Hunting Guide or Hunting Tried?

Our first trip to the lake with a client along side got me thinking.... when it came time for Ray to chose a local guide, what made him decide on SLAM Outdoors?? I mean, he could have easily chosen someone like hiswayfishing and get results like these:

Likewise, if someone were to choose an outfitter for hunting in Southern Utah, they could always choose someone professional like Mossback and get results like this:

    








                                 
                                 


                               BUT .....


What would be the fun of that when you could hang out with the guys from SLAM and have these experiences???

We enjoy good groceries...

 we make sure we stay well rested...

 we wear ghillie suits to push deer...

 we wear hats with fake hair...

 We pee out of the bottom of our shorts...

 We fish in long pajamas...

We dress like Rod Kimball, Stuntman Extraordinaire... 

 We have PFG...

We help others...

We.................

Cody even catches fish...

We tow a Tahoe with a minivan... (after we have spent the night in freezing temps in the back of that same minivan)

 We shoot all kinds of wild game...

 We hunt at "Jack's Spot"...

 We dress like Don Johnson...

We catch carp when we are tired of catching so many bass...

We rub elbows with Benny Spies...

We dress up to fish...

We make sure we have plenty of fire power on hand...

 We load a minivan down to its capacity...

We get scop bit...

 We kill things occasionally...

 We wear tennis shoes hunting...

We pee out of the bottom of our shorts... (again)

 And.... we dress like Rod Kimball again...

It's pretty clear to me who is having the most fun. How about you??...

(We would love to hear what you think about SLAM Outdoors and their wonderful staff - feel free to comment on your favorite SLAM moment, staff member or anything else you like about SLAM)


         

Our First Client

So... I am glad to see that at least one of us is having fun this summer. I do, however have something to report. Last month, SLAM Outdoors was pleased to welcome Ray from Henderson, Nevada out on Doug for an enjoyable day of fishing on the world renowned Sand Hollow Reservoir.


I picked him up at his hotel in St. George bright and early just before 6 a.m. He was ready in the lobby with his gear and  few treats. Here's a sneak peak:

We had the chance to get to know each other as we drove out. Ray recently retired. He worked in the hotel industry for several years in Vegas. He managed all of the mechanical stuff for large hotels. He was enjoying his retirement so far and had always wanted to fish Sand Hollow.

We met another staff member at the gas station. Mike came along for this trip as well.


Well, we didn't catch 817 Fish but we DID catch our first ever black crappie at Sand Hollow. It was real windy that day. We did the best we could to get Ray on the fish but it just didn't happen. Mike caught one or two and I did as well but it didn't happen for Ray. Mike and I felt bad we couldn't quite deliver for him.

 (yes, that is a short sleeve jacket)

Matt met up with us for the last few minutes of fishing. This is as we are leaving the lake for the day. We didn't have much success but as they say, "A bad day of fishing beats a good day of anything else." Also, it never hurts to get somebody new out on the water fishing with SLAM Outdoors. You'll have to come back again Ray, and we'll try it again!

Star Valley, Wyoming

         It turns out that this year our summer fishing trips were planned relatively close.  While a few of my SLAM outdoors members were spending time in the hospital, I was doing my best to keep this fake company going.  This past week I went to my birth place for a little family gathering.  I took time to go fishing in an undisclosed location.  I have fished this river for many years.  I remember as a child going to the meadow to cut hay with my Dad.  He decided to take a short break and head over to the river.  I believe this to be the moment when I was hooked!  Watching as my father targeted the undercut banks and the over hanging willows.  I witnessed him catch not one, but two of the largest brown trout I had ever seen.  I was glad I had my son by my side on this outing.  Hopefully he will retain fond memories as I have.  Here are a few pictures of our spoils.  

Noah and Crew with his first catch.

He was able to redeem himself with a nice "cutt" and a "brook".

Noah getting some tips from Grandpa

I was able to land a few beauties as well.

Above: Brook Trout

Below: Brown Trout

But, Grandpa showed us all how to get the job done

 by catching this aged, hook-jaw Cutthroat!

This is a trip I will cherish for many years.  It was fun to have the boys out on the river enjoying one of the many gifts God has blessed this land with.  If you haven't been near a Stream, Lake and Mountain lately.  I encourage you to take the time and enjoy the outdoors.

I had the opportuntiy to visit Henry's Lake with a couple of old soccer buddies.  For those of you who have never heard of Henry's Lake it may be worth the google.  Just a bit of information.  It houses many large cutthroat trout and many hybrid cutbows.  The Idaho Brook trout record was caught in this lake.  (8 lbs.  That is big for a brook trout)  My son, Noah made the trip with me.  This family had been trying to get me up there for the past 5 years.  I am sure glad that I adjusted my schedule for this one.

This was my biggest.  Just under 4 lbs.

The Beaver showed me up!  His was an easy 4 lbs.

Noah showed us both up!  He caught this 2 lb Brookie all by himself!



Noah was getting the hang of yelling "fish on!"  Each time he hooked up, that phrase kept getting louder and louder.  This particular family is somewhat competitive.  Each time a boat came back to the dock there was someone there to ask,  "how many and how big?"  They had a magnetic white board that was updated each evening with your individual total and a group total.  In the whole group there were about 45 people that came and went throughout the course of 10 days.  Noah and I were there for 2 full days and caught almost 100 fish between us!  The running group total for 2012 was an epic 817 fish!!! 

I counted this one.

     We did head over to one of the many rivers.  With fly rod in tow we were able to get a few small brookies to rise. 

Dave fixed this photo up to look like

somthing out of a Norman Rockwell magazine.

If you look closely, I actually hooked the Beaver's hat.

While he was netting my fish the hook popped out right at the boat. 

He jammed the net into the water and came up with my fish!

I am grateful for good friends that allow me to continue to enjoy the outdoors and make many unforgettable memories.