We are very proud of our guides and really
appreciate feedback about their performance.

I was one of a party of 5 on 19 November. A great time was had by all, we reached our limit in about 2 1/2 hours. I do know the last name of the guide we had (Brian), but I want to commend him for a great job. He was efficient, courteous, helpful, patient....and just an all-around great guy. All of us enjoyed him very much. The tour was listed by Mike Cook. When I go out again, I would like to have him for my guide! We were commenting on how fast we met our limit and what a good time we had, and he said "it's the guide!!".. And, it was...!

I was wondering if you've considered devoting a section on your site to the guides whom are employed by you, with a little bio, how long they've been a guide, etc.,, etc... I think it would make the trip more interesting for all concerned if you could find out something before hand about your guide....Whatcha think?
 Again, thanks for a most enjoyable trip. We plan to do it again next year about the same time...
    Sterling Moeller

Reply: Sounds like you may have a great idea. I am always looking for little things that could improve my guide service. I will start working on it soon.
     Thanks, Tinker
 

Tinker & crew, my brother our sons and I had an awesome time last weekend. Our guide Saturday afternoon was Brian & Sunday morning was Mark. We caught our limit both days. We really enjoyed the opportunity Mark gave us to catch several over 25" on top water poppers (We caught and released). To experience the excitement on my sons face when that big Striper hits that top water jig is really (as Master Card puts it) PRICELESS . For the past three years we have looked forward to our fishing trip. You guys keep up the good work and we hope to make it back Thanksgiving week.
     Thanks Mike Cass
 

Brian was very helpful and thoughtful. The trip was a pure joy.
     Thanks, Wanda Sharpe
 

Mike is an excellent guide. He puts us right on the fish every trip.
     Thanks, Toby Carter
 

We fished with David on 10-19-05 and it was the experience of a lifetime. Not only did he put us on a limit PLUS of fish, (when we caught our limit, he let us keep fishing till we ran out of bait, releasing fish over our limit), but he was very friendly, like we were all old friends to him. He is very "fish smart" and knew where and when to get to the fish. He is the reason we will all come back and book another trip. I had the time of my life! I didn't know what to expect, since this was a first for me, and he could have made it less of an adventure, but he added to it and made it the time of my life. All four of us that went with him agree that he is a great guide, and we will certainly be back, and will ask for him to be our guide again.
 Thanks David, for a GREAT trip!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Kevin Walukas, Steven Chrnutt, Brian Cox & Robert Barr
 

I was wondering if you could send me the pictures of the bass I caught at the boat docks on 9/17. It was 5.5 pounds and was my first bass ever. Thanks for your time and the wonderful experience.
     Bryan Cargill
 

Hey Tinker. All of us in the Jason Griffin bachelor party had a great time this weekend. The free lodging and the game room were great, Allen kept us all entertained Friday night and Brian put us on the fish really quick Saturday morning. We were impressed that all 6 of us limited out so quickly too. If you could email me the pictures from the trip, I can print them out and get them over to Jason. That way he can prove to his finance that he really went fishing...Just kidding of course...His 2 big bags of striper fillets were proof enough...LOL !!!!
     Thanks for everything and we'll see you again soon. Rick Cates
 

Hey Mike, You were our guide on July 16. We really enjoyed the fishing and want you to know we had a great time, hope to see you next year.
     Thanks, Nick Arellano, Dumas, TX.
 

Special thanks to Mike for that experience; prefer him again for our next trip; send info on your BASS and any other type fishing opportunities.
     Willie and Cora Andrews
 

Hello from the Fuentes Bunch. Jason, Curtis and I had a great time catching the stripers when we were there. Roger, what can we say about Roger! He was fantastic, had the fish coming to the boat all morning long. Thank you Roger for making the day a memorable one for my son Jason. We got home that day and quickly cooked up a batch and everyone enjoyed.
    Thank you again, Russell Fuentes, P.S. We’ll be back!
 

