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Steve
Fleming (Mah-Hah Outfitters) |
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Steve Fleming of Mah-Hah Outfitters
It started back a couple of
generations ago with Steve’s Dad, Bob Fleming, and Grandfather,
Everett Fleming. They were into fishing and hunting and broke
Steve in at an early age. Early family vacations were taken
fishing and hunting, and the first seed was planted.
Then in 1968 Steve got married and started coming to
Fossil, Oregon to fish and hunt. Steve’s Father-in-Law, Floyd
Zimmerman, lived in Fossil and was one of the most beloved
fellows in the area. He owned the only Bar and Restaurant in
Fossil, The Shamrock, and introduced Steve to many ranchers who
invited Steve out to “fish and hunt”. The second seed was now
planted.
The last seed was sown in 1988 when Steve moved to
Fossil and was befriended by three great outdoorsmen. The first
was the Best Fisherman in the area, Andy Greenfield. Andy gave
Steve his first smallmouth bass drift boat trip down the river,
and Steve was hooked. The second was the Best Hunter and John
Day River historian, Donnie Carter. Donnie was very patient with
Steve and took him down the river showing him all the old Indian
campsites, trapping areas, and good hunting spots. The third was
a seasoned John Day River Guide, John Laing. John spent time
with Steve showing him the line to take on Class III rapids, and
helped in the early planning stages of the guide service. The
locals accepted Steve and showed him this prize jewel of
smallmouth bass fishing, the John Day River. |
| Steve started Mah-Hah
Outfitters in 1990 with the help and support of the local
fishermen and hunters. The early techniques were mostly
crankbaits, and produced lots of big fish. When you start a
business you have “no business”, so Steve hired on as the local
fuel driver for Fossil Fuel. The owners of Fossil Fuel, Mehrten
and Glenda Homer, allowed Steve to guide whenever he had
bookings as long as the fuel customers were kept full. Steve
owes them a lot for letting him develop his guide business, and
for all the local contacts he made. Because of those contacts
Steve has private put-ins and take-outs that allow him to run
trips when others cannot, and get where the big ones are. |
| The early years were
learning years, and things just kept getting better. The guide
service kept trying new techniques, and perfecting the old ones.
The clients were catching more and bigger fish each year. The
client base was growing and within six years it was up to 300
client days a year.
The “Catch of a Lifetime” came in
1996, and Steve married Linda. Steve had a life threatening
accident with a fuel truck that year, and Linda talked him into
going full-time guiding. By 2000, Steve and Linda were booking
500+ client days a year, and had logged over 20,000 river miles
on the John Day River.
There has been a steady
growth in the number of clients, fishing techniques, and
returning clientele over the years. Now Steve guides between
150-200 days a year taking between 600 – 750 client-days per
year. When you read a story about the John Day River it’s
typically about a trip the writer did with Mah-Hah Outfitters
and Steve. Mah-Hah Outfitters has the most experienced guides on
the John Day River with a few over 40 years on the river, best
Master Angler Smallmouth Bass (20”+) record of any guide service
since 1990, highest returning client base of any guide service
on the river, only guide service to offer a “Fish-On” Gurantee,
have a fish catching backup plan if the river is unfishable, and
is always looking for ways to provide better fish catching
trips. Mah-Hah Outfitters does one-seven day trips, provides all
the fishing gear and tackle, cooks hot Dutch-oven meals in the
boat while you fish down the river, uses the best equipment for
the river, takes pictures of your trip, and tries to make every
trip the “trip of a lifetime”.
So, if you are interested in a smallmouth bass catching
trip, native steelhead trip, cat fishing, catching largemouth
bass on a Private Lake, catching native red band trout on
another Private Lake, or all the above and want to hear stories
from someone who has been guiding for over 20 years, and 35,000
miles of floating on the John Day River – call Mah-Hah
Outfitters and book a trip with Steve. |
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