?'s for Guides

[mighty]

CAn I pick yall brains for a second?

If someone wanted to start guiding what should do?

What do they need to get started, ie insurance, etc.

What are some dos and don't of the trade?

Any other helpful info would be appreciated.

Thanx.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

Mighty, know the body of water your fishing and the location of the fish for the season.Insurance is a must to me[just in case,you never know].You must be informative,knowledgeable,friendly,courtous,part time baby sitter[gotta keep the youngsters havin fun],Have the patience of Jobe,And always try to make sure your clients have a good trip!Must have a dependable boat with enough room,plenty of equipment,be willing to work putting out attractors,finding new areas,answering phone calls & e-mails.I"ve just touched on the basics,Theres alot more.Also you must constantly strive to learn new metods,ect. . I always try to approch it as My Job! Sounds rough and sometimes it is but its also very rewarding!! Hope this Helps!

[Jerry Blake]

CAn I pick yall brains for a second?

If someone wanted to start guiding what should do?

What do they need to get started, ie insurance, etc.

What are some dos and don't of the trade?

Any other helpful info would be appreciated.

Thanx.

Hey Mighty:

Yes, I agree insurance is very important and you may not be able to get it through our local insurance agent since it will be for a commercial operation.

You may do it already but I would start by taking friends and family members fishing for a while - be their guide and see how it goes.

If you don't mind watching everyone else catch fish while you're running the boat, baiting hooks, untangling lines, netting fish, unhooking fish etc. and you can show them a good time and put them on some fish then you probably have what it takes to be a guide.

Then you can start taking a few trips part time and see how it goes. If you're in a popular fishing and tourist area you should be able "hook" some clients just by taking some flyers around to the resorts, motels and bait shops in your area.

Take pictures and include them in your flyers. A website is probably the cheapest and most productive form of advertising out there next to "word-of-mouth".

I'll be glad to help you out any way I can if you get serious about guiding. It's a lot more work than a lot of folks realize but it's also VERY rewarding.

I sure do enjoy it.

[Darryl Morris]

Ditto on everything Dennis and Jerry said. There are so many things you'll need to be FULLY rigged and ready to be a full-time, full-service guide, so it's absolutely imperative that you start out small and slow and build it up as the opportunity affords itself. Part-time is probably the key to that, and then one day there will be a breaking point where you'll know you can do it full-time, if that time ever comes. There's no sense to diving in head first and starving to death.

Your first line of marketing and if you're as lucky as I have been, you'll find a mentor to work with. A good relationship with other guides will get you referrals and bookings from their overflow. Effective marketing and advertising will work. Ineffective marketing and advertising is nothing but a waste of money. You've got to figure out what will get and KEEP your name and service in front of viable clients for your specific area. For example, in a high traffic, tourist area, fliers at all the hotels and resorts work great. Get to know all the managers and public relations directors so you can get referrals. If it's an area that isn't as tourist oriented but it's more of a fishing community, a website is going to get you more. You've got to have a good website in all cases and it will take almost two years before it even begins to crawl up the search engines, once submitted, and for you to be able to get it cross linked with other websites. Then it just takes time for you to build up repeat customers and word-of-mouth advertising.

You've also got to get on the water as much as you can not only catching fish with somebody, anybody, but also scouting and making habitat. This is the real work and dedication. And then last of all, much like what Jerry said about liking to watch and help others catch fish, it's not as much about catching fish as it is showing folks a great time when fishing. If they enjoy their trip, they'll come back again.

Like Solomon said, "There's nothing new under the sun." Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Just put the pieces you gather from here and there together to build it in a manner that will work for you and the amount of time you want to put into it. Sacrifice will be part of it, you'll just have to weigh the cost and decide if you're willing to pay that price. I could elaborate on that point in a PM if you wish. But, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing!!!

If I can help in any other way, just ask and good luck.

[1weezer]

I agree with Jerry and Darrell. Insurance is a MUST!, Good equipment is a MUST!, And the ability to bs with people all day is a MUST. The fish catching is always a nice bonus.
Most people that hire a guide usually want only a few things. Either to just get out on the lake and away from the every day hussle and bussle. Or they just want to learn how you fish in different situations. You don't have to catch limits for every one in the boat for people to be happy with the trip.
You don't have to go out and buy the most expensive equipment out there. But you need to be able to depend on your equipment. Theres nothing worse than taking some one on a fishing trip and your equipment don't work. There will always be things that will happen every now and then, but the boat and motor must be dependable and your fishing equipment must be in good shape.
I would say one of the most important things is to be able to carry on good conversations and show them a good time most all of the trip. I have been guiding for 10 years and have had plenty of days where the fish just would not cooperate, but I have never had any one that got upset because the fish would not bite. People know when your trying and when your not trying. One of the hardest things it took for me to do was to just relax, talk, and have a good time. I was so worried about every one catching fish, that I was not able to enjoy it. And that effected my fishing. If the fishing got slow, I would start getting nervous and start second guessing myself. You have to know and have confidence that you can catch just as many fish as any one else out on the lake. Just relax and have a good time and the fish WILL come. And if they don't come, then don't beat yourself up over it. Like I said, people know if your trying or if your not trying.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Darryl Morris]

One more thing and Dennis mentioned it - patience. When you guide you never know who you're going to get in your boat. Some are novice fishermen and others are experts both real and imagined. That's just the fishing experience we're talking about. You've also got to consider and adapt to the personalities and lifestyles of different people. You will get all kinds. I've had nice sweet families of four, single moms with kids and dads with sons. But I've also had homosexual couples and groups, beer drinking roughneck men who do nothing but pass gas and tell dirty jokes and groups of femi-nazi women who can do anything better than a man (even while you're guiding them). You will have to decide if this is something you can do or even want to do.

[1weezer]

Darryl, Just how did the femi-nazi women trip go? I bet that was a fun trip. LOL

[Billbob]

did they tinkle ouer the side???

[Darryl Morris]

Richard - not fun at all. They were the first and only trip I've had where I actually looked at her and said I have never put anyone out of my boat but she was very close to being the first. She calmed down and gave me a $50 tip at the end of the trip. I earned every penny.

Ted - Nope, that was the lesbians from Louisiana.

[1weezer]

I don't mind taking lesbians, but I will NOT take the other ones. There are just some things that a person just can not do. LOL