The Guide Submissive Position Photo by Louis Cahill
A good guide will do just about anything to put their client on fish, but DAMN!
Jeff Hickman ran into a little problem while guiding Nate DeVol on the Deschutes River in Oregon. Jeff put Nate on a sweet run where he’d been finding steelhead. A great run for Jeff (6’4″) but a good swim for Nate (5’3″). Rather than give up on a good run Jeff went “Master Blaster” putting Nate on his shoulders and waded the run for him.
It was the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen a guide do and I can’t believe no one took a bath. The Deschutes can be a tough wade without a guy on your shoulders. According to Jeff it wasn’t too bad, except for that angry Chap Stick Nate was carrying in his pocket.
I wish Nate had gotten a fish because that would be an awesome hero shot. Can somebody please nominate this man for guide of the year?
If you’ve got a good story about something crazy a guide did for you, or you did for a client, please post a comment. We’d love to hear it.
And please, book Jeff for a day and tell him I said he’d carry you on his shoulders all day!
Come fish with us in the Bahamas!
Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Great post. The idea of a guide carrying me on their shoulders makes me chuckle.
I laughed out loud!
Dude! That’s is some crazy shit! Takes some skill to have someone on your shoulders (spey casting no less) and not drop them on their head! I wish he would’ve hooked into a fish too. I bet that would be…. entertaining…to watch. Kudos to Jeff though!
That river is not an easy wade either. Jeff is the most confident wader I’ve ever seen. He takes about a 4′ stride out there.
Louis and I are going fishing today. I am thinking he gives me a piggy back ride up the mountain for starters… Any suggestions?
How’d that work out for you?
Way above and beyond…
A tip of the hat to Jeff!
Now that is how to earn that extra tip and well deserved. I wish my guide on the Deschutes this past fall was 1/10 that dedicated. His big contribution was bringing a net with a hole in it big enough for our largest trout of the day to escape before we could take a picture… oh and did I mention that he forgot to pack water for the day and that he lost most of his split shot and flies for the day on the first stop….. and If anyone wants to know more about this particular outfitter so they can avoid them.. give me a shout back…thankfully, this outfit is the bad exception to the rule of great outfitters and guides out there who really do work hard for the money!
Dude, that’s horrible! I might have drowned his useless ass. Check out Jeff at fishtheswing.com
That is some serious dedication. Made all the better by the Mad Max reference. Now someone just needs to photoshop in a long wading jacket and do a before-and-after shot, hah.
I’m glad someone got that!
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I live in Redmond ,OR and would like to know who he works for so to know where to go next September.
Jeff has his own guide service. You can find him at fishtheswing.com. He’s the best!
Mike E. – Jeff has his own outfit called fish the swing. Fishtheswing.com. Go fish with him, he may not put you on his shoulders, but he’s very likely to put you on some fish. He is a super nice guy and extremely fishy.
My wife and I had helicopter pilot carry us (I weigh 200) from a float plane to waiting helicopter in a swamp the first day of an Alaska fishing trip. Our waders were on another airplane. Fun start to a spectacular trip to Talaheim.
Later that same pilot spotted some spawning salmon under a remote waterfall that the lodge had never fished and took us there for the day.
My New Zealand guide, Richard, stripped off his shirt and dove in, completely submerged to unhook my Brown which had wrapped around and under a large boulder. Not successful, but what an effort. Richard was one hard working and great guide!
It might not seem like much to some of you guys and gals, but after floating several hours below Osborne Bridge on the Henry’s Fork and not catching any large Rainbows typical of that area, my guide Jim (wish I could think of his last name; he’s now retired) took the boat out early and relaunched at the top of the Box Canyon to get me on some fish. And, boy, did he! We got into the Salmon Fly hatch and had an epic day. I was only charged one launch, and Jim saved what could’ve been an awful and uneventful day!
Is that how Jeff hurt his back this year and had to have surgery. I sure missed him this year on my trip
no, that was several years back. He’s had a hell of a time. One of the nicest guys I know.