Courtesy photo On an ATV on the ice, Corie Berrigan, professional guide and founder of Fishing 4All Seasons, uses scoping electronics carefully rigged in a protective case and mounted in such a way that she can keep moving across the frozen lake.

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

— — —

ESCANABA — Having recently retired from an engineering career in Minneapolis, Corie Berrigan, who grew up fishing in the Boney Falls Basin on the Escanaba River with her grandfather and spent years honing her own knowledge and techniques, now offers year-round fishing guide services and instruction, mostly in the central Upper Peninsula.

Licensed as a professional guide in Michigan, Berrigan operates under the business name “Fishing 4All Seasons” — appropriate, given her experience and passions. Services are flexible and can range in duration and type, depending on weather and a client’s wants and experience level.

She said that her guided trips focus mostly on kayak and ice fishing on bays and inland lakes, but in autumn, tours can pivot to be more fall-color-seeking, depending on what people are looking to experience.

Upon being contacted by an interested party, Berrigan has a conversation with them prior to developing a tailored plan.

“I will have a pre-trip meeting (to) find out what their skill level is, or if they have something they want to target — like, if they want to target walleye and the winds are conducive, I might take them out onto Little Bay de Noc. Or maybe, you know, if it’s kind of sketchy weather, then we’re going to stick to an inland lake.”

As a self-described “multi-species angler,” Berrigan recognizes where, when and how to target different types of fish — plus knows her way around the gear.

She’s part of the Pro Staff for Razr Augers and for Clam Outdoors — meaning she’s trained on their equipment and helps out at trade shows.

In her own business, beyond guiding, “I also teach classes. I’m also a fly angler. I’ve had a lot of training in proper casting techniques, so if somebody wants to hire me for an hour or two hours, I can teach them how to cast a fly rod to how to tie fishing knots,” Berrigan explained.

She said that she started getting heavily into fly fishing in 2007 after getting out of bike racing, which, prior to that point, had taken up a lot of her time and money. Exiting that hobby left a window for others, and she began adding fly, ice, and conventional fishing back into her repertoire. She makes the effort to take in what she can, and enjoys helping others appreciate the process, too.

“One thing with fishing, for anybody — it is a continuous learning journey. You never hit the end. You will never hit the train stop, because there’s always something to learn. There really is no one person that knows it all.”

Remarking upon the fact that there are hundreds of inland lakes in the central U.P. alone, Berrigan said she’s been eyeing some of them with plans to scout them with her “specialized equipment” to determine their potential.

“A lot of the nautical maps aren’t very accurate,” Berrigan said, “so with my electronics, I can get a better idea what I’m dealing with for ice fishing, too.”

She had intended to begin her fishing guide services next year, but said that Paul (“Blade”) Bloedorn of Blade’s Bait and Tackle talked her into kicking it off sooner.

Fishing 4All Seasons was founded in June of this year, and has made a handful of happy customers so far.

Blade, who knew Berrigan from the bait shop and as part of the Clam Outdoors Pro Staff Ice Team, told the Press that while he’s known a lot of people who have expressed interest in guiding, Berrigan has the right attributes for the job.

“Corie just loves being out in it,” Blade said. “She was an avid outdoors angler … It’s her passion; it’s something she’s having fun with … and Corie has that extra little bit of patience.”

The two businesses have a mutually beneficial partnership: when customers book a guided trip with Fishing 4All Seasons, they get a discount on the kayak rental from Blade’s bait and Tackle.

Readers may be wondering if Berrigan has a specialty. She said she personally participates in a lot of bass kayak tournaments, for one.

“I’ll say I’ll specialize in smallmouth (and) largemouth bass, but being a fly angler, I like steelheading in the spring and fall,” Berrigan said. “I like catching big fish, pike, muskie, so — whatever bites.”