About Pat Jaeger
I can't really say my fly fishing career began when I was a young boy; my big brother Mike was the fisherman of the family. He was the natural, but I had the passion to earn the title "fisherman."
My father passed away when I was six years old, leaving my mother to raise five boys and a four-year-old daughter. She didn’t have much time to entertain us so we had to create our own fun. We had plenty of kids in the neighborhood, a vacant lot and canyons to explore. We didn't get into too much trouble, but if any of you out there were ever missing fruit from your trees it was probably us. Sorry.
When I reached my teens, my brothers included me in their fishing adventures. These usually took place at our local lakes, but there were some half-day saltwater trips as well. Soon I become a familiar face on the half-day boats, scrubbing decks on the way home in trade for trips.
After graduating school in 1978 (Crawford High in San Diego), a couple of friends and I, inspired by the Allman Brothers song, decided to “ramble” north to Mammoth Lakes in search of the mountain life, skiing and chicks. From the start, I truly felt at home here with all of life’s simple pleasures at my fingertips. Namely unbelievable skiing, good hunting, the camaraderie of crazy kids turning into adults in a small town and TROUT.
Still involved in the saltwater world, I made many summer trips ranging from one to three days targeting yellow tail and small tuna. My fishing disorder completely solidified after spending time on the water with an amigo Tom Pfleger, who in my mind is the closest human to King Neptune I’ve ever met. He dedicated many years to being on the water and taught me that being in touch with the water and its creatures took complete commitment, patience and a lot of work. Soon I began fishing blue water seriously. Long-range trips from five to twenty days, mostly off the coast of Baja California. But I sometimes traveled as far as Central and South America, Australia, and the Arctic Circle.
I applied my saltwater fishing skills to the waters of the Eastern Sierras and found the passion that I needed to make fishing my profession. With the help of my friends from the Eastside Guide Service at the Trout Fly, my dream came true. In the spring of 1995, I served an internship with them and traveled to Northern California to work under Dick Galland and the guides at the Clearwater House. The summer of 1996 was spent working part time up north, and as a full-time guide for Trout Fly. In the spring of 1999, I became part owner of the Trout Fly. That November I married the love of my life, Pamela, after a courtship of five years.
In the winter of 2001, I sold my shares in Trout Fly for a down payment on an “I love Lucy” (1940) fixer-upper house in Bishop, which to this day we call home. In the spring of 2005 a life changing event happened with the birth of our first child Maggie. Then in spring of 2008 came the birth of Isabella. It’s incredible how different the girls are in personality and appearance. Maggie is lanky and conservative; Isabella is stocky and wild -- fondly nicknamed the Honey Badger.
I’ve always approached a guide trip with a new client like a job interview. A call back for another date means I got the job. I treat each trip individually; I like to ask my clients what their goals and objectives are for the day and do my best to customize the trip to meet these visions, not mine. My goals in life are to raise a family, live and work in a beautiful place, surround myself with really good people and smile when I’m going to work… I am a Dad and my career is working as a Fly Fishing Guide.
My objective as a guide is to understand the craft in such detail that I can simplify the essential fundamentals for my clients. And streamline the learning curve to give the average angler the freedom of fishing on his or her own. I can also break down the technical aspects of the sport, and offer the more advanced anglers a new arrow for their quiver. I enjoy a little sweat on my brow from taking the less beaten path. I strive for that look in a client’s eye when I hit the bull's eye of matching the vision of that ideal fishing location. Or when the client learns a new method of tricking elusive trout.