Finding a guide...

Finding a fishing guide seems easy, now thats theres the internet....

But in fact this makes finding a guide a little harder, because there are so many guides out there and you could never REALLY tell who's on fish. You could call a guide and ask him if he's on fish, but he might lie to you and just convince you that the fishing is key, and when you go and catch nothing.... Well he will try to blame it on the tide, or the weather.

So how do you find a good guide?

The answer is REPUTATION.
If a guide is well known, he will fish as hard as he can for his reputation, if you having friends that use fishing guides, ask them who they have been with.

For example: I personally fish in Florida for inshore species and peacock bass.
If you are ever in the Miami area and want to try something you have never tried before, give Capt. Alan Zaremba a call. http://www.floridapeacocks.com/
He is not only incredibly good at what he does, but he is a down to earth nice guy. With him you will catch Peacock bass and many "surprise" fish. By surprise fish, I mean beautiful fish you usually see in a pet shop.
My dad and I went fishing with Alan 3-4 times before, and we never forgot ANY of our experiences.

Thats pretty much what I mean about reputation, if I can only say good things about a guide odds are they know what they are doing. Remember this, guides their selves are not fish, therefore NOT miracle workers, some days could be crappy, but thats fishing.

Until next time.

Tight lines

-Jon

Jon, you are so right in what you have posted. A guide does rely on his reputation more than any advertisement he can buy. When you are looking for a guide (or Charter) and he seems kinda vague about what he does, how he does it, or what you should expect, there is a reason. Most people have had good experiences with their guides and that will be why they talk about him, or why they recommend him. As a professional guide I know, many times I hear horror stories and they tell their friends "never go with him" and soon that guide is out of business. On the good side though a really good and personal guide may be hard to book with because he is so busy. When you find one stay with him and let others know about him, it feels good when a customer calls you a second time and all they can talk about is their first trip with you. I hope a little advise from a long time guide helps your forum readers. Thanks for the time to read my stuff. Capt Bob

Good post guys!

I am a third generation fisherman here in Charleston,SC.
I have fished Charleston since I was five years old, and guided here for eight years and have a good track record. My resume is on my site also. www.reelfishhead.com

You are both very right...a guide's reputation is his business. However, I find many guides just do not care, since they feel there is enough "new meat" coming to the state each year. Those guys should be put out of business in my book.

The best advice I can give anyone thinking about hiring a fishing guide is request references. Talk to people who have fished with the guide in the past. This will give you a good sense of what you are getting.

Over half of my guests each year are either returning guests or friends of previous guests...to me that is more important than anything.

Capt. Bob - send me an email as I might need to book a few (20-30) guests with you!!
akcampandfish@yahoo.com
www.akcampandfish.net

Here is a few comments from my clients,,,,(Note the first one).

http://home.att.net/~rlhiott/quotes.htm

Wow. Thats when you know you have a reputation

Great work

"You operate a first-class, professional guide service."

Joel Arrington
Salt Water Sportsman Magazine
Contributing Regional Editor-Carolinas

I read saltwater sportsman

You guys are right! I've had six charters this week in five days, can't sleep and everything hurts, but tommorow I gotta go 110% again. Reputation is everything, but effort counts even more! I had 25 mph winds today on Tampa Bay, the bite was off, but I gave my client 3 extra hours.... wind finally settled and we caught 7 redfish, and trout in the last two hours...that client is coming back!

Keep Your Rod Tips Up!
Captain Brook Wallace
Full Boat Charters - Bradenton, FL
www.floridainshoreguide.com
captainbrook@tampabay.rr.com

Not much on typing my hands fit a rod or whell barrow better. Reputation and teaching my enjoyment is teaching young people. Most guys get on the boats and either want to drink, tell you they know more than you and when you tech them something they only retain about 2% but young people they retain 100% or some of them come back and ask again.

Take a kid fishing it don't pay as much but the reward is priceless.

Capt Randell Bagwell
www.riverrebelcharters.com

Everyone has posted some really good information on "finding a good guide", so I would like to add my two cents worth. We have a lot of "Part-Time" fishing guides which really hurts the full-time fishing guide business.

1. 99% of them have full-time jobs - Which means they don't do it to make a living.

2. They charge cheaper rates - See #1

3. Most of them only fish Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays - Our busiest times.

4. They don't worry about reputation because (see #2) - Everybody's looking for a bargain.

5. For first-time fishing guide customers, they can give a bad reputation as far as hiring a fishing guide again in the future.

Myself, I am ALWAYS honest with my customers. If the fishing's been bad, I tell them so. If it looks like we might have some inclement weather, I try to reschedule them. Sometimes the inclement weather never hits and turns out to be a beautiful day but the safety of my customers is top priority. Like mentioned before, reputation is everything since the majority of my customers is by word-of-mouth.

So now for my two cents worth to potential customers - When calling to book a trip, find out if he/she is a FULL-TIME guide. Is this what they do for a living. If not, please try to find one that is. It's our lively-hood just like your job is. We may charge a little more than that "other" guide, but believe me, you will get a more professional experience.

Capt. Bobby Elliott

Alot of good points in this one and I couldn't agree more. I guess to sum it up You get what you pay for.....so pay it. Another point would be, weekend guides are still only weekend fishermen alot changes in five days so in essence your hiring a guy who is fishing spots, not a guide on fish, if you get lucky and catch in his first spot your not spending money to locate them again, but if you don't........ I fish 7 days a week client or not.