Tinker, Just a line to let you know that we had a real good time on Tuesday. Brian was a hell of a guide. We wanted to stay another day but Hugh had to get back home but will try to make it back up there one of these days when I am off!! I wanted to give you my email address so I could get some fishing reports.
    David Luman, Borger, TX
 

Brenda, Wanted to drop you and Mike a quick line and thank your for an incredible day of fishing. If you can email me the pics I would love to have them printed off and give to the guys. We will definitely be scheduling a fall trip.
  Again thank you for running such a quality organization.
    Kevin W. Smith
 

Brenda, Sorry it has taken so long to get back with you, but I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time the kids and I had fishing with you guys on June 20, 2005. David is a wonderful guide, it isn’t just anyone who can take 2 children under the age of 10 fishing, keep them interested while looking for fish, and then boat over 100 fish! They had a ball! I have used you guys now not only for business but for pleasure and wanted to let you know that what a quality operation you have. Your guides are customer oriented and will do everything they can to help their customer limit out on fish. I would recommend you service to anyone interested in have a great fishing experience, rookies or pros, will have a great time. I will be in touch for more trips.
  Thanks again to all for the trip I enjoyed with my kids. Set the hook hard and keep a tight line!
    Pete Thompson
 

Thanks for the great fishing trip we had last Saturday. We all enjoyed it and we really loaded up on the fish. Little David was our captain and he was great, he knows what he’s doing, I will definitely request him again. Good luck and we will see you again soon. PS: I caught the 33 1/2” one and you guys took some pictures, would it be possible for you to e-mail a copy of those to me?
  Thanks again and we will be back.
 

Tinker Crew, My family and I had a wonderful time the two days we were there. I have just started my own HVAC business and am staying busy with the warm weather, but hope to book another outing with mike as soon as we have time. PS. I am referring your guide service to all my friends
  Thanks,
    William Felts & Family.
 

Tinker, My two sons and I fished with Roger Hill Friday. I have been fishing Texoma and other lakes for 20 years and this was the best guided trip I have experienced. Roger picked us up at Grand Pappy's at 6:00 a.m. sharp. The boat was immaculate and he had plenty of bait. We were on fish within 10 minutes. Although we could have been limited within an hour he kept us out until 10:30, on fish all the time. Many guides get you on and off the lake ASAP. We came to fish and Roger let us. He worked hard to put us on big fish and certainly succeeded. We talked about recipes, fishing techniques, lake history, stocking programs and various other interesting topics. He is quite knowledgeable about striper fishing. To top it off when he cleaned the fish he took out the red meat which makes final prep so much easier. Tinker, Roger is an asset to your operation. Also, thank Brenda for the help with the booking issue. We’ll be back in July for some slab action.
  Thanks for the great trip.
    Bill Higgins
 

I checked the web site for general information and forwarded on to several other people. Will you let me know when you post pictures on the web, wanted to forward these on to the others who wanted a recommendation of where to go? Both Bob Hawkins and myself were very impressed with "Tinker's" entire operation. I have been on guided trips previously and while I had fishing success, I did not encounter the well organized structure of being prepared to get "underway" on schedule and the friendly attitude of everyone involved. Bob is an experienced salmon fisherman from Puget Sound in Washington, his first trip on the water since moving to Texas and ready to come back. Our guide, Brian, while the young one working for Tinker, was a good choice. Friendly, knew exactly what to do and helpful almost to a fault, would definitely ask for him again if he is not away to school. As I told you, the cabins were a surprise, very neat and adequate in all respects, a "Hilton in the Woods". And you were also great to work with and friendly.
  I will look forward to a winter trip and recommending others to Tinkers.
    Wally Kemp, Fort Worth, TX
 

Hello: You need to be commended for your use of not only your client-base, but email to get your latest word out. Another reason why "Tinker's" is a great source for fishing recreation.
  The Best,
    Bob Westin
 

Tinker, I have to say that we had a hell of a fishing trip. Mike is a great guide and he put us right on the fish early in the morning and had us limited out by 10 am. The facilities are also great. We didn’t stumble onto the game room until late but when we found it we stayed up late playing poker.
  Just wanted to say thanks and we'll be seeing you in the future.
    Jeff Schoonover and the Lewis crew.
 

Dear Mr. Toney: I would like to personally thank you and Tinker’s Guide Service for your generous contribution to our 8th Annual Sporting Clay Shoot. With your help, this year’s event has been our most successful to date and we are working diligently to build lasting relationships with our sponsors. The funds generated from this event will go towards Cenikor Foundation’s continuing efforts to make a difference in the lives of those who have a sincere desire to change. It is compassionate people like you that make it all possible. Again, thanks for your support and please feel welcome to visit us at your convenience and see first hand how your donation helps change the surrounding communities.
  Sincerely,
    Dominic Duran
 

We had a wonderful time. Roger Hill sure did a good job.
  Max Zachary
 

On behalf of myself and shown in our picture of 13 May 2005, from left to right after Mike Blakely, our Super Guide, Jeramire Bartlett AKA "Bubba, of Amarillo, Texas, Cip Torres of Guadalupita, NM, James Fairbrain of Richardson, Texas, Rusty Whiteley of Oklahoma City and myself.. We wish to express our appreciation for a great time by all. The sleeping quarter were a little cramped but we were still able to play Texas Holdem until Midnight. We left the docks at 06:20 AM and was back in pocket at docks at 08:15 AM with our limit what can I add to that..
  Respectfully,
    George W. Whiteley, Guadalupita, NM...
 

