There are likely quite a few guides, ex-guides, part-time guides, want to quit your desk job and become guides, ... and the rest of us ... here. I think it would be a cool thing to suggest the do's and don'ts for clients during a guided fishing trip. Both serious and not serious tips. Help me out with this one guys. ...

Serious ones:

- Listen to your guide's directions and follow thru.

- Don't start whining if you haven't caught a fish; especially the first half of your trip!

- Don't ask other guide boats "how are you guys doing"? Let the guides take care of that if they feel it appropriate.

- Don't wear strong cologne or bring bananas along. Even though that won't change your luck it does cause some superstitous guides to go bananas.

- Do tip your guide a small amount if you can afford it and they have worked hard and long to get you fish and entertain you. This is especially true if they get you a pile of fish with more market value than the guide's fees.

- Do understand it's most often not the guide's fault if the fish go off the bite during the day you go.

- Do understand that guide's fees are fair. They work very long tough days and have a lot of operating expenses. They also give you years of developed skill that you can learn from. ...

OK, some NOT serious ones:

- Don't ever backlash your guide's level wind reels more than once per day! In WA & OR it's now legal for a guide to kill a client for backlashing more than once!

- Go ahead and bring some bananas along and if your guide gets *n*l about it then with your best Brooklyn accent tell him "hey, I got your banana right here". You paid for the ride.

- Don't give your guide the measles. Don't give anyone the measles. ... Sorry about that, it's late and I couldn't think of a third one .

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: RT 1 ]

As an ex-guide in The Louisana Marsh, here are a few of mine:

Don't expect that your guided trip will be the best day of fishing in your life, just because you paid for it. Your guide wants to put you in to a ton of fish, as badly as you.

Don't be late. It can make the difference between getting to a great spot in time, or watching others enjoy the fun.

Don't be afraid to ask if there is anything you can do to help out. I could make a big difference in the results of your trip.

No freakin bananas

Don't assume the guide is your slave. He/She is there to help you have a great fishing experience.

Don't base your tip on the amount of fish you catch, but rather how hard your guide works to make your trip a good one. If you catch a bunch of fish, then toss in a few extra bucks

Don't ask other boats how they are doing. Your guide is fully capable of figuring that out all by themselves.

Do ask if there is anyhting you need to bring (i.e. suncscreen, lunch, pop, raingear). You would be suprosed how many people show up without raingear. I've had many a wet rides home, while my client wore my rain gear.

Do ask where to get a liscense. Some guides actually can issue them on board. Most don't

Do ask how long you will be out on the water. Some people (diehards) will want to fish daylight to dark. Others will be more than happy with 5 or 6 hours on the water.

Do go on your trip with the intention of learning some new techniques, and sharing a good day on the water. Like I always say, "The fishing is always great, sometimes the catching is slow".

O.K., you guides out there, what's the consensus on a client bringing along a handheld GPS to mark a few waypoints (especially on a saltwater charter)... does them paying for their spot on the boat give them a right to mark the honey holes?

-N.

Since both of the replys say "Don't" ask other boats how they are doing... I'm curious why this is. When I'm fishing I will ask people every now and then how they are doing. Sometimes people floating will be quite willing to let you know one way or the other. Then there are the occasional ones that keep their days fishing closer to the vest. Does it have something to do with one guide finding out how the other guide really did(good or bad)? Just wondering why there seems to be a shroud of secrecy around a drift boat that has a guide on the oars.

Well, I haven't chimed in for a bit, so I'll give this one a try.

Tips to get your money's worth:

First, do make sure they're licensed, both by the state and the Coast Guard. Not only is that the law, it means they are trained in water safety, CPR, etc. Though rare, bad things can happen on rivers.

I haven't bought a guide for years, but the reasons I did were to learn a new technique or learn a new river. So...

Pay attention to everything the guide does. Some guides keep up a constant patter about what they're doing, but most don't. Ask questions.

