Craig:

Operating under the assumption that everyone enjoys a good word (even a crusty old former Army fly fisherman), I have to tell you a brief story.

Last month I reluctantly went on a guided bird hunting trip to Texas. It was a trip arranged entirely by a couple of friends.  As a stumble-along-by-myself-kind-of-guy, I'm always cautious about ANY "guided" hunting or fishing trip.  But since this was all arranged by good friends who are serious bird hunters, I put my usual caution aside and signed up.

The trip wasn't a complete bust, but the guide all but ruined it.  I can deal with tough conditions or fish that simply won't bite, but not with a guide who violates almost everything I consider basic good sportsmanship.

This gent scored zero in two critical categories: integrity and client relations. He talked politics (as though we all agreed with his assessment of the world); routinely carried and shot his own gun (taking shots from all 3 of us on occasion); killed a number of protected predators (saying they seriously damaged "his" quail population); wasted our time by shooting and then having to spend valuable time dealing with two feral hogs...and then topped it all off by letting one of his bird dogs make a career out of killing a feral cat while we all watched.

There's more, but you get the idea. What a trip! If we hadn't invested 2 long days of driving just to get there I would have left after the first day.

The reason I'm telling you all this is that on the long drive home I used you as an example to my two hunting buddies of how a true professional handles himself and his clients (who, at times I'm sure can also be a pain).

Essentially, I ticked off everything Megan and I experienced with you and explained how it was exactly 180 degrees out from what we had just experienced in the great state of Texas.

Thought you'd find the story interesting. That was probably my last guided hunt for a long, long time and definitely the last one I'll EVER go on without checking out the guide myself.

Best wishes for great spring fishing and a successful school. Afraid that the school won't work for me, but I do hope to at least get a day's fishing with you back in PA.

Regards,

Mike

Here are some other happy clients...