Drew Ziehnert is a lifelong New York State resident, outdoorsman and NY State fishing guide. He is the founder and owner of Ziehnert’s Guide Service, the premiere fishing guide service in Upstate New York’s Capital Region. In this article Drew reflects on his path to become a licensed New York State Fishing Guide. He offers insight for those pursuing the sport of fishing and a career in the outdoor industry.
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Drew Ziehnert, NY State Fishing Guide
My name is Drew Ziehnert, I’m 26 years old, and I live in Middle Grove, NY. I am a full time, All-Season Fishing guide, tournament fisherman, outdoor writer, and owner of Ziehnert Guide Service LLC here in Upstate, NY. Ever since I was little I can remember loving the sport of fishing and being outdoors. I was lucky enough to have grandparents who owned a house on Lake George. That is where I got to spend every summer growing up.
My passion for fishing grew fast as I got older. I progressed from dock fishing, to fly fishing and then to competitive bass fishing. One of the best feelings in the world was saving up enough money for a small aluminum bass boat. This gave me the start I needed to guide. It was a simple layout, but I ended up doing hundreds of trips with that boat and it helped me to build my company. I have since switched boats to a top of the line Nitro with every fish finder known to mankind, but I will never forget where I started. I currently guide 7 days a week from mid April-October and Ice Guide from January-March.
Life of a NY State Fishing Guide
When I look back at it, my intention was never to become a full time guide, although it was always my dream to have a career involving fishing. The combination of my work experiences and educational strengths made me see guiding as something I could thrive at. When I was in college, I always told myself that I had until the end of my degree to develop something or find a job in the fishing field before I had to become a teacher. As devastating as COVID-19 was, the pandemic allowed me to jumpstart my business, as the rest of the world stopped.
Throughout highschool I had always worked in and around the fishing and boating world, but was never able to see it as a full time opportunity. I worked the fishing and outdoor section at our local Dick’s Sporting Goods. I also helped run Lake Lonely Watersports on the weekends, which rented out jon boats and kayaks. This allowed me to see two different businesses involving fishing and the outdoors that I thought I might like.
At Dick’s Sporting Goods I was able to see how companies marketed/designed their products. I became familiar with every fishing brand. You could really see what companies were doing to grow and market. “Some Lures are designed to catch fish and some are designed to catch fisherman”.
I began thinking about what fishing companies I might want to work with in the future. Some are now sponsors of our guide service.
Becoming a Licensed NY State Fishing Guide
At Lake Lonely Watersports, there were jon boats and kayaks people could rent, as well as a boat repair shop. My job was to get the jon boats ready and equipped with a battery, trolling motor, and life jackets. It felt like one of the best jobs I could possibly have. I was outdoors and always around other fishermen.
The mechanics there had me assist them on boats. I slowly became familiarized with engines and how to keep a boat in the best shape possible. The best perk of the job was having a key to the gate. After and before hours I could go out and fish when no one else could. After time learning the lake, I began feeling that I could take people out and get them on fish.
A Guide’s First Trips on Lake Lonely, NY
Back then, Lake Lonely had no guides, was a private/secluded lake, and wasn’t easy to fish. It had all the makings to be the perfect lake to guide on. With permission from the property owner I began running trips with friends/family on weekends before and after my regular shift. After some very successful trips I researched the steps to become a registered fishing guide and completed them.
Soon after I began running my first official trips under the name of Ziehnert Guide Service. Word of my fishing trips got around and eventually I had as many trips as I could handle on weekends. Sadly though, my initial guide service became so popular that it became a problem to the owner at Lake Lonely Watersports and he ended up not wanting me to guide there anymore. It was then an easy choice for me to leave my job there and focus solely on guiding.
The last thing the owner ever said to me still rings out in my head when I think of him, “Good luck with your little fishing thing”. Not many people including my own family ever thought it could become something successful. I’m truly glad I stuck with it.
College, COVID-19, and Starting a Business
Around the same time I left Lake Lonely, I was a senior at Siena College during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, my student teaching program was shut down and they changed every student over to virtual learning. Over the next few weeks I was able to finish the rest of my degree and testing online at night. During the day I would be on my boat isolating and learning to fish nearby Saratoga Lake. Eventually I felt comfortable enough on that lake to start running guide trips again. The virus left people terrified, trapped indoors, and left to find new hobbies. So when restrictions lessened, fishing along with other outdoor activities skyrocketed.
My guide service grew extremely rapidly and it got to the point where I was guiding 4-5 days a week. So instead of searching for a teaching job I started building my guide service’s presence up. I had a website created by a fellow Siena graduate, Jake Ellsworth, which provided an easy way for clients to book trips. As time went on I told myself I was going to do it full time and have stuck with it ever since. Now we have over 800 clients and are one of the top-rated guide services in upstate, NY.
