It was a bitter cold, rainy day in early June and I was nervously unpacking my fly fishing gear and placing it on the ball field in Bar Harbor.
I had picked up a group of women earlier in the day for their first fishing lesson, which was to include a dry land practice session on casting before hitting the water. I was afraid that this group of women, who were celebrating a 60th birthday, might not want to proceed with the lesson in this terrible weather.
I looked up and saw the women had gathered at the edge of the grass, looking wet but cheerful. I waved them over and they immediately grabbed the rods and started putting them together.
After I gave them a refresher course on how to cast, we headed toward Bubble Pond, which is a beautiful small pond bordered by a carriage road on one side and Cadillac Mountain on the other.
As we approached a flat open area, perfect to try those new casting skills, a man off in the distance pulled a brook trout out of the water, much to our delight. The women quickly got ready, picked a spot to try and began fishing.
One of the women was an American pop singing star Taylor Dayne, who had seven top 10 singles and has sold more than 75 million albums and singles worldwide since her debut in the 1980s.
How did I wind up in such an amazing place with a superstar? Well, it’s like this.
I have loved being out in nature my whole life. It has always given me such a sense of joy and peace, and I wanted to share that experience with others. What better way to do that than as a Registered Maine Guide, which is a licensed outdoor professional who assists people in our state’s forests, fields, waters and ice with activities like hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, snowmobiling, hiking and remote camping.
You have to pass a background check, including being fingerprinted, and take an intensive test that challenges your skills in map and compass, has written and oral portions and requires proof of first aid certification.
I took the test, which is given in Augusta, and went on to get three different guide classifications: hunting, fishing and recreation.
I had been working as a guide for a few years when in an online guiding forum, this group of women had been trying to hire someone to give them fly fishing lessons as part of the group’s 60th birthday celebration they were having in Bar Harbor.
After about a month of trying, and wondering if their age had anything to do with why they couldn’t find a guide — “If we were a group of 25-year-olds celebrating, how many of the guides would have wanted to take us?” they said — they were given my name and immediately called me.
I had just had a cancellation so was able to take them and they were excited to be coming to Maine.
Living here, I sometimes take for granted just how beautiful a place Maine truly is. My mother’s side of the family is from Bar Harbor and I spent my childhood running around MDI every summer.
I was thrilled to show them the beauty of the Acadia that I grew up loving.
We had such a great time fishing and wanted to extend our time together, so we spent the next day going on a nature hike and out for a fun dinner.
This is what I love about guiding. You never know who you’re going to meet and you get to go on amazing adventures with guests who sometimes become friends.
