Dave Richey OUTDOORS

Even at the best of times, Rinckey is pretty stoic. He rarely smiles, and he rarely shows any strong emotions. He shows about as much emotion as a high-stakes poker player with four hearts and hoping to draw a fifth heart to complete a flush on his last card. Of course, I've known and fished with this popular salmon and steelhead guide for more than 30 years, but today was different. He knew he was being presented with the Legendary Guide Award, and was being inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame (NFWHF), which is located in Hayward, Wisconsin.

He'd told me the evening before the presentation of his Legendary Guide Award plaque that he isn't comfortable talking in front of an audience. He knew the award presentation  would take place today at 1 p.m. during a presentation ceremony held at the Howe Arena in Traverse City, Michigan at the Outdoor Expo  sports show. At 12:58 p.m. he was asked if he was ready.

"I'm as ready as I can get," Rinckey said, "but I'm really getting nervous. I can't begin to tell you how nervous I am, but I'll  get through it."

Conservation officer Mike Borkovich looks on as I make the presentation to Mark Rinckey (right).

I introduced him to the audience, providing them some of Rinckey many guiding credentials and noting that he has guided on Michigan's Betsie and Platte rivers for 33 years. The audience was told that Rinckey, unlike most fishing guides, takes his clients for a walk through the woods to some some of the most productive fishing locations on these rivers. He wade the rivers rather than fishing from a boat, and his many clients have come to expect a walk to the river before they begin casting to the deep holes and runs. I made note of the fact that this man has never guided from a boat.

The audience learned that this type of experience was the norm, and that their guide and fishing party rarely gets skunked. Most of the time these anglers, many firstime and many longtime clients, will often hit it big. Part of the reason is he does his homework during the spring steelhead and the fall salmon and steelhead seasons. He knows where fish hold spring and fall, and he personally instructs fishermen on where to cast. He is right at their side when a fish is hooked, and they must follow the fish downstream. He often cautions his anglers when walking the banks about soft muddy spots where it's possible to lose their balance.

How big are these fish? Many of the steelhead will weigh in at 12 to 16 pounds although the average is about eight pounds in the fall and about 10 pounds in the spring. Chinook salmon can run up to more than 20 pounds although the average may be about 12 pounds in the fall. Fall steelhead are far more animated and four or five water-clearing jumps are common.

Guide gives an equal amount of time to each fisherman and works with them.

He takes a personal interest in the fishermen, and he stands by and coaxes a greater degree of casting skill from each person. Often, if he tells a person to bounce the bait or spinner off the overhanging grass against the far bank, he means he wants that offering tight to the far shore. Some casts may be placed under overhanging tree limbs, and he know just how deep the bait or spinner must be to reach that "sweet spot" that steelhead call home. Anglers who can cast and hit that spot often hook fish. But his guiding efforts also mean learning more about the fish they are trying to catch.

Rinckey, after more than three decades of fishing these rivers, knows where the fish hold. I've gone out with him early on a cold morning, and fished without success for two hours, and we often then break for a late breakfast. I'm so mindful of one incident about 10 years ago. We were fishing a spot that no longer exists, but at that time it was a smooth run between four and five feet deep. He baited up with a floating spawnbag, set the bobber up the line so the bait was be drifting just above bottom, and we began fishing this 50-yard run. I hooked a fish when the bobber disappeared after traveling only five feet. The bobber was yanked under, and the six-pound line hummed as the fish rampaged downstream. I ran downstream on shore until I cleared the area where the fish were holding, and then stepped into the river, and followed the fish for more than 50 yards until it stopped in the next hole.

It jumped three times and then fought a dogged battle before I led the fish — a male steelhead with bright orangish-red cheeks and gill covers and weighing 11 pounds — upstream of me and allowed it to drift down where the strong current held it close to my wade-clad legs. A hemostat gripped the hook, and it was wiggled loose and the fish held motionless against my legs for a few moments before swimming away.

We passed each other as he fought a fish downstream and as I waded back up to try again. The river was kind to us that day. We landed 10 fish to 14 pounds, and a husband and wife who were not fishing, walked down to see what we were doing. The woman stood by me when one of the steelhead struck, and I set the hook and then gave the fish slack line. It was hooked but since there was no pressure it swam back into place and the bobber rose to the surface. I handed the rod to the woman, told her to set the hook if the bobber even wiggled on the surface. Soon the fish moved a little, the bobber moved, and I yelled for her to set the hook.

Sure enough, the fish reacted promptly with a big jump, and she about dropped the rod. I kept talking to her, and she followed my directions, and I whispered to her: "Your husband just hooked a fish but yours is bigger." She did what she was supposed to do, and I netted a silvery steelhead that weighed 11 pounds. Her husband's fish weighed eight pounds, and they both walked off with her ragging on her husband for catching a smaller steelhead than hers. Those were the only two steelhead that were kept. Rinckey and I released the others.

There are many great and wonderful guides, but for my money based on my 10 years of guiding experience and fishing more with flies, catching fish while wading a river is a great way to spend a day on the river. As he talked on, his voice grew stronger as he spoke, and ended his short acceptance speach by thanking me personally for nominating him the the Hall of Fame Legendary Guide Award, and to the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame for awarding him this great honor.

Watching Rinckey come through with a short but heartfelt acceptance speech made me proud of him.

"Today has been a great day for me," he said in closing. "Three days ago I had surgery on my leg, but even though the leg hurts today, receiving this plaque from the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and joining the ranks of the other 55 Legendary Guides, has been a wonderful  experience. I deeply thank the Hall of Fame for my induction as a Legendary Guide. It's been a great thrill, and an honor I shall always remember. Thank you!"

Editor's Note: Legendary Guide Mark Rinckey of Honor, Michigan, can be reached at (231) 325-6901.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors