Former Mariner takes to the water

MOSES LAKE — After graduating from Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver, Wash., in 1978, Rick Graser’s dream came true when he was selected in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Seattle Mariners.

Graser moved through the organization for three and a half years before being released, he said. Graser moved to Moses Lake shortly after his baseball career came to an end.

Graser has lived in Moses Lake since 1983 and the Columbia Basin resident says he appreciates the opportunity Moses Lake has provided for him.

“After I got released, my biggest passion was fish,” he said. “I headed (to Moses Lake in 1983) to see a friend and I have been here ever since.”

Graser, who started a fishing guide service in Moses Lake, has 27 years experience on the water and he understands the quality fisheries Washington state has to offer.

“We have world-class salmon fisheries within two hours of Moses Lake,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know that.”

Graser guides throughout Washington, covering the lower Columbia spring chinook run in March and April and in May and June Graser routinely guides along Icicle Creek in Leavenworth, Wash.

“I can’t stress enough how beautiful of a place it is to fish,” he said.

While Graser makes a living guiding men and women through the local fisheries, he insists he loves what he does.

“I (don’t do it) for the money,” he said. “It’s for the passion. I still get excited when I see someone catch a fish.”

With the economy struggling, Graser said fishing can be an outlet.

“Even though the economy is bad, it sure seems like I get a lot of phone calls,” he said. “It seems like an outlet for a lot of people.”

Graser is expecting a spring chinook run of 250,000 salmon, a summer run of 90,000 and a fall run of 590,000, he said.

“If someone has considered it in the past, this is the year to try it,” he said. “We are looking at a really good run.”

Graser said he only guides during the peak runs and he has an 85 percent success rate.

“I guarantee a good time on the water,” he said

Graser routinely leads clients on long trips, he said.

“We got out for a minimum of eight hours, unless we limit,” he said with a smile.

While Graser said he runs a guide service in Moses Lake, he wouldn’t have succeeded without the support from his family.

“I couldn’t (do it) without my loving wife of 25 years, Debbie, and my kids Kari and Jessica,” he said.

For more information about Graser’s Guide Service contact Graser at 509-765-4353.