Fishing guides are just cool.

Especially fly fishing guides.  They just are. They know all the secret spots, the best trails to get you there the fastest.  They know if you sit on that rock to eat your lunch, the ants will find you sooner.  They know to fish a regular Adams on this riffle but a para Adams on that one.

No matter how transparent they are, you are sure they’re holding back on you, too.  But that’s okay, because they are so cool you don’t mind.

<yes, I can hear my wife’s eyes rolling>

In short, they are the ultimate local experts.

Last fall I went fly fishing with Ian Rutter , who has to be one of the best guides on this side of the Mississippi.  He and his wife Charity run R&R Fly Fishing out of Townsend, TN. In the course of planning the trip I obsessively read everything I could find on and offline, and watched every video I tracked down.  Ian’s blog was the main source here.  I couldn’t get enough.

When I finally got up there, my experience was richer for it, and I can’t wait to go back.

What does this have to do with Lake Martin real estate?

Nothing much, except that my trip up there has had a big influence with how I blog and present information now.  I mean, if I want every morsel of info from the rock star guide for a 1 day fishing trip, how much more info and local color would someone want before buying a $400,000 waterfront lake home?

Obviously, I can’t turn my marketing engine (this blog and its related spots on twitter, youtube, facebook, etc.) into a Chamber of Commerce. I realize that I have to serve the meat and potatoes of real estate: Lake Martin home searches, market reports, and home valuations.

I also realize that we real estate agents will never be as cool as fishing guides.

If you see a good guide out somewhere, you corner him and bug him about what they’re biting and where.  If you see a realtor in the grocery store – admit it – you duck behind the Co-cola display, don’t you?

How can I ever be cool with that professional prejudice?  Oh well.