want to be a guide

[Guest]

I was wondering what it would take to become a guide. Im just a high school kid but I would really like to become a guide when I grow up so I would like as much info as possible about becomeing a guide. Like any special permits and extra schooling and stuff. Thanks.

[AaronM]

My advice to you is to get as much experience as you can. Get on the water every chance you get, rain or shine. Hope this helps a little. Happy fishin.

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"I cut it twice and its still too short"

[Aquaman01]

Welcome!
Thanks - on behalf of all of us who wondered the same thing and never asked.

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[walleyedan]

As soon as you feel confident enough on the body of water you are fishing, and have the proper equipment and insurance I would say go for it. I started 14 years ago at the age of 21 and now I'm pretty well established. I remember my first trip very vividly (like I'm sure most of us guides do) and it wasn't very successful (narly wind and one northern). But the whole key is your love for the sport! If you truely love it, and are not afraid of getting shut out at one point or another it's an awesome occupation. But you won't get rich!! Good luck!!

Walleyedan

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Gull Lake Guide Service

[Guest]

I told my "career counselor" in high School, I want to be a fishing guide..he said.."Ya-ya..well lets think "a REAL JOB" for now Ed. So don't ask them unless they really have changed in the past 20 years or so.

My advice is simple...Fish...Fish...Fish..Fish...Fish...Fish..Fish...Fish...& then....fish some more on the waters you wish to guide upon.

Don't assume it's all about fishing, it's not.

The ecology of the region is a big part of knowing the patterns and seasonal movements of fish, so be curious, about everything.

Last but not least, are you a people person?

Dealing with folks day to day is lots of work, more then you can ever imagine.

Before you jump into the guiding thing too deep, hang with a few, get the feel of it. Maybe work with one part time and see if it is all you expect it to be?

If you get ticked-off when you hear folks say..."Ah..So..what do you do for a "Real Job?" If so, then you may not be right for guiding Eh?

Oh, and yes MOM, guiding is a "Real Job". You may need to practice saying that too?

LOL!!

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson


Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 05-06-2003).]

[CrappieJohn]

Welcome.... All you have seen thus far is excellent info. The only things I would add to this is to learn just a couple pieces of water to begin so you can really concentrate on your objective and not get overwhelmed with things and keep very concise fishing logs..don't just write things down, study them over and over. With good, well-kept records you can re-visit each trip or all of them and pretty soon youwill begin to form patterns you did not see before. Granted, this extra stuff equates to work, but being a guide is all work. You will find that out after your fist client. Good luck in your desires and good fishing....Crapster

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Sure life happens- why wait

[Aquaman01]

An add-on to what Backwater Eddy said about "people-person" - The first guide I ever met and hired is an 88 year old wonderful gentleman who works Kabetogama, Rainy and Nakaman. Been doing it since he was 11. I asked him what the hardest thing was about guiding and he said "same thing as your job - giving people what they want."

I'll keep hiring him every year that he's willing to take us out, even if it means I tie all the knots he can't see any more.

If I could call a "do-over" on how and where I pull my daily bread - I'd guide, too. What are you doing reading this - go on - fish!

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[AaronM]

So what is the age you must be to be able to guide? Can you guide in a smaller boat (kicker) and guide those boats at a younger age? Happy fishin.

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"I cut it twice and its still too short"

[This message has been edited by fishingfrenzy (edited 05-06-2003).]

[Guest]

Keep it coming guys I know that there are a lot of good successful guides on this web site be nice to hear from some more.

[CANOPY SAM]

I guided people for fish when I was 14 years old. Had pretty good luck putting people on fish too. Although luck probably isn't the right word. I knew what I was doing on the bodies of water I was fishing.

There is a lot of wisdom in what these fellas have already said. One thing that wasn't mentioned though is that guiding is often a game of confidence. You really need to know the water your guiding on. As well as the species of fish your clients are after. Know your limits - in terms of your ability to consistantly produce fish. Don't ever let on to em' that you're not sure what's going on. Even the best guides get shut out from time to time. Spend as much time as you can learning different fishing situations by being on the water. There is simply no substitute for "TIME ON THE WATER"!

