A fishing origin story

By John Hierseman, correspondent

Two summers ago, I jumped into a venture to make a lifelong dream a reality. I started a fishing guide business. It was something I had always wanted to do, but raising a family, working, and coaching football kept me so busy that guiding was always just a “someday when I retire” dream.

  Buy Photo

The final kick in the pants I needed came when a good friend and classmate passed away much too soon. I realized that I better get to scratching the itch of that dream now and not wait until later because we never know how much “later” we’ll get.

I still have a weekday career because it would be hard to jump right into guiding full time. However, I commend those who have made it to that point.

Someday I will make it a full-time gig, although that will wait until retirement. For now, I guide on weekends and evenings and absolutely love sharing my passion for fishing with others.

  Buy Photo

This passion for fishing was seemingly in my blood. In the 1940s, my grandfather would drive to Minneapolis and hitch a ride on a logging train to get to his secret lake in northern Minnesota where he would then row a boat out looking for walleye.

There were no fish finders in those days so he’d take a long metal pole and prod the bottom looking for rock.

He knew that where there was rock, there was usually walleyes.

He’d then triangulate landmarks on shore and commit those markers to memory. Those markers were never lost or forgotten.

His experience (and those landmarks) was passed on to my dad who later trolled those same spots in that same lake for walleyes with me, in diapers, on his lap.

Growing up, there was nothing I’d rather do than fish and my dad fueled that spark by taking me fishing from shore or in one of the boats he had over the years (and I remember each one well).

When dad bought a new rod or reel, he bought two — one for him and one for me.

Our annual family vacation was and still is to that same Minnesota lake.

As a young boy, I would cry every time we left and couldn’t wait to get back the following summer. It’s easy to see why I love fishing so much.

I’m in my 50s now and closer to the adult diaper stage than those early diaper years in the boat with my dad.

Just like my grandpa and my dad before me, I’ve shared my passion for fishing with my five kids, too.

They all enjoy fishing for fun, and although they’re not as engrossed by every minute detail of fishing as I am, I do see the same traits show up

in their own individual passions.

You can see three generations of us (my dad, me, and both of my sons) all on the Iowa DNR Master Angler website for big catches.

If it had been a thing when he was alive, I know Grandpa would have qualified for the Master Angler Award as well for many species. Although he would have said “ah hell, I don’t want anyone to know where I’m fishing!”

So that gives you a little background on me and why I am the way I am.

My future articles will include stories from my local guide trips, fishing reports, tips, conservation talk and interviews with interesting folks in the fishing industry, including other local guides and our DNR Fisheries Department.

I hope you enjoy them and can share in my passion for fishing.

John Hierseman owns and operates a multispecies guide service. Find out more at www.hershfishing.com or his Facebook page @Hersh Fishing.