I am going to start my own gude business. I know it is alot of work and time consuming. I was wondering if any one had any suggestions. I know about claiming taxes and insurance.
Find out what sort of licenses you need. Your home state will require some sort of business license. If using a motorized boat, you’ll need a coast guard license. If looking to guide in national forests you might need a permit for them, and I believe all national parks require permits. Yellowstone is no longer issuing new permits, for example, and I don’t know if similar situations apply elsewhere. If you can’t get permits for water you want to guide, try to arrange something with an outfitter who does have a permit.
Also, check regulations for guiding on state lands. In Missouri you cannot guide on Conservation Dept land, for example.
Advertising and promotion are what will get you business. Get a good business card. You can use www.vistaprint.com, but get the cards you have to pay for and jump for the thicker paper. You need either a basic website and a great brochure or a great website and a basic (single-page even) brochure/flyer. My money is on the latter option these days. Look into letterhead or plain old mailing labels. Give some fly manufacturers a call to try to get wholesale guide pricing on flies, especially if you plan to include them in the price of the day.
Also, check your IM.
I’m not sure what the requirements are in Vermont, but most states have licensing and permit requirements to guide on state waters. In the West, the permit is the tough one, as there are a limited number available for each particular body of water, and they are usually held by a fly shop with its own guide service. Most states also require guides/outfitters to have first aid and CPR training, and if they are acting as an independent contractor they also must be registered with the state, and have a business license.
Many shops use independent contractors as guides, so they don?t have to do payroll taxes, provide benefits, etc. This is probably the easiest way to get into guiding. The shop typically handles the liability insurance and the permits. They set the fee schedule and determine the amount that the guide gets; a sliding scale based on how long you?ve worked for a particular shop. The shop is limited as to how much control they can exercise over you; check the IRS regulations concerning independent contractors.
Did you hear about the fishing guide that won the lottery? He was asked if he was going to quit working. He said, “No I plan to keep on guiding until I run out of money”.
Hope your not a family man with kids–if you are they shouldn’t see much of you on weekends when their home and your out with weekend clients------ 
BILL
I dont have kids thank god i just finished my first year of college. I have some people i am taking out this summer just to show them around for free so i dont have to get insurance right now i cant afford until next fishing season. Vermont has very easy process on getting a guide licensce and its good for any water. I wont be using a boat just river fishing wading and walking trout streams.
I’m sorry. I never do this, but you did say you’re in college. >----. wait (not wate)
Save all your receipts.
Hey Gramps,
Ya should hadda outta caught im on the “licensce” and not the “wate” in which he probably meant “water”.
Mark 
William…
Good Point…
But unlike me… I get about 4-6 hours of sleepa night…if that…
Im on the water at 10pm… and off by 4am (sometimes 7am) depending on the bite…I get the wife up for school (or work) depending on the day… and Im home with with the kids all day… and the just want to play… (I do catch about a 2 hour before going back out)
and I do it again the next night… then I take my night off… unless the bite has been awesome… or it the fall…
I loving guiding at night… I get my fishing in (and its never crowded)… Im home with the kids… and the wife… well she is getting use to it…
Leonard
No need to now. 
Lots of good guides out there.
I prefer the SIC guides from Fuji, and some of the guides from AmTac are first rate, but there is always room in the market for superior products.
Lighter, stronger, slicker. Push the envelope and we can all build better rods.
Oh, you weren’t talking about THAT kind of guide?
Good luck with THAT one…
Buddy
If you guide on Federal lands, you WILL need a special use permit. In some areas, one agency or another does all of the permits, but in others, each agency permits for their lands. Which means if you guide on a river that runs through both BLM and FS lands, you need both permits. In many cases, those permits are issued in limited numbers, and you may not be able to acquire one, at all, for the places you wish to work. On my district, we only have two or three permits that cover fishing, for almost half a million acres. Those permits also have a fee, to cover the cost of the environmental analysis that goes with them, and you may have to pay a percentage of your income as part of the permit costs.
I would seriously recommend talking to your local wildlife officials and any public landowners where you wish to work.
Good for you vtfisher, I know you’ll enjoy fly fishing guiding. I have a question though if you don’t mind. Have you hired a fly fishing guide and if so, more than once? I really hope you take up fly fishing guiding and I think that every fly fisher should at least try it for a while.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
2 Cents worth
Congratulations on your decision.
You should have no lack of clientelle up there as most of the flatlanders (aka outta staters) wont have a clue where to go except the LL Bean catalog. :lol:
Ive tried to encourage my brother to take up guiding since he is a sporting psyco and is out if he isnt at work. Problem is he wont do it 'cause that would “detract” from his field/ water time.
Dont discount the boat aspect, there is too much opportunity there ,dont waste those oppotunities.(Lake trout perhaps?Notherns in St. Albans Bay and up north a bit. PERCH! in No. Hero? Walleye at the mouth of the Winooski? should I go on?) Too many places , not enough cash or me to go around. Wish I were there , the winooski would surely feel my rod (and lets not forget the North East Kingdom either.)
