Obnoxious Guides

[RexW]

SM, I was in Branson last week and fished Taneycomo for the first time Friday morning. My daughter was with me and we had a great time. There was no generation that morning and I agree with your comments, that is an excellent place to learn how to FF for trout. It was easy wading and there are a whole lot of trout in there. That was the first time I've ever had a dozen trout cluster around my feet. I've heard about it happening, but that was the first time I've actually seen it. That was cool.

We got there early and only fished for a few hours. We had a section of water to ourselves, but it looked like some of the other access points were more crowded. As we were packing up to leave, about a half dozen folks arrived and headed down to the water where we had been fishing.

By shear dumb luck we went to the River Run Outfitters shop on Thursday. There were a couple shops in that area and I just picked one at random. It was a lucky guess, because that is a really nice fly shop. They gave me some good advice on where to access the lake and how to fish it. They were very helpful and friendly.

It sounds like we also got lucky when we didn't run into any of the people that you mentioned on the water or in the parking lot. We sure had a lot of fun that morning. I want to go back and do it again.

Rex

[SilverMallard]

SM, I was in Branson last week and fished Taneycomo for the first time Friday morning. My daughter was with me and we had a great time. There was no generation that morning and I agree with your comments, that is an excellent place to learn how to FF for trout. It was easy wading and there are a whole lot of trout in there. That was the first time I've ever had a dozen trout cluster around my feet. I've heard about it happening, but that was the first time I've actually seen it. That was cool.

We got there early and only fished for a few hours. We had a section of water to ourselves, but it looked like some of the other access points were more crowded. As we were packing up to leave, about a half dozen folks arrived and headed down to the water where we had been fishing.

By shear dumb luck we went to the River Run Outfitters shop on Thursday. There were a couple shops in that area and I just picked one at random. It was a lucky guess, because that is a really nice fly shop. They gave me some good advice on where to access the lake and how to fish it. They were very helpful and friendly.

It sounds like we also got lucky when we didn't run into any of the people that you mentioned on the water or in the parking lot. We sure had a lot of fun that morning. I want to go back and do it again.

Rex

It can be a lot of fun if someone isn't out there trying to ruin it for everybody. As previously stated, I have been fly fishing Taneycomo since 1998. And I have NEVER seen anything like what I experienced a couple of weeks ago. On rare ocassions, you run into one or two knuckleheads that you can easily get away from. Everyplace is like that. But what we experienced a couple of weeks ago was just shockingly obnoxious and seemed to be going on everwhere we looked...not just to us. So I figured it was time to speak out about it and let these goofs know that they weren't doing themselves any favors. We can only hope it calms down and gets back to normal.

[mantis]

Sil, just wanted to say I enjoyed your post. Interesting and well written. I feel for you my friend. We have people like that back in the East too. On the other hand it makes a good guide even more appreciated.... Bob

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

In the 1970's I moved to Vancouver island so I went out with a guide to learn the local hot spots for the Coho Salmon and the giant Chinook that frequent that area. We fished a tide race between two Islands unsuccessfully for about 3 hours when I spotted the birds diving, Herring jumping, and an occasional coho leaping clear of the surface about 300 yards or so from our position. I pointed it out to my guide who absolutly refused to head over there saying that isn't a good spot and He at least was a professional who knew something about salmon leaving me with the impression that I was not a pro and didn't know diddely about salmon. I told him I was finished for the day and we went ashore and I shelled out the 1/2 day $200.00 fee.

I got my 12foot off the racks and quickly went out to that "poor spot" then proceeded to catch fish after fish till the tide slacked. It seemed that the flood tide pushed the herring up against the rock wall at that spot. The coho keyed on that fact. I fished that area most that summer catching coho and quite a few Chinook over 30 lbs and one over 50. My "poor spot" was always the most productive for me. Every time I watched my ex guide out on the water I would blow my air horn at him so he could see where I was. I never saw him fish there. I often would clean my fish near his mooring spot at the marina to rub it in a bit. He was not a very good fisherman and I learned that he didn't have a guides permit. I pitied the poor suckers that he took out because they would spend large bucks and learn nothing from him.

[SilverMallard]

In the 1970's I moved to Vancouver island so I went out with a guide to learn the local hot spots for the Coho Salmon and the giant Chinook that frequent that area. We fished a tide race between two Islands unsuccessfully for about 3 hours when I spotted the birds diving, Herring jumping, and an occasional coho leaping clear of the surface about 300 yards or so from our position. I pointed it out to my guide who absolutly refused to head over there saying that isn't a good spot and He at least was a professional who knew something about salmon leaving me with the impression that I was not a pro and didn't know diddely about salmon. I told him I was finished for the day and we went ashore and I shelled out the 1/2 day $200.00 fee.

I got my 12foot off the racks and quickly went out to that "poor spot" then proceeded to catch fish after fish till the tide slacked. It seemed that the flood tide pushed the herring up against the rock wall at that spot. The coho keyed on that fact. I fished that area most that summer catching coho and quite a few Chinook over 30 lbs and one over 50. My "poor spot" was always the most productive for me. Every time I watched my ex guide out on the water I would blow my air horn at him so he could see where I was. I never saw him fish there. I often would clean my fish near his mooring spot at the marina to rub it in a bit. He was not a very good fisherman and I learned that he didn't have a guides permit. I pitied the poor suckers that he took out because they would spend large bucks and learn nothing from him.

Ummm...YOU obviously learned something from your trip with him. So maybe others did, too. You learned:

1. He was NOT a decent guide.
2. Where the fish WEREN'T.
3. Where some of the fish actually WERE...because you could see them from where that dork had you fishing.
4. Check references extensively before hiring a guide...because it's easy to get ripped off if you don't.

When checking references, an angler should remember that other area fishing businesses are NOT the best source of opinion. Their professionalism generally prevents them from speaking candidly about other businesses in their community. It will at least make them reserved/hesitant in most cases. The best source is other anglers YOU KNOW who have hired guides in the area. If you don't have any of those in your contact list, then asking the RIGHT QUESTIONS of a wide sampling of other fishing business owners in the area is key. My favorite is this: If YOU weren't in the business and you were hiring a guide, would YOU hire so-and-so...or who WOULD you hire? Ask enough people this question that you start getting the same answers. That's the guide to hire. Usually, if you call six businesses, you'll get the same answer 2-4 times. If you call 10, you'll get the same answer 4-6 times. Don't forget lodging establishments that see a lot of anglers. Another GREAT source is the local/area FFF club (or other fly fishing club). But check their officers and board members for guides and fly shop owners to see what natural bias might lie there before asking for referrals. If they refer you to club officers/board members, discount that advice by 50% due to "politics."