photo courtesy John Valk  I have enjoyed fishing the Grand with John, Rick, Barney, and Rob. I had my best experience as a flyfisher with Rob Heal in June of 2003. I am not a skilled caster. Rob spotted a beautiful brown rising across the river. There was a slight bend in the river, conflicting currents, a tree behind us, and this brown rising but not in an easily timed period. Rob was so patient and so confident that I could make this (for me) difficult cast. He untangled my line from the tree, went downstream to determine what the fish was rising to, tied on a fly he had tied the night before for this particular caddis hatch, instructed me when to cast (NOW!) and I hooked and landed a beautiful 18" male brown with the size 16 caddis on a 6x tippet. Wow! Thanks, Rob. See you in June. Mike Brodbeck Alma, Michigan Nov 8, 2003... Rob and John, Just wanted to send you a note to thank you for the great time Jen and I had fishing this past weekend. Although we would have liked to have the fish cooperate more. (Rob...we blame you for that..HA) We'll be booking another trip in the future, and bringing along some of our family as well. They are eager to get at the Stealhead next May and the Salmon next Oct. Kevin Smith Perrysburg, OH Thanks again for the great time and we look forward to seeing you again. Sincerely, Kevin and Jen Smith Thanks very much for the great fishing excursions on our recent Fish'n Canada episode shoots. Firstly, Mike Flynn did a great job in putting our crew on beautiful Browns all day long during our Grand River wade fishing show. Contrary to most of your clients, we actually caught all of our fish on Shimano spinning gear with small artificial minnowbaits rigged with a single barbless hook and I'll tell you what, I've never had Brown Trout fishing like that anywhere else. Amazing! Lastly, I've got to personally thank John Valk (you too Rob) for our Smallmouth Bass river trip using one of his very unique drift boats. In one 8 ½ mile stretch of water, we not only caught a bunch of fish but we saw an incredible amount of cruising Smallies that would make many a lake fish look quite puny! We tied into a few 3 pound + fish and end up with a great catch when all was done. I need to add something here too, this trip is one of the most spectacular fishing expeditions a person will ever encounter and the best part is, it's right here in Ontario! I'd highly recommend it. These 2 Fish'n Canada episodes will air sometime early in 2004 and are definitely worth viewing. Thanks again guys, Pete Bowman Fish'n Canada John, Just wanted to let you know that my father and I had a great time together on the Grand. It was the first time I had ever fished dry flies that hard but the browns were just unreal!!! Thank-you for all the help and a great time Vince and Jim Barry Buffalo N.Y June 27, 2003 ... Dear John and Mike: Just a quick note to thank you for getting me all set up to enjoy fly fishing for Trout. I had always ignored this type of fishing, mostly due to the way that most books and outdoor magazines make it seem so complicated and intimidating to learn. John simplified the process, gave me the direction, and we got fish! There is still one complication though. Now when I want to go out to the river I have to decide....Bass or Trout! Life never seems to be easy! Best Regards, David M. Auld Monday, June 16, 2003 ... I want to thank River Guide Rick Whorwood for the great day Justin and I had on Monday. It's always nice when you can get into a lot of fish, regardless of the species. I also liked the opportunity to fish several types of water both from the boat and while wading. I'm an avid Fly Fisher but I have to tell you bringing the spinning rods is a great idea. Justin has not fly fished much and given the windy day we had he wouldn't have had much success without the spinning gear. I'm going to have to spend some time with him on a pond to get his casting up to speed. Thanks for the wonderful day. Rob Cressatti & Justin I am back in Paris and still remembering fondly our fishing on May 13th and 14th. Six steelhead in two days...wow, I finally joined the club! I truly enjoyed the trip and as usual your hospitality and of course your fishing knowledge made the difference. Despite the conditions you found fish and put me over them. Regards, Gordon LaFortune Paris, France It's the 9th of May, 2003. I'm still shaking and walking around with a big grin from the 8th. If I was told we would have landed three or four great Steelhead by lunch I would have been skeptical. Another four or five after lunch, well you can imagine our excitement. What a great day. Oh,and the lunch was great also. Can't forget that. It's just hard to think of lunch when hooking steelhead after steelhead. We learned a lot. Your patience and angling savvy is unrivaled. Thank you John Valk for a fantastic day. Tom and Rob, Ontario, Canada. My wife and I have fished with Grindstone guides on three occasions, so far. There will be more. The folks at Grindstone are friendly, helpful, and courteous. The guiding is excellent, folks working hard to help you do your very best on any given day. They work well with varying skill levels, accommodate women well, and are a hell of a lot of fun to fish with. If they can put up with me, they deserve an A+++++. Dick Walle Toledo, Ohio Dear John, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for putting together such a well organized fishing excursion to the Elk. Over the years, I have been involved in numerous group ventures many of which I have been the prime organizer, so I know the effort that goes into pulling off a success. In a word… WELL DONE…! From a purely personal perspective, it was a wonderful learning experience for me as my fly fishing history is short and limited to the ponds at Glenmajor. I found Dave's guides to be quite extraordinary and my day alone with Ken on the Fording was a simple case of Fly Fishing 101. As I said in a separate note to Ken, I learned more in that