Syracuse.com - Young drift boat guide, 19, open for business on the Salmon River

[HuntingNY-News]

Kenny Hemshrot, 19, of Rome, one of the youngest, state-certified, fishing guides ever to take on clients on the Salmon River, is up for the challenge.

John Berry/The Post-StandardKenny Hemshrot, 19, of Rome prepares his boat for a trip down the Salmon River in Altmar.

By Nick Firman

Contributing writer

Loving fishing and knowing how to catch the big ones is one thing.

Helping other anglers, even the inexperienced ones, to hook fish on a daily basis is quite another.

Kenny Hemshrot, 19, of Rome, one of the youngest, state-certified, fishing guides ever to take on clients on the Salmon River, is up for the challenge.

“Being skunked happens to the best of us,” he said. “As a guide I can’t make the fish feed, but I can try my hardest to put my clients on fish.”

Getting to be a state Department of Environmental Conservation-approved fishing guide doesn’t happen overnight. Hemshrot had to take courses in CPR, First Aid and water safety, in addition to passing a three-part written test at the DEC building in downtown Albany.

“The biggest requirement in my opinion is to be a good fisherman and be able to teach people the ethically right way to fish,” he said.

He began guiding paying clients this past week. His future plans, though, may cut short his guiding career.

“Right now, I’m sworn into the United States Air Force and will probably be shipped out in six to eight months,” he said. “Meanwhile, I have nothing better to do besides fish every day. So it only made sense to guide and enjoy my free time before I explore the world.”

Hemshrot talked this week about how he came to be a guide and what he’s found out about his job so far.

Q: Who taught you the ins and outs of fishing and all about the Salmon River at such a young age?

A: My dad taught me a lot about fishing. He guided for six years in Alaska while in the United States Air Force. He has taught me how to work with clients and has been very helpful. When it comes to the river, I learned a lot from my close fishing buddies. I also spent a lot of time walking and exploring different spots.

Q: What are your thoughts on guiding clients much older than you?

A: Every client is different. Some only want to catch fish. Others want to learn how to fish the proper way. And some just want to have a drift boat to fish from. Whatever, I believe that if you are having a good time and learning something new then the trip is a success.

Q: Your boat and all the poles and lures — did you have to buy them yourself? Roughly, what’s it cost upfront to have all the stuff to guide a drift boat on the Salmon River?

A: All my stuff was bought on my own, but a lot we had in our family. As for equipment, I have three custom centerpin reels, two G Loomis float rods and a Raven float rod. I also have two wild water fly rod outfits. Overall with everything that I own, it’s worth about $4,000.

Q: What kind of prep work do you have to put into a guiding trip?

A: A lot. I’m constantly double-checking to make sure everything is working good, and that I have everything. Some nights I come home and reconstitute stuff, tie up eggs for a couple of hours then go right to bed at midnight only to get up at 4 a.m. to do it all over.

Q: Do plan to go out in all kinds of weather? Even snow?

A: The weather does not affect the trips unless I feel it is unsafe. I have been out on days where its goes from heavy rain to a white-out blizzard. With two propane heaters in the boat, weather usually doesn’t keep us off the river.

Q: What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught on the Salmon River?

A: My personal bests are an 18-pound steelhead, a 15-pound brown and a 37-pound chinook (king) salmon.

Q: How many people do you take on your boat at a time?

A: The drift boat will only take two, plus me.

Q: What’s the funniest or strangest thing that’s happened to you so far while doing this?

A : Losing my net during a winter trip when the water was high and the fishing was awesome. I had to reach over the boat and land them with my hands in the cold, 35-degree water.

Q: How much do you charge?

A: My prices are $250 for a full day (8-hour) drift boat trip for up to two people, and $250 for a two-person wade trip. It’s the same price for one or two anglers. I also honor a $50 discount for active or retired military. They served to keep us safe, so that’s the least I can do for them.

Q: What do your friends think of you being a fishing guide?

A: A lot of friends are jealous.

((Nick Firman, of Fayetteville, is a freshman at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., where he is studying biology. ))

Need a guide?

To reach Kenny Hemshrot call 571-5298 or email him at [email protected]. For a complete listing of Salmon River guides, see the Oswego County Tourism Web site.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog