Mason E.

It seems like every week there is a post made for a lake fork guide recommendation. There are a lot of replies to that question, but very little information is provided on why a person should select that particular guide. So, I thought I would share my recommendation and day on the water with Jason Hoffman and my 9 year old son.

First off, I'm a simple guy. I break people into two categories, guys that give a dang and guys that don't. Jason Hoffman gives a dang and it showed before, during, and after our trip.

Prior to our trip, I explained to Jason I didn't really care if I fished that much, but was hoping my son could fish and I could learn more about using electronics. First off, Jason was awesome with my son. While my son does well casting on his own, it was freezing and we were throwing big baits and it was obvious that my boy was not comfortable casting on his own. Jason made every single cast for my kid. At one point, he had two rods going at the same time. Jason was all over that boat, whether he was unhooking fish, retying baits, or getting us ready for the next stop. Jason works his tail off to put you on fish and make sure you have a fun trip.

I know everyone wants to know how many fish we caught. We had 7 largemouth and all the white bass you could want. Now I know that you don't go to fork to catch white bass, but I wanted to learn some structure fishing and where we marked bass, the whites were there also. I know that 7 largemouth doesn't sound like a lot, but it was actually a great day on the water considering I didn't fish much and Jason didn't fish at all. My son also caught his personal best of 5.5 lbs on this trip. And, I know we would have caught more fish had Jason fished with us.

I know there may be guides that catch more fish, but I'd be willing to bet there is not another guide on the planet that works as hard as Jason to make sure you have a great time. He had us rolling all day, just a good dude to be around.

At the ramp we used, there were several guides that launched from that ramp. We were there before them and we were the last boat to come in. I know that some of those guys could have been on a half day trip, but I know we were out longer than the typical full day trip. There was no clock watching with Jason, in fact, I had to tell him it was time to go, that was pretty refreshing. Like I said, the dude gives a dang. He wanted my boy to catch a biggun before we left.

As we ended the day, I ended up giving him everything I had in my wallet, lol. I gave him well over the standard guide fee and well over the typical tip amount (if there is one). I gave him everything I had because I felt that he gave me and my son everything he had. I've been on other guide trips, where the guide is watching the clock or talking on the phone, or bad mouthing other guides on the lake. This will not happen on your trip with Jason.

As Jason pulled out of the parking lot, my boy said, "that guy was a beast" lol.

Hey Jason, we really appreciate the effort.