Student Teacher to NY State Fishing Guide
Surprisingly, I did not initially receive much support when I first started guiding – including family. There has never been a full time guide in the area because of the short tourism season and politics surrounding our lakes. My mom’s side of the family is full of teachers and I think they were all hoping I would go down the same path and I almost did. They would argue with me that guiding was inconsistent, provided no job security, and had no benefits. To be fair, they were right in some aspects, but I just wanted to do something I truly loved doing everyday. Tons of my clients tell me how unhappy they are with their jobs every week and how they wished they could truly enjoy what they do.
I did thoroughly enjoy my student-teaching experience, but having the opportunity to be on the water everyday was too tempting to not at least give it a shot. Eventually, when I started running a lot of trips, had positive reviews, and showed my family how dedicated I was to guiding, they began coming around to the idea of it.
Community Support as a NY State Fishing Guide
Your family always wants what’s best for you and I’m sure in their mind they were trying to push me in the right direction. In this case I followed my gut and I bet on myself to make it as a guide. I’m happy to say that since then they are extremely supportive and always help me out if I need anything. I have the most incredible fiancee now who pushes me to be the best I can be everyday. She is extremely happy that I was able to find a way to turn my passion into a career and always helps me brainstorm ways to improve my business.
The local fishing community and fishing industry has been very supportive and I have developed very good relationships with a few of the local tackle stores nearby. In exchange for all the bait and tackle I need for my trips, I run fishing seminars for them, write reports, and have set up relationships with newer fishing companies so they have an easier time ordering. They do a phenomenal job at giving out my business cards and I book a lot of trips from their referrals. Small businesses are slowly dying off in the fishing world so we try to help each other as much as possible.
Challenges as an Outdoor Business Owner and NY State Fishing Guide
The biggest challenge that I face as a NY State fishing guide is dealing with the politics and policies of the Lake George Park Commission and Lake George HomeOwners Associations pertaining to Lake George. Known as the “Queen of American Lakes”, Lake George is one of the most prestigious lakes in New York State. As a result, the New York government established a park commission in 1961 to protect the lake from expanding commercialized ventures such as marina expansion and land development. There have been many controversial things that they have done to the lake over the years (applying pesticides/herbicides to kill milfoil in 2024) because they do not have to obtain public support.
Challenges Guiding on Lake George, NY
The lake needs to be protected, however, the current policies allow certain industries to thrive and sadly drastically limit guides. It took me years to work out a deal with a marina to let me guide up there after dozens and dozens of failed attempts. I had to go through multiple zoning boards, interview processes, and had sent out hundreds of emails to find someone willing to let me guide. I can tell you that the dollar talks around the lake and finally one of my bids was taken.
Lake George is the only public lake in the entire state where guides need to be working out of a Class A marina and be approved by the LGPC to legally guide on the lake. Their reasoning is that too many guides would occupy the public boat launches and honestly they are probably right, but their solution now makes it almost impossible for fishing guides. The issue is that they are forcing guides to work with Class A Marinas who do not want guides there as it does not benefit them much and increases their insurance. A marina owner could sell a guide’s dock space on the lake for the same cost to a pleasure boater and wouldn’t have to deal with clients constantly coming in and out of the marina.
The Challenges of Fishing Guide Booking Apps
Another challenge that is affecting the outdoor guide industry is booking apps such as Fishbooker. These apps spend tons and tons of money on advertising in key regions to book trips for guides. They get local guides to sign up and they book the trips for you, they then charge you a commission fee. It is great for guides just starting out who want to build a client base, but the fishing apps are making money off your hard work.
The other issue smaller guides face is advertising on google. Fishing apps have larger advertising budgets for their ads to show up first. They choose to target key tourist locations in every state and push customers onto their booking sites before they get to guide service sites. I do have my guide service listed on the app because we do end up booking trips from it during slower times of the year, but for the majority of the year the app is pointless. There are benefits and flaws to it, but I do not like the idea of extra booking services. I receive calls once a week from other booking services trying to get me to list with their website to do the same thing as Fish Booker.
Boat Maintenance
Boat and equipment repairs also can present major challenges during the season. There’s nothing worse than it being peak tourism season and your engine is giving you a code. If your boat needs work during the middle of the season there are not many boat shops that can fit you in right away. So you have to hope that nothing major happens because usually it is not a quick fix. I have developed a relationship with my local marine dealer, Andersen Marine, and they have been good about getting me in as fast as they can when I need a repair. For the most part it does seem that our local marine shops do want to help those using their boats for commercial purposes.
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