Cant think of a prettier place to work.
Go get um.
I don’t care what kind of business a person starts…flower shop, nursery, day care center, restaurant, or guide biz…it’s more about business than it is about the activity. Being a fishing guide is about being a business person and an entrepreneur moreso than about being a fisherman.
Fishing and hunting guides who actually make a living at it are better business people than the vast majority who just subsidize their obsession.
So my advice would be…since you said you are a college student…take courses that prepare you to be a superior entrepreneur. That means some business classes like basic accounting and finance, biz law, biz management, marketing, and advertising. But it ALSO means taking good classes in the social sciences, economics, statisitcs, computer science (not programming/engineering, but the “how to use them” stuff generally falling into Management of Information Systems and web marketing), ENGLISH (especiall writing), public speaking (incredibly important), wildlife management/biology, and physical education (specifically for sports/rec business professionalization).
But some things you should consider doing IMMEDIATELY are: first aid and cpr, water safety, lifeguard certification from the American Red Cross; a reputable guide school (you’re not far from Orvis’); an FFF casting instructor certification; and an outdoor cooking class. And that’s since you ruled out boats. If you were going to use boats, my FIRST recommendation would be the USCG Uninspected Vessel “6-pack” license for your region. And THAT’S no small undertaking by itself.
I would not consider starting a guide biz without being able to design and maintain my own quality website. So that means a good tech school class in web design.
There are a LOT of facts about hunting/fishing guiding that 90% of hunters/anglers do NOT know. And those things cover most of the secrets to being successful. For example: most successful (meaning they earn a primary bread-winner’s wage doing it as their primary occupation) guides make a substantial chunk of their income from writing, making videos, doing seminars, and/or doing TV shows. And if you do not have a “TV/radio personality” or the ability to write well enough to get published, you are NOT going to be a successful guide. Outdoor rec is ENTERTAINMENT. And if you are not an entertainer type with good outdoor skills, you’re in the wrong business. People skills are just as important if not moreso than outdoors skills. If I had to rank them in general, I would say: people skills, entrepreneurial business skills, and THEN outdoors skills. The VAST majority think it goes: outdoors skills, people skills, business skills. And that is why they do not earn a decent living doing it.
You also need to be aware that about 90% of guides burn out on it within 3 years. So while you’re preparing for all of this stuff, make darned sure to hedge your bets and prepare yourself to do something ELSE at the same time.
Now, if all you really want is to enroll in some guide programs for discounts on gear and write off the expenses of your obsession, then you can join the other 3/4 of guides out there and ignore most of my advice.
I think having a business I could run from a laptop and go fishing a lot sounds like a better deal.
Should be a comma in there somewhere.
The voice of wisdom!
there is some great wisdom in these posts. Here are some questions:
- Do you like to fish?
In most states (and this is true for most quality quides, if regulated or not) guides cannot fish while in the presence of clients. This is primarily for safety, but also ethics. Think about this… if you are fishing a hole and a catch a trophy, what do you tell the clients who may be thinking “that could have been my fish”?
- Do you like to have a restful time in the wilderness during your summer breaks?
Guides cannot ever let their guard down while working. You have to expect that the average client spends very little time walking in the woods, walking in flowing water, is an expert caster, knows how to play a fish or land a fish, knows which fly to tie on, or how to cast without breaking rods/tying wind knots etc (not true for all clients of course!!!). Thus the majority of your time will be spent guiding working hard guiding the client and not resting.
- Do you handle conflict well?
While 95% of your clients will be excited to be out fishing and understand when the bite is off… there is almost always that percentage that cannot be pleased, no matter what you do. How you handle these situations will make or break you.
- Are you a good teacher?
Every client, on every trip should go away with an increased knowledge of the sport, have more effective technique, know how to read the water better, etc.
Guiding is an excellent occupation, but takes a lot of work. Very, Very few can make a living at it (or pay college tuition for that matter). Have you considered working for a shop/lodge/guide to get your feet wet? That would be an excellent introduction to the business of guiding…
Whatever the case, good luck.
To some extent I agree with but…
99% of the guides who guide during the “DAY”… WILL sight fish for big fish… I CAN NOT do that because of the lack of light :lol:
I do get out scout and find the bigger fish, than start my clients on where I believe the fish would be… yes Ive been wrong…
Also I give my clients a choice…
would you want to try for a trophy fish first… (or)
would you like to catch a few fish… and then go searching for the bigger ones…
(They always choose 2 first)
YES… I fish right next to them… but when the bite starts… or I find a pattern that I know can get them on fish… I put my rod up and “Coach” them on different styles of strips and drifts… and show the the most likely location the fish would be… Plus I always looking … Midging fish (yes they midge at night), wildlife, active fish, other people, and even BEAVERS ( I hate those things!!)
Next…
I know If I caught a big fish with a client… I know then Im in a good location… simple fact… during “ANY” spawn (anytime really) with there is one big fish there will be a couple more…