Just want to thank you again for the free trip and the hospitality, Roger, the guide, was extremely polite and a great guide, we enjoyed our trip. We will recommend you to everyone we know who like to fish.
  Thanks again,
    Susan the lucky winner at OKC tackle show
 

I'd just like to say that my first wxperience at striper fishing was a tremendous success and greatly because of Roger. It was nice to be doing it with friends, but Roger made it so very pleasant with his attitue and ability to mae us feel a part of the team. How he put us on top of so many stripers in such a short time was amazing. There is nothing more comforting than being called by one's name in a different environment, and Roger has that ability to remember and call each of us by name. I wish I had that ability. I'll definitely ask for Roger the next time I come your way, but knowing how poor our bunch is, he will surely have some wealthy customers that will outrank us...Hope not.
 Thank you for a great experience.
    Rex A. Zachary
 

We had the pleasure of fishing with Roger last Wednesday morning. He was professional and fun at the same time. He knew where the fish were which enabled us to get our limit in two hours. I will certainly come fishing again and I will ask for Roger as my guide.
  Thanks again for a great time.
    Marlin Smith, San Antonio, TX
 

How about 5 guys getting their limit in 138 minutes.
 We had ball.
    Don Doyle
 

Just wanted to say thanks for a great day of fishing on our trip of May 6th. "Little" David did a great job of keeping us on some fish and my two boys eyes were "buggy" from the excitement by the time we limited out.
 Thanks again!
    Tommy Harris
 

just wanted to send a quick note on behalf of myself and my fishing partners..... Me (Darla), husband (Rick), Rick's sister (Jackie), brother-in-law (Donnie)
We arrived at Lake Texoma early Saturday, May 7th with our pontoon and launched it at Tinker's Boathouse for a day on the lake. We fished a little and decided to cruise some, but our boat took on an unsuspected 8 foot wave that came out of nowhere.... Needless to say we were drenched and the day was not a good day to be drenched. So we headed to the shore to check in our room at Tinker's Lodge....

Our group arrived at Tinkers Lodge with a key to our door with my name on it. Now in Dallas if we did this, no telling what uninvited guests you could have... I just love the country where everyone trusts everyone.... What a life.... We commenced to set up house, took all our wet clothes off and hung them all over the rails outside and we even had clothes hanging off our pontoon boat parked in the drive. We really looked like the Beverly Hillbillies..... I was so embarrassed so as soon as the other guests that fished that day arrived, a group of 6 men (bachelor party) I was apologizing profusely.... Those boys were so sweet. They fried their catch of the day and insisted we grab a plate, which of course we did. Kudos to the chef.... We played some Dominos and Las Vegas rummy in the game room and turned in around 11:00 that night....

Our wake up alarm was set at 5:00 am. Mother's Day, May 8th, we met Roger Hill our guide at 6:30 and headed out on the lake.... Roger has wonderful instinct on were the fish are. After stopping at one location, then on to another, even though we caught a couple of keepers and the fish finder showed there was fish down there he knew immediately and had the instinct to move us one last time and boy were we on them then..... He called it a blackout.... Fish after fish were being caught. As soon as the hooks were baited and dropped they were caught. It was sooo much fun.... We had the time of our life and both my husband and I and my sister and brother-in-law have fished several times with another guide service, we all decided that from now on, we will use Tinker's Guide Service, only if we can have Roger as our guide.... We will be calling in the fall to set a trip in December for 6 with Roger and can't wait....
 Thanks for a wonderful time.... You guys are the best... See you soon....
    Darla Salazar, C. F. Jordan, L.P., Dallas Commercial
 

Once again Tinkers guide service was right on the money!! Little David was great, as I knew he would be from past experience. It made my guests and I have an incredible weekend, the fish was yummy.
 Thanks to all. Tinker and Brenda keep up the great work.
    Bobby Arbuthnot
 

Tinker, Thanks for a great trip with guide David Pineda. This was our second annual trip with you and we are never disappointed. David was fun, good company, and I believe he got more excited about us catching fish than we did. That means he enjoys his job. First trip that I have been on that you could not get your limit because we were catching too many big fish. That's a real problem? No way!
 Thanks again and see you next year.
    Don Parker & Randy Parker
 

