My wife, eight-year old grandson and I fished the Columbia for sockeye in Brewster, WA, late afternoon Wednesday and early Thursday morning July 26 and 27 with Brett Nearing. We all had a B L A S T.

He is a topnotch guide with a great temperament for the “combat-fishing” environment we encountered (it was no secret hole by a long shot). He tolerates ignorance and inadvertent errors on the parts of others and his clients with good humor. It was all upbeat.

Brett picked us up for both trips in front of the Pateros Lakeshore Inn for a quick trip to Brewster. The Wednesday afternoon bite was slow—but we still got five. Thursday he showed up promptly at 4:15 a.m. for Round 2.

He worked tirelessly, enthusiastically and had a broad array of tricks up his sleeve. He even offered advice (when asked) to those fishing nearby and gave a bottle of scent to a couple of luckless others.

We had a great time and brought home 48 Sockeye fillets. Brett is a true professional--knowledgeable and hardworking. He has a great capacity for multitasking. We had several doubles and one triple. We all limited and were back in plenty of time for the complimentary breakfast the Inn provided.

In discussing our trip with others later that afternoon and reading posts on-line from those in the same mix, it appears our limiting early was an anomaly. Most had struggled or come back empty handed.

It’s obvious Brett loves what he does and wants his clients to have a great time,

We’ve fished Alaska to Cabo, and Brett was among the very best. We’ll hire him again and would recommend him to anyone who wants to enjoy a great day of fishing.

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