Choosing A Guide |
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| A couple years ago I was walking through the aisles, admiring the different booths at the local sport fishing show down at the Kingdom. A small poster on the table of some outfitter read, "Guide is not spelled, G O D." I have never forgotten that. Some of my best friends are fishing guides, and as you might guess, we talk. Not about you of course! One of the most common mistakes I see anglers make is; they are not particularly good consumer shoppers, when it comes to picking a new guide. Let me dispel one idea right off the top, there simply is NOT one fishing guide that does everything. I will be the first to admit it. I certainly am not. Guides specialize: Some specialize on certain waters, all specialize in certain fishing gear. Different guides offer differing levels of expertise in their fishing. "If you don’t know the jewel, know the jeweler." The best advertising is always, word of mouth. If your buddy has been fishing with someone and feels very comfortable with him and your angling goals are the same as his, you will probably have a good time. This concept of angling goals is not a little thing, it can make or break your trip. The angling goal is defined as "Your expectation of the trip" "Tell them what you want." The single most important thing you can do, is to tell your potential guide, what it is you are looking for in your trip. Lets say, you have fly fished steelhead all over the world, caught tons, and would just like to be out on the water with someone who understands and appreciates the finer things in the angling tradition. Climbing in the boat to find blood from yesterdays fish, and a half jar of salmon eggs sitting next the two plug rods he just stuffed in the back of the boat, is NOT the way to start your day! Popular is not always better. Not for you. What does that mean? Different guides market in different ways. Some work from shops, some advertise in magazines, some do the club slide show circuit. Some just do it long enough, over time develop a client base. As in other businesses, some guides simply market better than others. Does that make them better on the water? Not always. Depends on what you are looking for in a guide. Case in point: one of my guiding buddies is very popular, very successful, His nock? Hates to teach. He doesn't care for "newbies" in his boat because they take a lot of attention and they don’t catch fish. Makes him look bad. The angler who will come away frustrated? The guy looking for his first fish. Your Question: "I am fairly new to this, Do you like to teach beginners?" AC/DC This is the guide who primarily fishes one style of gear but is more than willing to take out someone who wants to specialize. Another example, Hal and I traveled to the Gold River and fished with Matt. Hal really only enjoys two fisheries, Flyfishing for steelhead and flyfishing for tarpon. Very specific needs. Matt is a super guy and really knows his water...... and dink bobbers. He was absolutely shocked to find out that in four days of fishing, we not only strictly flyfished, we actually caught fish! The Ellensburg boys from the week prior, who caught a bunch of Dean River fish, flyfishing, went over to dink bobber fishing by the middle of their first day. "Safety Net fishing" Forks is full of these guides. Question: How many of you guys carry your fly rod along on every guided trip, just in case the conditions are Just Right for fishing the fly, because you really want to catch a steelhead on a fly. And then spend most of the day fishing gear, because you Really Really, want to catch one too. The guide is not dumb, he knows if the fishing gets slow, he can revert back to the style of fishing that he KNOWS he can catch fish with. The client who is unhappy with this trip? The angler who has caught all his gear fish, now he wants to learn how to catch a steelhead on a fly. Guides specialize. Ask The Right Questions: Before telling the guide what you are looking for, ask him about waters, and how he Prefers to fish them. If you are on a specific mission, as catching that first steelhead on a fly, tell him so. If his response is something in the order of, "Well not really, but I know where all the fly boys fish." Know This: I don't care if he knows where every fish in the river lives, Don’t Book this Trip!! Not if you feel you are still learning how to catch them on a fly. Why? So is he. What do I do when I get someone who simply wants to catch a steelhead? Doesn’t care how? I find out what river they want to fish and I send them to a guide friend who fishes gear. Why? Flyfishing steelhead is tuff. You have to want to. My gear guide friends do the same for me, for the guy who simply wants to flyfish. Guides specialize by doing what they do over and over, day in and day out. You simply can't get good at a style of fishing that you don’t do. Is one gear style of fishing better than another? Only in the eyes of the angler booking the trip. Ask the right questions and tell them what you want. |
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E-mail Dennis at DDDicksons@aol.com ,or phone at
(425) 238-3537 - |