Wouldn't be too hoity-toidy but it goes a little to far when the Pizza is delivered from the 7-11 at base camp 2 with a free 2 liter bottle of oxygen !Originally Posted by dudley
Wouldn't be too hoity-toidy but it goes a little to far when the Pizza is delivered from the 7-11 at base camp 2 with a free 2 liter bottle of oxygen !
"As far down the river as he could see, the trout were rising, making circles on the surface of the water, as though it were starting to rain."- E.H., The Big Two Hearted River
I have hired a guide and would do it again. Sure, it can be expensive -- and once in awhile, the guide isn't too good and you know more about fishing than he ever will but, overall, I have had good luck fishing with guides and it is the only way to fish some rivers. For example the Big Horn or Missouri, Desheutes, Yakima, etc could be kind of fished in a few places by wading (depending on water levels)-- but you will cover more water and have a far better time by boat and unless you have a boat or suitable water craft you will need a guide to do it. I have a drift boat but that means I usually am the guy rowing it. So, for me, a guided trip is my chance to get to fish the whole river. I will hire a guide for the first time on a new river to learn the river -- and I tell him what I am doing - and then go it alone after that. They are typically very helpful.
Also, as mentioned, using a guide to learn a new river - where and how to fish it, channels, take outs, etc. is a time saver. For the most part, I suspect most of us don't need someone to tie our knots and flies on or show us how to fish as much as to get us to places where we can fish. I don't like going someplace new and spending all my time just trying to figure out how to gain access to the water. A guide can expedite the process. I have also fished with a guide - paying for the trip one day, and have him ask me if I wanted to go fishing with him the next day - no charge.
Local knowlege is always helpful.
Some guides, once they figure out that you can cast and know what your doing, will even take you places that they won't take the typical client. I suspect a huge part of the guiding business is trying to take a beginner fishing and that is probably difficult for the guide. My wife will go on trips with me and she isn't a real great fisherwoman but is at least willing to travel with me. Typically, the guide spends all his time with her and leaves me pretty much alone which is fine with me.
I have done a lot of exploring and new fishing adventures on my own. I have also paid for group "charters" when fishing off-shore in Florida, Hawaii, Lake Erie. I got a free guided fishing outing in Cabo San Lucas, which helped me add Roosterfish to my "life list of species". I did tip, so I guess it wasn't completely free (but not tipping would be rude!).
The only one-on-one guide I've hired was "Bonefish Whisperer" Cordell Baum. I hired him to show me where and how to catch Peacock Bass and other exotics around Miami. I would absolutely hire him again to hit some new spots, or when I'm ready to try for some other species down there, like bonefish or tarpon, etc. His knowledge and experience is well worth the $$$.
Last edited by FishnDave; 05-12-2011 at 02:41 PM.
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
Not really researched, just a quote from Jack that I've long remembered
It took me a while to wrap my brain around the 'pizza' part too, but that's the way Jack was
The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
--- Horace Kephart
Not to mention, take the fish off the hook!
Wouldn't be too hoity-toidy but it goes a little to far when the Pizza is delivered from the 7-11 at base camp 2 with a free 2 liter bottle of oxygen !
...and an order of wings...?
For those that would like to further get the Jack Gartside quote, try reading these, they are not fishing related in a sense, but are related to the idea that sport is suppose to be a challenge. To often today folks are able to pay their way to the top of Everest instead of doing the good ole fashion way, "learning and earning it".
No Shortcuts To The Top...Ed Viesturs
Into Thin Air...Jon Krakauer
High Crimes: The Fate Of Everest In An Age Of Greed...Micheal Kodas
I am not a mountaineer, but there is something I admire about them. They are made up of some good stuff. I got the Gartside quote right away.
Yeah EdD, with wings!
"As far down the river as he could see, the trout were rising, making circles on the surface of the water, as though it were starting to rain."- E.H., The Big Two Hearted River
Well, I was once in Alaska on a vacation and went to an Indian village where they were building totem poles. The indians (native Alaskan's) were using a chain saw to make the cuts in the logs. They also used chisels, gouges, etc. I commented that it didn't seem quite right for them to use a chain saw to build a totem pole as the old timers didn't have them and didn't use them. The Indians comment was pretty simple -- they would have used them if they could have. Thats kind of how I view the guide thing.
So, to each his own. Certainly a guide is not required or preferred by some but is a considered a good idea and economy for others. There is plenty of room for us all.
I usually retain a guide when fishing new streams. This is especially true on larger streams where we float with a guide a couple of days before we venture on to unknown waters with our pontoons.
I also like to hire a guide for steelhead stream fishing. These are not stream resident fish and are constantly on the move. The guides keep track of where the chromers are located.
Max
While some take pride in their ability to "learn for themselves" and be "self taught", and there is certainly nothing wrong with that, we must be mindful that human knowledge is a process of accumulation. We aquire knowledge both from personal experience and from the experiences of others. One cannot deny that a very large part of our knowledge is aquired from others. Hopefully, we take that, and add our own experience, and pass it on. Parents, teachers, books, siblings, peers, and mentors are all guides of a sort. Were it not for this cooperative effort, we would still be living in the trees. That is part of what makes us human. The knowledge of many is much more than the knowledge of one.
That being said, whether or not you use a guide in fly fishing is meerly a scratch on your knowledge base. The first time you talk on a chat line, post on a bb, or even read a book by that matter, you are using a guide. So be mindful of what you have learned from others and kindly pass on what you have learned to others. You are adding to that great human data base. As are the guides.
Bob
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