day than my accumulated knowledge (albeit very limited) to date. I am enclosing a couple of shots from the trip as well as a copy of my Trip Report to my fellow members at Glenmajor. How do you like Alan Goddards's version of Walk Wade & Sit! Best wishes and I look forward to wetting lines together in the future. David A. Currie A couple weeks ago we spent two days with John, Rick, & Rob on the Grand. Three generations together - myself, father, sons, brother and nephew experienced our first true fly fishing event with the pros from Grindstone. John Valk and his crew exceeded every expectation. Their patience, humor, knowledge, and professionalism was appreciated by all ages and levels expertise. All had a great time, learned more about the art of angling, and would love the opportunity to do it again with John and the guys from Grindstone. Joe Voyt I have fished one-day outings with John Valk on the Grand River and Saugeen River in Ontario, and have been on six-day trips to Vancouver Island and to Fernie, British Columbia. Without exception John's expert knowledge, helpful instruction and infectious enthusiasm have made each trip memorable. I highly recommend Grindstone to anyone -- beginner or experienced -- looking for the best professional services available... Fernie was a bloody rippa, mate! Brian Hemming My wife and I fished the Grand River on July 2, 2002 with John Valk of Grindstone Anglers. John is not only a great guide, leading us to multiple fish but he is also a great teacher. Both Sharon and I came away with several new casts to use on other streams as well as an appreciation for the human and natural history of the Grand River, Ontario's jewel. Not to mention the twelve brown trout I caught." Curtis D. Sorrento, FL "I haven't done any fishing this year, but as I write this I am on my way to Gaspé for 6 days of salmon fishing. And it looks like I might get 2 days of trout fishing in New Zealand in August as part of a business trip. But I do miss the fishing with you guys. I have had several guided expeditions with Grindstone Angling, both drift boat and walk and wade. I would highly recommend the team at Grindstone, not only for their knowledge of the rivers and where to find fish, but also for the people. They will put you over the fish, but even if you don't catch them you will have a great day. I would highly recommend the gang at Grinstone." Regards, Gord John, Rob and Keith, I am on my way to Montana, but wanted to send you a quick note. The guys from PA and I enjoyed ourselves over the weekend at the Grand. John, both you and Rob went above and beyond with the group. Tell Rob "Thank you" for the dry fly that helped me land the 24" Brown. I have rarely seen so many big fish rising to dry's as we saw that Saturday. All of us are putting the dates on the calendars for next year. The rooms at the B and B were fantastic, as well as the crowd in the bar. Take care, Marc C. Danile I would think that the smile on my face would be testimonial enough!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have fished with many guides from well-known fly shops on great fisheries over the last 20 years but John Valk is the best I have ever fished with. During the past 6 years we have fished together many times and every time he teaches me something. He is so incomparable at spotting fish that it's scary!! It has been my pleasure to introduce several of my fishing buddies to John and his guides at Grindstone. To a person, they echo my sentiments about the expertise, personality, attention and good humor of their experiences with John, Barney, Keith, Rick and Rob. Thanks in large part to John's efforts in cooperation with the provincial entities responsible for it, the Grand river is an amazing fishery. My wife and I consider all the guys at Grindstone friends and look forward to many more great days on a "GRAND" river!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, and the opportunity to land and release a 28" brown trout on a 4wt rod with 5x tippet and a dry fly in the middle of the day isn't too shabby either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! J.Kridler Dear John & Keith at Grindstone Angling, Thanks for a day my son, Tim, and I will never forget. Tim was back from British Columbia for a visit and wanted to share a day with me fly fishing on the Grand. With Tim having been out fly fishing only once before I was a bit concerned that he would find the experience frustrating so I called Grindstone for a guide to make sure he got some professional help - as opposed to mine. I asked our guide, Rob, to focus on Tim and after a few minutes of instruction he had Tim casting dry flies to some rising browns and by lunch he had landed 8 or 10, including a nice 16 incher. Frankly, I was getting tired just watching all the "high fives" the two of them were sharing. I thought we had had our entire day's worth of fun by noon, but after our lunch break we spotted a monster trout taking Brown Drake duns on the surface just inches off the bank. Rob got Tim into position and 45 minutes later, between the two of them they landed a beautiful 24 - 25 inch brown. Unbelievable experience for me and Tim. The downside to this story is that Tim now thinks this is what happens everytime you go out fly fishing. So I guess we'll be back. Thanks again, Don McCreesh To John Valk, Grindstone Angling, John, I must tell you what a blast I had on the Saugeen river. Out of 5 steelhead I landed 3 beautiful fish. The bonus was a 30 " male. It was aday I'll never forget. Thanks again John for being such a great guide and host for a great day on the river. Dr. Dale Schisler What can I say? Aside from their knowledge and experience, the folks at Grindstone have helped me proceed to the next step in the sport. I am now a more skilled and passionate fly fisherman. Thanks. ps... I even catch the odd fish to boot! Marty Subscribe to Grindstone's e-newsletter : : Copyright Grindstone Angling | privacy | contact