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Hello Fly Anglers,
As the holidays are fast approaching there is so much to be thankful for. Cherie and I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.
Hawkins Outfitters has had another great year and we thank all of our customers for making it happen. We continue to explore new opportunities, destinations, and hire new guides for you to enjoy, including our new Cast and Blast offering.
I'm off to Argentina to chase both trout and dorado next week. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates about our trip. If you have any interest in Argentina trout or dorado, but timing doesn't allow you to join us on one of our hosted trips, give us a call 231-228-7135. We're happy to tailor a trip for you or your group's specific needs and share our extensive knowledge about the region and species.
The Garden River saw a huge increase in both numbers in the size of King Salmon. We are almost 80% full for the 2020 season. See below for available dates.
As with any company there is change. After 17 years with Hawkins Outfitters Jon Ray has decided to go on his own. We thank him for his contributions and wish he and his family nothing but the best.
For years clients have asked about Cast and Blast options. We're excited to announce that we now have the answer with the addition of Chris Butz to our team. Chris will be our lead for all upland and water fowl hunting opportunities. He's a double threat with his skills in the field and on the water as a fly fishing guide. Welcome Chris!
Also in the exciting news department, Matt Barthels has joined Hawkins Outfitters. Matt has worked for the competition for several years and with us in overflow situations the past few years. While he's new to our team he's not new to fly fishing. Matt spends July and August guiding in Colorado. Welcome Matt!
As always, thanks for your friendship and support and I look forward to seeing you on Any River...Anytime.
Capt. Chuck
231-228-7135
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Garden River 2020
We had a great year in 2019 on the Garden River, our private salmon and steelhead venue. The Garden River is the first river east of Sault St Marie, Ontario. We fish and guide on the Garden River First Nation reserve giving us truly private water.
Read more about the trip here.
Next year is almost 80% booked, if you have an interest get a reservation now. Our current availability is...
Sept 20-22 2 spots
Sept 27-29 4 spots
Sept 30-Oct 2 4 Spots
Oct 4-6 2 spots (steelhead focus)
The cost is $995 for three days plus room, board, license and flies.
Call 231-228-7135 to book your dates!
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New Hawkins Outfitters Guide
Matt Barthels
Matt was born and raised in Grand Rapids and was fortunate enough to have a family cabin on the banks of Little Manistee River. He began fly fishing the Little Man at the age of 8 and began to explore the nearby Manistee, Pine, and Pere Marquette Rivers. Matt moved into the Wellston area and began guiding in 2013 in his early 20’s. He has spent the past 6 summers guiding in the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado at Frying Pan Anglers.
Matt enjoys sharing the diverse angling options that Michigan has to offers and strives to provide a fun and informative experience to anglers of all skill levels. In his free time he enjoys tying flies, swinging streamers for steelhead, stripping streamers for browns, and chasing bugs and rising fish.
Cherie and I are excited to have Matt join the team. Matt will be available through Hawkins Outfitters From Sept 1st until the beginning of July. Matt is very good and will be happy to get you on the water hunting trout, steelhead or salmon!
Welcome aboard, Matt.
Capt. Chuck
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Chris Butz Joins Hawkins Outfitters
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Chris and his wife Angie of 22 years have 5 wonderful children and live in Northport, Michigan. Chris grew up in central Indiana north of Indianapolis. Since a young age Chris has had a rod or gun in his hands and a gundog by his side. He cut his teeth fishing for warmwater species on traditional tackle until his 20s when he picked up his dad’s bamboo rod and has never looked back from flyfishing. When he wasn’t fishing he was chasing wild quail or doves in southern Indiana, waterfowl all over the rest of the state or shooting competitive muzzleloader and sporting clays on a national level.
Chris spent time during his summers in Leland and had always dreamt of living “up North” for the outdoor recreational activities and lifestyle. He attended Michigan State where he studied Zoology with a concentration in Ecology and Environmental Sciences. It was the closest to a Marine Biology degree in the Midwest 😂.
In 2007, Chris and Angie moved their family to the Traverse City area in search of a more outdoor-focused lifestyle where Chris could further develop his flyfishing and upland hunting to eventually transition from his work as a lawyer to guide full-time. As a recovering lawyer he is living his dream as a wingshooting and flyfishing guide. In the summer he also trains gundogs.
No matter whether it’s fishing or hunting, Chris loves educating those in the next generation about the importance of lifelong enjoyment of the outdoors and the importance of preserving it for generations to come. His other interests include adoption, foster care and special needs advocacy.
Cherie and I are excited to offer both upland and waterfowl hunting to our customers. Chris has the equipment, dogs and hunting ability, along with the fly fishing skills to provide great days in the field or water.
Great to have you on the team, Chris!
Capt. Chuck
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Thanks again for your support. It would be greatly appreciated that those of you who have utilized our services take the time to review us on the Orvis website sometime this year. Go to this link and click on "write a review". Orvis uses these reviews to determine the Orvis Endorsed Guide Service of the Year award. We won it in 2010 and it's time to win again!
Hawk
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