About Jamison

Being young, he didn’t always make the next trip, but he never lost the pull of a fish. “I think it was almost like I was born with it in my blood,” he says.

“As soon as my dad introduced me to fishing, I always wanted to go.”

Growing up in the Newberg area, Jamison spent his teenage years on the Nestucca River, the next river system south of Tillamook.

He was fishing constantly—good enough that the owner of a local sporting goods store once pointed three walk-in customers his direction when they showed up the day-of, and couldn’t find a guide.

Jamison took them out, got their limits of salmon, and he came home with enough in gas money to know that this was what he really wanted to do.

The Path to Guiding

The eventual path to guiding wasn’t a straight line. After high school, Jamison served a church mission, studied criminal justice at Snow College in Utah, then built and ran a trucking company. His father helped manage it while Jamison started guiding on the side. Eventually, something had to give. He chose fishing.

Jamison started on the rivers with a drift boat, then worked toward his OUPV (United States Coast Guard) license so he could take clients into the bays and offshore. Today he guides out of Tillamook year-round: steelhead on the rivers through the winter, spring Chinook in the bays, coho and bottom fishing offshore through summer, fall Chinook back in the bay, and Dungeness crab through the fall.

The Best Part of Guiding

Ask Jamison what he loves most about guiding and he doesn’t hesitate: it’s the relationships with people and families who enjoy his trips.

“A little kid saying this is the best day of their life—that’s what fuels me.”

He recalls a seven-year-old on a coho trip in the ocean. The whole boat – kid, mom, dad, uncle – all limited-out. When the boy landed his last fish, he turned to his mom and said, “This is the best day of my life.” Jamison says it melted his heart a little. Jamison took them out, got their limits of salmon, and he came home with enough in gas money to know that this was what he really wanted to do.

The Salmon Shakes

He calls it the salmon shakes – that adrenaline-driven trembling that takes over when someone hooks a big fish for the first time. He sees it in kids, in adults, in experienced anglers. It never gets old.
His approach to guiding goes beyond just catching fish. He takes time to teach: what’s happening underwater, why certain spots fish better than others, how to read a river. “I know how expensive it can be to hire a guide,” he says, “so I try to give people enough back to be able to catch fish on their own sometimes too.”

The rest of the story are many thousands of fishing trips later… and many satisfied clients from around the world.

Unforgettable Fishing Trips

Captain Jamison Johnson has been fishing in and around the Tillamook area of Oregon all his life.

Growing up in the Newberg, Oregon, area, Jamison spent his teenage years fishing on the Nestucca River, the next river system south of Tillamook.

He knows the rivers and ocean around Tillamook as well as anyone.

He is a highly experienced, licensed fishing guide and United States Coast Guard licensed captain.

Ask other guides and Jamison is well-respected among fellow fishing guides and experienced fishermen.

Based in Tillamook – the Land of Many Waters – Jamison runs Big Johnson’s Guide Service out of some of the most productive and least crowded fishing grounds on the Oregon Coast.

Whether you’re chasing Chinook in the bay, hunting steelhead on the upper rivers, dropping jigs for deeper water halibut and lingcod offshore, or setting crab pots in Tillamook Bay, Jamison brings the local knowledge, the right gear, and the right attitude to every trip.

Jamison’s Fishing Philosophy…

Jamison’s fishing philosophy is simple and expressed as: let the fish be the prize, not the expectation.

He’ll work hard to put you on fish – that’s his job and his reputation – but the best days on the water are the ones where the conversation is good, the scenery is stunning, and the catch is a bonus on top of an already great adventure.

That’s what keeps people coming back…