About Jim – Oregon Fishing Guide

Started Fishing at . . .

Fishing guide Jimmy Martin loves Oregon rivers

Junction City resident Jim “Jimmy” Martin may have started fishing with his dad when he was only five years old, but it was baseball that took him out of his small hometown of Five Rivers into the wider world.

When Martin was growing up, he rode the school bus 36miles to the coastal town of Waldport to attend school and play baseball. After graduating high school, he played baseball while attending Pacific University in Forest Grove. After graduating with a bachelor’s in physical education and health, he played semi-pro baseball in Portland for two years before becoming a teacher, which he did for five years.

Then, Martin took a job at Financial Institution Services, working there for 27 years before retiring. It was during this time that he became serious about fishing. As a child he fished with his dad, uncles and cousins who had private places to fish along the Alsea River. From high school through college and afterwards, he had never missed deer season or fishing season.

During the slow times at work that extended from May through August. Martin studied local fishing and got his guide’s license, starting his business, Jim Martin’s Guide Service. He has been a guide for 21 years, providing the boat and equipment, bait, food, and even a heater for cold weather trips. He will lead trips on any river within a three-hour drive from Eugene.

Martin explained clients will tell him what they want to fish for and when they want their trip. He studies his notes for the dates they want, looking at prior years’ river conditions and fishing at those times. He keeps five years of calendars for quick reference and has a total of 13 years’ worth of calendar notes telling where he had fished on a particular date, how he did, and what the water levels were.

His number one goal is to have fun, catch fish, and stay comfortable. He loves fishing the local rivers in his drift boat, and he loves interacting with people. “There’s nothing more exciting than to see a first-time person catch a salmon.” he explained. He added, “I like people; I like working hard.” he likes thinking, “Yes! Tomorrow we get to go fishing.”

Martin’s most rewarding fishing trips are those he has taken with other guides for Candlelighters for Children with Cancer. One of his clients who had been with him from the beginning of his guiding career, Don Adams, suggested to him that they do something for the benefit of others. They reached out to Candlelighters with the idea of taking kids who had been diagnosed with cancer on a fishing trip. The Emerald Valley Chapter of NW Steelheaders also helps. The first year they had seven drift boats. In 2019, they had 25 boats participating.

The kids who attend are all either in remission or cured, so they are doing well. They are accompanied not only by fishing guides, but also with men and women athletes from Oregon State University and the University of Oregon “O” Heroes. The athletes go with the kids as their friend for the day, but many of the athletes also continue to stay in touch with the kids throughout the year.

There are one or two kids per drift boat with an athlete, depending on how many participants attend. The trip happens on the McKenzie River in July, with the boat in close proximity for five hours of fishing and “lots of giggling and laughing” according to Martin. Candlelighters provide breakfast before the trip and lunch afterwards. The Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife makes sure that there are fish to catch by stocking the river with rainbow trout for the event. The event is free for the participants. Unfortunately, it had to be canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but Martin is hopeful it will be able to happen again soon.

About seven years ago, Martin gave a seminar on fishing at a Eugene sporting goods store, Cabela’s. They invited him to become their first “pro staff” person, which he joined five years ago. Before the pandemic he would give five to six seminars a year on various fish, such as salmon or trout.

Martin loves his work as a fishing guide. He and his clients may leave for a river at 5 a.m. or as late as 8 a.m. for about seven hours of fishing, depending on which river they are going to fish. He explained his philosophy about the trips, “If you don’t want to have fun, I’m not your guide… Don’t set your alarm to go out with me.”

People interested in engaging Martin as a fishing guide may sign up on his website www.jimmartinsguideservice.com, where they can note what they want to fish for, where and when. For more information about the Candlelighters nonprofit providing support for families in Oregon and SW Washington impacted by childhood cancer., visit them at www.candlelightersoregon.org .