OUT THERE EVERY DAY

Living the Dream

Hi, I’m Matthew (“Matt”) Loetscher, and I’ve lived in Many, Louisiana, across Toledo Bend Reservoir about three miles from Texas, since 1991.

Anglers often say they’re “living the dream” because they get paid to fish, but I really am living the dream! That’s the name of my family’s business: Living the Dream Guide Service, and I’ve worked there as a deckhand/helper since I was 13. While in college, I filled in part-time and began guiding full-time in 2014.

I’m not happy being stuck inside and guiding gets me out there every day. I enjoy the constant interaction with nature and learning how to reveal what’s hidden underwater. It’s fun to show people things in nature they otherwise wouldn’t see. When I’m not fishing, I like to bow hunt whitetail deer and occasionally guide for an outfitter in Northeast Missouri.

Freshwater Inland Reservoirs

Inland reservoirs, like Toledo Bend, are my favorite places to take clients, because there’s the potential to have the best fishing day ever or catch the fish of a lifetime year-round. The habitat is so diverse you could conceivably use every fishing technique available. Plus, the lake is so large there’s always something to discover.

My favorite fish to chase are largemouth bass––the great white shark of freshwater. Because their seasonal and daily movements vary, you have to figure them out day after day. Knowing that the next cast could be the moment when everything falls into place is what drives me to chase them.

On a Personal Note

My wife, Sydney, is an elementary school teacher, and loves to get out on the boat and fish with me. While we don’t have children yet, we plan to someday. In the meantime, we have a golden retriever named Pearl that thinks she’s a child––and tags along when we go fishing.

While in school, I qualified and/or placed in almost a dozen collegiate championships and took first and second places in three professional tourneys. Today, I travel to compete in the Bassmaster Central Opens. Let’s face it if there’s a bass tournament around, I’m in it.

I belong to the Toledo Bend Lake Association, which is an organization that promotes the catch and release of bass, funds stocking programs and supports habitat in the reservoir.

In 2018, when Rick Murphy asked me if I’d like to serve as the guiding expert for the Middle Fresh region on Texas Insider Fishing Report, I jumped at the chance. Rick makes the fishing business fun and exciting. He has an ocean’s worth of knowledge and experience, and I really enjoy learning from him.