I bought my boyfriend this fishing trip as a surprise for his birthday because he’s been expressing a desire to fish but wasn’t sure where to start. Blake had excellent reviews and was very communicative with me, helping me out with everything from licenses to types of fish (as I’m completely ignorant when it comes to fishing), so I figured my boyfriend would have a great time and I’d sit back, take some pictures, and let him enjoy his trip. What I didn’t expect was to be so swarmed with fish that I’d need to help the two of them reel some in, and I ended up catching our two biggest stripers! We had maxed out our striped bass limit by 8am and spent the rest of our time catching and releasing.

We both had a BLAST. Fishing with Blake was like being out on a boat with an old friend— he’s definitely the type of guy we could kick back and hang out with, which made the trip much more fun and relaxing (except when we were completely overwhelmed with bites). He’s clearly very intelligent when it comes to fishing and answers all questions, even the “stupid” ones, so he’s a great captain for all experience levels. I have a heavy fear of germs and was super nervous that I would be expected to bait my own hook but Blake did not pressure me to do so at all or to touch the fish that we caught, and he did not tease me for avoiding these tasks. He was on standby while my boyfriend snapped a pic of me holding the fish so he could take the fish from me quickly and he rinsed my hands for me afterwards. I can’t even express how appreciative I am that he made that effort to keep me comfortable, and that he remained very respectful of my boundaries. It was something I was extremely worried about but too embarrassed to express outright, but everything ended up being perfect.

In all, both my and my boyfriend’s experience with Blake was amazing. We had the best day on the lake and caught more fish than we ever expected, even after seeing all these fantastic reviews. We will 110% be fishing with Blake again this summer and highly encourage anyone thinking about booking a trip to do so RIGHT NOW! You will NOT regret it.