Example:

Guide: Put the plugs out 40 feet.
(client does so, then...)
Client: Why 40 feet? Is that a general rule, or does it fit this spot particularly?

Get answers, that's what you're paying for.

Guides generally will do everything except reel in a fish for you if you want or need. However, what you want to do is do as much by yourself as possible so as to maximize your learning and fishing time. If you hand the rod to the guide everytime you break off a leader or get a backlash, he or she can't row while fixing you up, so down goes the anchor and time is wasted. I'm sure that 90% of the folks on this board know how to rig a rod and bait up. If you do, then do it. If you don't, then pay attention, ask a few questions, and learn how to do it yourself ASAP. Not only will the guide appreciate it, but you'll get more fishing time.

This is not to be construed as to mean that guides don't always work while out with a client, because they do, but the harder you work to catch a fish, the harder they'll work to hook you up. Basic human nature.

Make your guide feel like he's part of your trip, not just a work horse. Include him in your conversations with your fishing buddy, and include him in pictures of you with your fish. Be polite and courteous. Just like the last example, the more they like you, the harder they'll work to hook you up.

Absolutely DO recommend a good guide to anyone and everyone who wants to know. They get the majority of their business from either repeat customers or word of mouth advertising by pleased customers. If you heard from someone else about your guide, tell him who.

If a guided trip results in no hookups, it is not likely the guide's fault. Don't rip him when you get together with your buddies. Hopefully you paid attention and learned enough to make it worth your while, even if there were no hookups.

If a guide's a jerk, that is his fault and rip him to anyone who will listen. That word of mouth thing works both ways, and guide or not, we all look bad when fishermen act like jerks on the river.

Lastly, if a guide works for a service or resort, or is working for another guide that day, report good guiding directly to the guide's boss. Far too often they only hear the bad things about their guides.

Fish on...

Todd.

I agree fully that the tip for a guide should be based on how hard the guy works for you. I also think on the guide's part that some could go a long was in improving their river karma by even saying HI on the river. I say hello, what's happin' to folks I meet. Most of the time people are friendly back. Unfortunatly some of the guides seem bothered by a simple hello. I try to stay friends with everyone I meet on the river. You never know when you might need some help. Granted the likely hood of a guide sticking his boat aren't as great as that of a weekend warrier, but I've picked up a guide's gear on the Duc a couple of years back after he dumped his boat. A simple "Hello, not too bad" can go a long way toward keeping things happy on the river.

i have found that there are 2 types of guides, the normal type guide who says hi and will b-s with you and the arogant guide who thinks he`s gods gift to fishing. a simple hi to him on the water will tell you what one he is.

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: dogsalmon ]

Guide's attitudes on the river vary quite a bit, just as with everyone. I dislike it when some of them are just grummpy to everyone out there as if they are all intruding on 'their' river. I think you have to realize how tired some get during the season and always face the pressure of getting clients fish within crowds of other boats. Still not a good excuse to grump for no apparent reason to other fishers though. ... As for the thing about not asking other guided parties how they are doing while you with another guide, it's that often one guide will be fortunate in hitting a group of fish and the other guide didn't. You don't want to make the group and guide that didn't find the fish feel worse than they already are. Simple as that; not anything about being secretive.

RT

Here are a few of my do's and dont's, first, don't base your tip on the amount of fish in the box, I work a hell of a lot harder to catch fish on the slow days then on the good days. Second, don't second guess your guide, I hate when a guest tells me he did great last year at spot "X" why can't we fish there now, most times they don't have a clue where they fished yesterday, let alone last year. Do what your guide instructs you to do, I'm on the water every day of the summer and I know what works and what doesn't, it amazes me when people pay the amount they do then won't follow simple instuctions, I have fished with people from all over the world and some of the worst are guys who fish Puget Sound a few times a year, think they know everything and don't listen to a word I say, usually, his buddies who know little or nothing about fishing end up catching most of the fish.
StorminN feel free to bring your GPS on my boat, there are so many charter boats where I fish that there really aren't many "secret spots".