For those who happened to watch the September 29th episode of Michigan Out of Doors, you might have caught a glimpse of Avery Kietzman in his natural habitat.
Out on the river.
Avery, a 2015 Marion graduate, is living his dream, guiding fisherman out on the Manistee and Pere Marquette Rivers as a guide for Manistee River Lodge.
The outdoors is where he loves to be. When he’s not building boats for Stealthcraft, or guiding trips down the river, he’s still probably outdoors. Sometimes with his dogs, and sometimes with his girlfriend Carleigh.
We caught up with Avery recently and learned a little bit more about his story. We learned that Avery Kietzman is more than just another face in the crowd.
Marion Press: Where were you born and raised? What kept you busy growing up?
Avery: Marion, Michigan. My whole childhood. It was always the outdoors, whether it was trout fishing or deer hunting.
MP: How’d you get into hunting and fishing?
Avery: My dad, he introduced me very early. I think what really started it, is that we always used to go down to “the cut” – we called it – on the Muskegon, and we always just drowned crawlers and sat on the riverbank and catch whatever would bite. Trout camp was always a big one – every year right around my birthday, May 2nd – a couple days after opening weekend of trout, that was always a big time of the year.
MP: What are your favorite memories from going to school at Marion?
Avery: Oh, man. Probably football. To be honest with you, football, baseball, the sports… Baseball was fun, being district champs 3 years in a row, that was a lot of fun.
MP: And these days, you’re in the outdoors quite a bit. Tell us about that. How’d that come about?
Avery: I’m now guiding for Manistee River Lodge. Mike Batcke is the owner of Stealthcraft Boats and Manistee River Lodge and Baldwin Creek Lodge.
I worked at Four Winns for about 4 years building boats, and I knew the fly shop real well, and as soon as Mike bought the fly shop, I knew that I kind of had an in to the boat side of it, so I hounded Mike until he gave me a job. A year later, and now I’m guiding here.
MP: That’s kind of your dream job.
Avery: Yeah, it’s kind of what I always wanted to do, since I’ve been 18. It’s always kind of been my plan, per se. That’s how I’ve justified all my purchases, the fly rods and all the fancy stuff I’ve bought over the years. It’s kind of surreal.
MP: So you’re doing a little boat building along with the guided trips? What all goes into being a guide?
Avery: I’m doing a little bit of both. You’re not going to book 150-200 days right off the rip, so you kind of build your client base, and get your name out there. All my weekends are pretty much booked up, but it’s a here and there kind of thing.
Guiding isn’t fishing, we’ll start with that. The best angler in the world could be a [bad] guide. They could be good guides too. You’ve got to help people catch fish. Some people have never casted a rod before. It’s teaching, we do 8 hours, you’re cooking a full lunch out there – to the best of your ability.
It’s being able to share the river, and the natural state of everything. You try to excite the passion in somebody else, and show them what there is to offer out there.
MP: What do you enjoy the most about being a fishing guide? And building boats?
Avery: You can see the light bulb, that flip switch go off, and that’s probably my favorite. Whether it’s catching a fish, or explaining the years and years of history of the river, sharing that with everybody else. Instilling that same passion that I have unto others. Salmon, Steelhead, Trout, Bass, they’re a lot of fun – they pull hard.
I’ve been building boats for probably 5 or 6 years now, and that’s still pretty cool. Coming down here, and building boats that a blue-collar guy can afford; being able to fish out of something that you’ve made, and making memories out of something that you’ve made is pretty cool.
MP: Are you still living in the Marion area?
Avery: I bought a house in Hoxeyville. I just loved it so much up here, and I found a really good deal on a house… I’ve came up here to the fly shop since I was probably 16, 17 years old and I’m like, this is where I’m going to live, 100%. And it’s only a 40-minute drive or so to Marion.
MP: What do you enjoy the most about living in northern Michigan?
Avery: The outdoors. The proximity to everything. You can go 30 miles in any direction and have 5 or 6 options for what to do, hunting or fishing. There’s an endless amount of possibilities, and you don’t know which direction to head sometimes.
MP: When you’re not working, what keeps you busy?
Avery: Well, fishing or hunting! Or playing with the dogs, taking them out. Or taking Carleigh out.
MP: Carleigh, is that a dog or a girlfriend?
Avery: She’s a girlfriend! She’s into hunting and fishing, I’ve kind of rubbed off on her a little bit.
MP: What’s the best advice you’ve been given, or would give someone else?
Avery: Be so focused on what you’re doing, that you don’t focus on what others are doing.
MP: Who have been your role models?
Avery: I definitely thank my dad for introducing me to the outdoors. Mr. Gillespie was a big role model of mine, my football coach. I had a couple good talks with that guy. He was a pretty straightforward dude. Andy Long is another one, he was a welder at Pollington’s there. He kind of helped light the fire for me, “You can do whatever you want to do.” There’s a lot. A lot of guides up here, Matt Barthles, Michael Dragon, I really look up to.