Great gear isn't essential, but it doesn't hurt either. You need a pretty comfortable boat so your clients feel, and are SAFE! Many of the people you end up taking out are not going to be really good at fishing, or very familiar with being out in a boat. So it's really important that they feel safe and comfortable, or their not going to come back, and they might just inform others of their "perilous" trip out with you.

And if you take out young children, don't tie em' up with big hooks like crankbaits. I've had so many hooks go wizzing by my nose, and yank my hat off I can't even count!

Give it a go kid. If you've got a passion for fishing why not live it to the fullest. Nothing beats getting paid to go fishing every day!!!! Good luck.

Take your time, and make your clients happy. I've had many clients that just wanted to be out on the lake on a nice day and fish for a while. If they have a pleasurable trip, you've done your job. Catching a nice mess of fish is just the iceing on the cake!

[wastewaterguru]

Alright, reality check.

Let's all make sure that you understand that you're education should come first!!!!

I'm not a grumpy old timer just ranting about the importance of an education, but you need to realize that 90% of the guides I know don't make enough money guiding for it to be their only source of income.

What you need to do is go to college, get a good stable job.....all the while spending as much time on the water as your schedule allows. Then after you can aford to buy a boat and required gear, etc. etc. etc...., start guiding on evenings and weekends. If you then get to the point where you have enough client base, consider working part time at your normal job and fishing the rest of the time........then if you start winning fishing tournaments and picking up sponsers who pay for your nice boat, etc. etc. etc. then consider guiding full time.

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"Just a sCRAPPIE CAT, BASSking on an EYE-jerking SUNNY day, PERCHspiring to avoid PIKEological addiction."

Here....Fisheeeeeeee!!

[uffdapete]

wastewaterguru (& want-to-be-guide) -

It is my nature to agree with you about the education part. But my nature has been challenged recently by a good friend.

My daughter has her sights set on performing either in professional theatre or being an actress. Either one is probably at least as risky and difficult as becoming a successful guide, so my advice to her has been "get your education and have a back up plan".

My friend challenged that advice pointing out that when people have a back up plan they tend to gravitate towards it instead of focusing on what they really want with everything they've got.

So if you want to become a guide, education in that direction would likely help you, but nothing replaces time on the water. You can speed up the learning process by fishing with as many experienced people, guides, etc. as you can. I have fished with at least 10 different guides in my life, most of which I had researched beforehand. 4 would get my repeat business and recommendations based on: #1 - how much I learned from them; #2 - how personable they were/tied with putting me on fish; #3 equipment. In that order.

I'd guess there are a few folks on this site that would be glad to help you pursue your dream.

So go for it!!

[Slugo]

I heard a well known guide say that guiding makes you enough money to have a nicer boat than most. But not enough to live on.

[smallmouthguide]

So You Wanna Be A Guide...
Author: Steve Huber
January 2002

Ahh, the life of a fishing guide, what a piece of cake, go fishing and get paid for it. What could possibly be better? Well, I'm going into my ninth season and let me tell you right now, there's more to it than you'd think.

Don't get me wrong, I dearly love my time on the water with clients, but there are times....

I know that some of you out there have been thinking, I've got a boat, I've got fishing tackle, I know how to catch fish and I have free time, I know, I'll start a guide service.

Well, it can be that easy, but you've got to remember that there's more to guiding than having a boat and some fishing tackle.

First of all, you have to decide if you're going to specialize in one species or are you going to be a multi-species guide. Specializing is easier, requiring less of an investment in both equipment and time. Are you going to guide on one body of water or fish "all over the place?" Fishing one body of water and/or one species, while making it easier on you (and cheaper too) does limit you. How you ask?

Well, if you spend any amount of time fishing, you know that any body of water will have hot streaks and then go cold. If you happen to have a guide job during the hot streak, life is good, but if that job comes when the lake has turned off, life as a guide can suck! That's why I made the decision to fish different lakes as well as different species.

Now, if the fishing isn't that great for walleyes on Lake X, we can go to Lake Y and fish for smallmouth. Sure, it involves more running around, more pre-fishing time, keeping tabs on more water, but when a client is paying you to put them on fish, shouldn't you be doing everything possible for them?

All right, you've decided what you're going to fish for, and on what lakes, what else is needed to start a guide service?