One of the nicest things I was allowed to do this year was going on this striper fishing trip. I had not been striper fishing in over a year, so this was unexpected to win the trip as well as being able to go on a 2 day trip and take 2 friends that also could go. The accommodations were ok and much better than camping. I was their to fish and that I did. I caught a 9 lb striper and my limit and the second day little Dave was doing a great job and I caught a 7 lb striper and we all caught our limit. It was a great fishing trip.
 Thanks again, Sincerely, Paula Bateman
 

Tinker/Brenda...... Here are the photos from the fishing trip on March 17th, 2005 with my father, Don McCall of Mansfield, Texas; Justin Parker - Guide; and myself, Scott McCall of Keller, Texas. I had the best day spending time with my father and fishing as well. First time I've been fishing in a long time, yet alone catch so many fish... including the big blue cat. Looking forward to doing it again in the near future!
 Thank you again! Scott McCall, Keller, Texas
 

Dear Tinker, I want to personally thank you for the wonderful Striper Fishing trip you provided us. It was a great day of fishing for our group of six. You lodging is far better than any hotel we could have stayed at. It’s comfortable, clean, and homely. Your two dogs provided us some great entertainment in the evening, after we got done fishing. Give them two a biscuit. Little Dave is without a doubt the best guide that any of us have ever fished with. His persistence to find fish, on a day when fishing was not that good, was superb. We caught 49 keeper fish, while others caught none. That says something. I have complete trust in his handling of that big boat, after he got us back to the dock in five and six foot swells. We got a little wet, but it was one hell of a demonstration in boatman ship. When we come back in the fall, he will be the guide we request. He also taught all of us a new trick about how to clean fish. That’s OK, we will keep it a secret…lol. To sum it up, “nothing but a great trip and well worth the money.” Thanks again for a great day. There will be many fishing stories to tell about this day and many memories. Nothing but great!
 For the Group, THANKS, Cletus Wise Jr.
 

We had a great trip. Greg is a hell of a guide. We’ll be back.
 Craig Liszt, Richardson, TX.
 

We had a great trip. Greg is a hell of a guide. We’ll be back.
 Craig Liszt, Richardson, TX.
 

Hello Tinker, Enjoyed the fishing on 3/8/05, It was a quite a haul of fish. A little luck, Little Dave's instincts and we hit them pretty good, Dad, the boys and I had a blast.
 Thanks for another great fishing trip, Joe Yurko.
 

Brother Tinker, First and foremost, thank you for a fabulous fishing trip.........most fun I've had with my pants on in a long time!!! Looking forward to seeing you folks again........ we will have fun.
 Don Parsons, Abilene, TX
 

Hello Tinker; The Progress Rail group had a good fishing trip. Three limits before lunch and some good sized fish. Our guide was excellent, the best we have had in three years of Texoma fishing. Your entire service and hospitality were excellent.
 Thanks D. L. White
 

I would like to thank Tinker’s Striper Guide Service for donating a fishing trip and for supporting the Lake Dallas VFW post 10460 in our benefit on 02-13-05. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and the fishing trip was a very popular auction item.
 Don Glockel, Commander VFW 10460, Lake Dallas, TX.
 

Just wanted to thank everyone at Tinkers for a great trip. We had five guys in our party and everyone went home happy and ready to book another trip. Mike and Roger worked very hard to get us on some very nice fish. Brenda was very helpful lining up the trip for us. Again would like to thank Roger and Mike, you guys made it worth the ten hour drive from Nebraska.
 See you again for sure. Dwayne Rech
 

Tinker, thought I would take a minute and thank you for a great fishing trip. We fished with Roger Hill Feb. 5th and 6th. It was a great trip, never caught so many big fish. Roger is a great guide, he makes it fun even if we had not caught any fish. I will be looking forward to taking another trip in the near future. Tell Roger ED said that 16 lb. stripper ate just great.
 Thanks again. Larry Hilton
 

Good Morning Brenda/Tinker: Just wanted to let you know how much me and the other guys group enjoyed our trip with Rodger. I've been out with five other striper guides and by far Rodger was the best....what a trip! As a matter of fact they enjoyed it so much we are ready for our next trip(s).......
 Once again, thanks for a great trip. Darrell Gadberry
 

Mark did a great job under freezing conditions.
 Ron Shrader, Canadian, TX