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Yo ho, ho and a boatload of fish: Guide adopts vibrant motif
A GUIDE'S LIFE: Fishing guide Ken Hoffman, the 'River Pirate,' gets a lure ready for a client to fish for salmon during the season-opener on Wednesday. Thom Gabrukiewicz
July 20, 2003
LOS MOLINOS — Ken Hoffman gets to fish about 200 days a year.
That's something like 6,000 days spent on the water in a guiding career that's spanned 30 years in the north state.
And lest you think that Hoffman is living the good life (OK, he pretty much is), the Anderson resident does work hard for the privilege of spending so much time outdoors. Like every guide out there, the price of freedom comes with a premium of hard work.
I'm glad river season is here, changing the boat every day gets to you, Hoffman said. You fish the lake, you have to swap out all the rods, get the boat ready and turn around and change it all back again.
Hoffman is one of the more colorful characters in the guiding community.
The U.S. Coast Guard veteran (he's now in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and is a card-carrying member of the Office of Homeland Security) has been a truck driver and a professional bass fisherman, among other careers.
But it's his look that's most vibrant. His strawberry-blond hair flows into a thick braid that hangs to the middle of his back. His fair, freckled skin is usually burnt to the color of a steamed lobster.
Then, there's the leather eye patch that covers his right eye.
He lost the eye in an industrial accident, when the hardhat he was required to wear while delivering a load of steel got crushed between the load and the dock, causing a concussion to his ocular nerve. Ever since, he's adopted a pirate's rambunctious ways.
Better put on my cap, since I don't think you guys can take any more of my ugliness, Hoffman said with a pirate's chortle — and a squeeze of tobacco juice through his teeth. And if you guys don't start catching some fish, I'm gonna do my Bluebeard impersonation and light candles in my hair, arrrr, arrrr, arrrrrrrrr.
You get the sense that he means it.
Hoffman has seen a lot in 30 years of guiding. Like the explosion in the industry, especially on the Sacramento River and especially for fall-run salmon.
Used to be, there were 20-30 guides, he said. Now, it's more like 150 and it's real competitive. That's why I had to up the ante on my Web site. Used to be, pictures of fish were enough, now it's information — lots of it.
So what does it take to become a guide?
Money, Hoffman said. And a good attitude. I've seen guys get into this and are not comfortable, they don't have any fun.
Me, I'm in it for the fun. Most of my clients end up becoming my friends.
For a guided trip, like a full-day of salmon fishing on the Sacramento River, Hoffman charges $150 per angler, with a two-angler minimum. That's pretty standard in the business. For the price, like all guides, Hoffman has had to put up with his share of troublesome clients.
But the rewards far outweigh the problems — even when a guide's day can stretch to 20 hours.
I don't put any restrictions on fishing, we'll go all day to catch fish, if that's what a client wants, said Hoffman, who claims his river boat, the Vicki Ann, was the second guide boat registered on the Sacramento River. There have been days when we've fished until dark. Then, I go home, polish up the boat (the Vicki Ann's aluminum skin is buffed to a high gloss), mop it out and get everything ready to go for the morning.
That can take until midnight, then I get up and do it all over again, starting at 4 a.m.
So what's the coolest thing about being a fishing guide, according to the River Pirate?
If I take out a kid, especially a little kid, and get him hooked on his first salmon, that's worth it, Hoffman said. Every year, I buy new spinner rods for trout season and give the old ones to the kids. At the end of the day, I tell them, 'OK, you caught these fish on this rod, now it's yours — now take care of it.'
And they do.
Sounds like a brilliant marketing plan for a guy who has learned to make a living from having fun.
Well, I like people, that's why I do it, he said. Because of the people — especially the kids — I'd do this 365 days a year.
You know he means it. Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
A GUIDE'S LIFE: Fishing guide Ken Hoffman, the 'River Pirate,' gets a lure ready for a client to fish for salmon during the season-opener on Wednesday. Thom Gabrukiewicz
July 20, 2003
LOS MOLINOS — Ken Hoffman gets to fish about 200 days a year.
That's something like 6,000 days spent on the water in a guiding career that's spanned 30 years in the north state.
And lest you think that Hoffman is living the good life (OK, he pretty much is), the Anderson resident does work hard for the privilege of spending so much time outdoors. Like every guide out there, the price of freedom comes with a premium of hard work.
I'm glad river season is here, changing the boat every day gets to you, Hoffman said. You fish the lake, you have to swap out all the rods, get the boat ready and turn around and change it all back again.
Hoffman is one of the more colorful characters in the guiding community.
The U.S. Coast Guard veteran (he's now in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and is a card-carrying member of the Office of Homeland Security) has been a truck driver and a professional bass fisherman, among other careers.
But it's his look that's most vibrant. His strawberry-blond hair flows into a thick braid that hangs to the middle of his back. His fair, freckled skin is usually burnt to the color of a steamed lobster.
Then, there's the leather eye patch that covers his right eye.
He lost the eye in an industrial accident, when the hardhat he was required to wear while delivering a load of steel got crushed between the load and the dock, causing a concussion to his ocular nerve. Ever since, he's adopted a pirate's rambunctious ways.
Better put on my cap, since I don't think you guys can take any more of my ugliness, Hoffman said with a pirate's chortle — and a squeeze of tobacco juice through his teeth. And if you guys don't start catching some fish, I'm gonna do my Bluebeard impersonation and light candles in my hair, arrrr, arrrr, arrrrrrrrr.
You get the sense that he means it.
Hoffman has seen a lot in 30 years of guiding. Like the explosion in the industry, especially on the Sacramento River and especially for fall-run salmon.
Used to be, there were 20-30 guides, he said. Now, it's more like 150 and it's real competitive. That's why I had to up the ante on my Web site. Used to be, pictures of fish were enough, now it's information — lots of it.
So what does it take to become a guide?
Money, Hoffman said. And a good attitude. I've seen guys get into this and are not comfortable, they don't have any fun.
Me, I'm in it for the fun. Most of my clients end up becoming my friends.
For a guided trip, like a full-day of salmon fishing on the Sacramento River, Hoffman charges $150 per angler, with a two-angler minimum. That's pretty standard in the business. For the price, like all guides, Hoffman has had to put up with his share of troublesome clients.
But the rewards far outweigh the problems — even when a guide's day can stretch to 20 hours.
I don't put any restrictions on fishing, we'll go all day to catch fish, if that's what a client wants, said Hoffman, who claims his river boat, the Vicki Ann, was the second guide boat registered on the Sacramento River. There have been days when we've fished until dark. Then, I go home, polish up the boat (the Vicki Ann's aluminum skin is buffed to a high gloss), mop it out and get everything ready to go for the morning.
That can take until midnight, then I get up and do it all over again, starting at 4 a.m.
So what's the coolest thing about being a fishing guide, according to the River Pirate?
If I take out a kid, especially a little kid, and get him hooked on his first salmon, that's worth it, Hoffman said. Every year, I buy new spinner rods for trout season and give the old ones to the kids. At the end of the day, I tell them, 'OK, you caught these fish on this rod, now it's yours — now take care of it.'
And they do.
Sounds like a brilliant marketing plan for a guy who has learned to make a living from having fun.
Well, I like people, that's why I do it, he said. Because of the people — especially the kids — I'd do this 365 days a year.
You know he means it. Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
