A New Chapter is Starting!

I am the type of person that needs challenges and goals.  If I don't have a mountain to climb, or something to work towards, I get bored.  I'm not the type of person that spends most evenings in front of the television, playing video games, or buried in a book.  I need things to do!  I want to learn!  I want to achieve things both big and small.  Recently, I have narrowed down a focus that was too wide and encompassing.

I referenced my new pursuit in last Friday's post.  In the post, I mentioned how I want to maybe do some guided fishing trips around the Kansas City area.  What I learned is that you are not allowed to guide in MDC conservation areas, Missouri state parks, or on county-owned lakes (specifically, Jackson County, Missouri).  While it is a little disappointing that those are not options (and I'm sure as heck don't want to break any laws, ordinances, or other regulations), the by-product of this fact is that I am left with only one body of water to guide on in the Kansas City area, on the Missouri side at least.  That one body of water is Smithville Lake.  

I will be the first to admit that I know very little about Smithville Lake and I have fished it very few times and unsuccessfully I might add.  Here lies the fascinating part and challenge that I have needed.  My scope has been narrowed and now all of my focus is on learning about this lake and how to fish it.  I needed this!  

I know Smithville can be a little tricky to fish, like most big lakes, but this is a challenge I am ready to take on.  Upon knowing that I want to guide on this lake, I had to narrow my focus.  Fly fishing for bass seems like a poor choice due to so much pressure this species already gets and how picky the fish could be as a result.  I think crappie are boring (no offense if you dig crappie) and sometimes it's hard to get a fly to them.  Bluegill, while scrappy and pretty, aren't really want I think of in terms of what people want to target on a guided fishing trip.  Catfish and carp would be hard to target and don't always take flies readily.  That has left me with the white bass.

Here's my thinking behind targeting white bass.  For starters, they are aggressive and will take down flies without hesitation.  They also school up and when you find one, chances are, you're going to find a lot of them.  They taste good...from what I hear at least.  White bass fight hard and will put a heck of a bend in a 4 or 5 weight rod.  Finally, this species is not something that folks are exclusively guiding for on Smithville which creates an opportunity for me.  The only drawback is that fly fishing is definitely a niche sport and fly fishing for white bass is even more of a niche.  On the bright side, I'm not looking to make this a career right now.  I've already got this with my teaching gig and I'm just looking for a summer job, summer fun, and to share a good experience with others.  I figure that if I go on 10 trips for the summer, that's a lot better than painting houses or mowing yards.

I also need a boat and I'm working on that too!  With that in mind, it is important for me to note that I have very little experience fishing what I would call "big water".  I have small boats and waders and I have a lot of experience with both.  When it comes to outboards, lower units, topographical maps, and fishing electronics...my experience is very small.  Again, this is the challenge that I needed!

I will be keeping everyone updated on what I do and what I learn as I progress through this journey.  For example, I just learned last night that I need a captain's license from the U.S. Coast Guard to be a guide.  I will be looking into that ASAP and hopefully start to learn what it takes to complete that task.  I'm sure it will be a challenge, but that's exactly what I am looking for so bring it on!