Thinking of becoming a guide?

[blue gill]

Well I am 25 and have seriously thinking of becoming a guide on the white river system and am wanting some input on it good or bad some helpful info would be nice. Also what about guide school is it all that it is crack up to be or is it just a expensive fishing trip that youdon't really get to fish on. I already know how to drive manuver a boat. Hve been doing it since I was knee high to a grass hopper which was about 10 years ago. So what do you have to do to become a guide?

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Alex

[alaskanfishguides]

Bluegill,

Go for it man!

Guiding is way different than fishing for fun, however. Before guiding, if I didn't feel like fishing (wasn't very often), I didn't go. If the weather was unbearable, I stayed home. If the fishing was lousy, I'd quit and go back another day.

On the other hand, as a guide, there is a self-imposed pressure to catch fish. You fish no matter what! You need to have plenty of stories to fill the time when the fishing isn't non-stop action.

Being a guide is way more than being a good fisherman, though that is a start. You also need to be a leader, an instructor, an expert with regulations, a medic, a cook, an entertainer, a mechanic, a janitor, and at times a baby-sitter.

Though it is rare, there is a small percentage of clients that cannot be pleased no matter what. Many guides think, "I can stand anyone for 8 hours." My premise is that it is my boat, if a person is ruining the experience for the rest of the boat, it's back to the dock with a refund. Thankfully I haven't had to take anyone home yet, but a guide must have the good of the order in mind and be willing to make the difficult decisions.

All that being said, I can't think of a better profession! I truly love seeing folks landing the biggest fish of their lives; or any fish for that matter. I love showing people the river and wilderness that I consider my back yard. I love to serve.

If you enjoy being around and helping people, are a natural leader and willing to go the extra mile, guiding is an extremely rewarding adventure. And besides that, people actually pay you to go fishing! It really doesn't get any better than that.

Some advice: Don't go into debt for anything as a guide. No debt = No pressure, gives you plenty of options and freedoms. I fish because I love it, not becuase I have to make a boat payment!

Also, get to know your local gear reps. Most reputable companies want you to use their gear and offer great pro pricing (plenty of restrictions apply). In fact, many of the manufacturers that sponsor this site will have guide programs.

Finally, promoting a guide business is all about repeat customers and referrals. It will take some time to build a client list, but well worth the sweat. Make your customers happy fishers and the catching suddenly becomes secondary.

If there is a way that I can help you out, shoot me an email (address in profile).

Good luck.

Ed

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

blue gill

On the left hand side of the page click on FEATURES then Click on Al Campbell , then scroll down to the bottom of the page and read Al's enlightening article about becoming a guide . If you still want to become a guide after reading what AL has to say about it , go for it !

Hey Blue Gill..


Lets talk sometime...

Im trying to become a guide myself.. Im not really on the White river.. but a part of it, Taneycomo...

What I have found out is (if anyone want to correct me they are more then welcome!!)

1st.. Money has to be very important to start..
2nd.. I believe you need the be a certifed casting instector.. your going to have alot of people who cant cast
3rd.. If you going to use a drift I dont think you need a CCL (Coast Gaurd Lis.) but if you use a boat with a moter you need one. from what I hear that it seft takes abot $1000.. and its in St.Louis (I believe)
4th.. Insurance is a b**ch.. from what I hear locally all guide (in the drift boats) carries a 1mil Ins policy (just in case of a death or a personal injury)
5th.. alot to more add but not enough time..

Here is my Email addy lkeeney@earthlink.net=LKEENEY

shoot me an email or give me a call (417-779-8061).. I wont be around today or tomorrow.. but should be home all day Sunday..Lets Talk.. maybe we can help each other get started..


[This message has been edited by Leonard (edited 20 January 2006).]

[WarrenP]

Just a couple thoughts:

You will not be paid to go fishing...you are being paid to take someone else fishing and you will not be fishing.

Take a CPR course...a client can have a heart attack.

Have a cell phone that gives a constant signal so that in an emergency, someone can locate you by GPS

There is a lot more that others can contribute to this profession. It is not all that most people think it is. It requires a lot of responsibility on your behalf.

Just my $.01 worth.

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Warren



[This message has been edited by WarrenP (edited 20 January 2006).]

[fcch]

BG, ...

I agree with Gnu Bee's idea, ... Click on Al Campbell's column: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/ac112601.html:aff14]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/ac112601.html[/url:aff14]

Some ideas to ponder.

Also some threads ... [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/013577.html:aff14]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/013577.html[/url:aff14] [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015050.html:aff14]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015050.html[/url:aff14]

That said, ... GO FOR IT!!

imho, ... you'll never know if you don't try it.

e-mail me if you like.

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Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015738.html:aff14]2006 FishIn Ste-Marguerite River[/url:aff14]

[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:aff14]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:aff14]

[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 20 January 2006).]

