A few years ago, when the Outdoor Writers Association of America had it’s annual conference in Lake Placid, NY, my buddy Brett Prettyman and I were lucky enough to fish for and catch Atlantic salmon.
OK, so they were of the land-locked variety, and plenty small. The biggest might have been 10 inches long. But they hit dry flies alongside native brook trout and fought like fish twice their size. We were thrilled to have gotten the chance to cast for them, and even more happy to have actually connected.
And, of course, it wouldn’t have happened without the help of a good “guide.” Granted, Steve Piatt isn’t a guide, but his local knowledge of the waters of the region helped us catch a bucket-list fish, even if it was of the smaller variety.
I got to thinking about Steve after watching the video above, where filmmaker Ben Carmichael takes advantage of a good guide on Quebec’s Grand Cascapedia—a real, for-hire guide, in this instance—and gets into some much larger, ocean-going Atlantic salmon fresh from the St. Lawrence seaway. I’m never afraid to soak up local knowledge if it helps me catch more fish and learn the local waters. I also believe good guides, or even good fishing buddies, can help us become better all-around anglers.
So, a belated thank you to you, Steve. We sure had fun that day. I hope our paths cross again.
— Chris Hunt