew up fishing and hunting at a very early age. Before I was old enough to cross the road by myself, I could row my boat under the bridge to fish with my friend on the other side of the road.
In the late 80's I quit my corporate job... threw away all my suits and ties and moved to Montana. Mid life crisis???? Maybe....probably.. Started working as a fly fishing guide in 1995. Been a full time fishing guide ever since..
Fished and worked as a fly fishing guide on most of the rivers in Montana.
Purchased River View Guest House on the Missouri River, just outside of Craig Mt. in 1997. Great life style , but a short season and a loooong winter.
One of my friends that guided in Florida during the winter and summered in Montana suggested that I do the same....
Here is what ran though my mind...
Shovel snow......................................................................Catch tarpon, permit, barracuda and bonefish
Scrape ice off the wind shield..............................................Cast to tailing fish
Split fire wood....................................................................Sit under a palm tree
Ice fish..............................................................................Bare foot on the boat
Driving on icy roads............................................................Pole a skiff over a flat in crystal clear water
Venison stew......................................................................Blackened fish sandwich
Snow.................................................................................Sand
Put on lots of cloths............................................................Girls in bikinis
Sorrels...............................................................................Flip Flops
Plow snow..........................................................................Girls in bikinis
OK... you get the scenario....
Unfortunately I did not find as many girls in bikinis as I had imagined..
What I did find was an incredible fishery....
100 lb. tarpon that will eat a fly and jump completly out of the water 1/2 dozen times....
8 lb. bonefish that will rip 100 plus yards of line in moments.....
20 to 30 lb. permit..tailing in a couple foot of water....
4 foot cudas that will hit an 18 inch lure skittered across the surface.. then grey hound away....
8 foot sharks pushing onto the flat on the incoming tide....
Crazy!!!! I Love It!!!
In the late 90s, I split my time working as a fly fishing guide in Montana and a flats fishing guide in the Florida Keys. I developed a very, very, very bad flats fishing addiction. In only a year or two, I made the transition to a full time Florida Keys flats fishing guide.
Bottom line.........
I love guiding
I love flats fishing
This is my passion and my life..........
That is my story
Hope we can fish together...
"By the time I had turned thirty, I'd realized two important things. One, I had to fish. Two, I had to work for a living."
-Mallory Burton