[Fullwells]

Bluegill, first of all, you need to decide just how important flyfishing is to you. I got into the guiding game about 6 years ago, and after about three seasons I had some experiences that nearly took the enjoyment out of the sport for me. At that point I decided to step back a bit and diversify. I went from doing 90 plus trips a season to doing 30 or so, and was alot happier.
Guiding is a lot of work. Everyone that wants to be a guide, I think realizes this somewhat, though they never truly appreciate it until it's too late.
Leonard is right about a couple of things. First, it is pretty expensive. If you guide throgh a shop, in all likelyhood they'll provide rods, waders and such to the sports. Everything else is usually up to you. To give you some idea: I just went over my tackle receipts for this past season. Heres the breakdown; 32 full day trips, after tips figure an average of 350 to 400 a day before expenses. mileage $3700 and change, flies, tippet, lines, leaders, indicators, split shot and so on $2650 (at a 30% shop discount or pro deal pricing) Lunches, drinks $1200 (aprox.)
You do the math. Thats more like a hobby than a living as far as I'm concerned, and thats considering that I didn't have to pay for the outfitter liscense, insurance or river permits.
One more bit of advice. You needn't be a casting instructor; you're only guiding most folks for a day or two at the most and that's not enough time to even begin to get them to the point where they can get a dryfly where it needs to be. The thing to do is figure out ways to get the client onto fish without having to cast well ie nymphing. Get good at nymphing and your sucess as a guide will increase greatly.

[blue gill]

Sounds like fun to me I like teaching people and also like learning new things. For some reason I like to sit back and watch someone fish rather than fish don't get me wrong I do love to fish I have been fishing since I was 3 years old now I am 25 now and am not looking to stop fishing anytime soon. It seems to me that I need to find a good casting instructor and I need to do a cpr class and update my phone thanks for the info and keep it coming.

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Alex

[LadyFisher]

Once you've made the decision, you need to become really familar with the water(s) you will be guiding on. That includes where the fish are in every possible water/weather and season condition. It's more than dishonest to call yourself a guide if you for sure can't put your clients on fish. (You should have been here yesterday is not acceptable).

The region you live in has a long season, but for folks guiding in more northern places, you'll find the ability to have clients is much more limited. For example, we used to figure in Livingston MT we had a 45 day season. Yes, there were a few beyond that, but not enough to make a living. Most guides held 2nd jobs...and since you are only available for 'part' of the year, they aren't the top of the line jobs either.

If I were to do it today, I'd include some things to make my services 'special' - like a video of the client casting or landing a fish, or at least good digital photos of the trip. A shore lunch is standard in some places, the better the lunch, the happier the client. Great stuff can be done with a little planning.

And finally, once you've done everything to get licensed (varies greatly from state to state) it is your attitude and ability which makes your business. Oh, and did I mention it IS a business?

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[Joe Hyde]

Hi Blue Gill,


The very first thing I recommend you do is inquire about how much your guide service insurance will cost.

Leonard wisely cited $1 million as the basic coverage you should carry. It's true; we unfortunately live in a society where many, many people love filing lawsuits. The idea of an "honest accident" by a guide is alien to their way of thinking.

And it's not just on-the-water insurance that will cover you and your clients and their equipment during the fishing trips. You will occasionally (perhaps mainly) be transporting clients and their gear in your personal vehicle. That means your auto insurance must be expanded from the existing personal-type coverage to a comprehensive business-type policy. Trust me: you will notice a price jump.

Once you add together these two insurance expenses (operation and vehicle) you can make a rough calculation of how much money you need per year just to operate your business. (Money above equipment start-up expenses.)

The hard part about starting up a guide service is wondering if you'll book enough clients to pay for the insurance alone. Forget making a profit and becoming an established fishing guide: honestly ask yourself if you stand to make enough money to pay your annual insurance bills?

A few years ago I bought boats, paddles, tents, other gear and fully equipped myself to go into business as a professional river canoeing guide. My guide service was going to specialize in unsupported long range wilderness-style downriver solo canoe trips on the Kansas River. My guide service was specifically constituted for taking ONE CLIENT AT A TIME downriver (client in his/her solo canoe, me in my solo canoe).

This restrictive arrangement was intended to reduce noise and thereby give every client the best possible chance to enjoy up-close wildlife viewing. But I also knew that taking only one client out at a time would be the safest possible way to paddle the river.

Still, to be sure about client safety I took First Aid classes, I acquired cell phone service; I wrote a lengthy pamphlet that explained my operating method to prospective customers. I did all sorts of little things to protect my would-be clients, and myself.

Thinking these steps would so impress an insurance agent that it would reduce my premium to near nothing, I was stunned when told how much the annual premium would cost...and this was from the only insurance carrier I could find who was willing to cover me. I simply could not afford the annual insurance, and although it broke my heart I gave up on becoming a river guide.

In my case, it turned out I'd done EVERYTHING bass-ackwards. I'd spent thousands of dollars outfitting a river guide service that died in the womb. (Well, at least I still have all the gear!)

One thing I know about you without even asking: You want to show people a good time on the river, but most of all you want each client to take away a deep appreciation of the river or rivers that you yourself find so beautiful and inspiring.

Client happiness and satisfaction isn't always about whether they catch fish, although catching something doubtless gets taken into account by most people.

I recently booked a springtime panfishing trip with a Kansas fly fishing guide who will be taking me to areas in the state that I've always wanted to fish but never have, including a considable amount of privately-owned water.

I'm not concerned about catching fish as much as I am just seeing some pretty new water, some new scenery. If there's one thing I hope to accomplish on my trip, it's to be the best client that this guide ever books. All the mental preparations I went through to become a guide myself, it really sensitized me to the quality-of-client issue. So I want to be someone who the guide remembers as being one of his better customers.


Joe

"Better small than not at all."