Well, take a good look at your boat. Is it really adequate? Is that boat large enough to safely carry you, a couple of clients, a cooler, all the tackle, bait, etc, etc? Is everything safe, operating at 100% and dependable? It has to be, or else you're not giving the client his money's worth. I've heard horror stories from clients about other guides and their equipment.

One guide showed up with a 14 foot rowboat and ancient outboard, to take 2 clients casting for muskies. They motored out onto the lake, where the guide disconnected his starting battery and hooked it to the trolling motor. After a day of fishing, and using the trolling motor, when they finally wanted to go home, the guide un-hooked the trolling motor and reconnected the starter. Guess what? They'd used the trolling motor so much that there wasn't enough juice left to turn the motor over! The recoil starter on the outboard was broken as well so the guide and clients took turns rowing back to the landing.

So, take a good long, hard look at your boat and equipment. If you don't think that it would pass a DNR or Coast Guard inspection, you're going to have to invest in repairs and upgrades.

I started guiding with a 16' aluminum deep vee boat with a 40 hp outboard. It wasn't long before I discovered that while this boat was fine for one client, it was way too small and underpowered for two clients with the type of fishing that I do. I upgraded to a 17 footer with a 75 hp outboard, and while it was better, it lacked the needed storage and was still a bit cramped when you have 12 inch muskie lures flying around. That boat was sold and now I'm running a 19 foot ProCraft SuperPro 190 with a 175 hp outboard. This boat has the room for casting, the necessary storage space and the horsepower to move the boat when it's loaded down with clients and gear.

As long as we're talking big buck items, what about your tow vehicle? Is it dependable and safe as well? If you're fishing one lake and you always plan on meeting your clients at the landing, it's not as big of a deal, but if you're like me, you'll be traveling to various lakes in a three county area. I need a safe, dependable, roomy and economical to operate tow vehicle.

I bought a 2001 Silverado 2500 HD 4x4 extended cab diesel truck. I put 10,000 miles on a year towing my boat, carrying at least 2, sometimes 3 clients, so I need something that gets good fuel economy and has the room for my clients.

Now that you've gone through your boat, look at your tackle. Do you have quality, first rate rods and reels? Most times, the guide supplies all of the tackle, and believe me, it takes a lot of tackle. Gone are the days of going fishing with two or three rods and reels. You have to be prepared and anticipate the worst, because if you guide long enough, (take my word for it) you WILL have those days when you'll wonder if you've got enough gear on board. I've had days when clients have broken rods, backlashed reels beyond any hope of picking the line clear and dropped/thrown rods and reels overboard, making me wonder if we were going to have any working tackle at the end of the day, and this is coming from a guy that goes out with a minimum of 18 rods and reels!!

Also, as long as we're talking about tackle, how's your lure selection? Gone are the days of going out with one of everything, now you've got to have at least 3 of everything. There will be days when one particular lure is the hot bait, and you're going to have one P.O.'d client in the boat if his buddy is catching all the fish and he's sitting there with egg on his face. So, you're going to have to stock up, if you've decided that muskies are going to be your fish of choice, that gets expensive when you're looking at $12 - $40 per lure. Heck, even if you're guiding walleyes, it gets pricey. I've had days when we've gone through 100 jigs fishing a rocky shoreline for 'eyes. That one particular spot is a great walleye magnet, but on each cast, if you don't hook a fish, you've hooked bottom and that jig is gone. At a quarter a pop, that starts costing you too, but if that's where the fish are, what are you going to do?

Good quality fishing line costs money too, you're going to go through line at an alarming rate, making you wonder if you should buy stock in a line company. When you're re-spooling a dozen or more reels several times a season, you're talking about a fairly major expense as well. I buy PowerPro line in 1500 yard spools. That's not cheap!

If you're like me, you'll cruise sporting goods stores/departments (driving your wife crazy in the process) looking for marked down or closeout items. I do this year round, stocking up in the winter and losing it all in the summer. But hey, if I can save a couple bucks, that's what I'm going to do. Plan on spending a minimum of $20 every time you walk into a sporting goods store.

You also have to have quality life jackets in several sizes, as well as rain gear. I tell people that they need to dress for the weather and it never fails, they show up at the motel lobby or landing dressed for a trip to the mall, regardless of what the forecast shows. Again, the client is looking for a fun day of fishing, and they can't do that when they're soaked to the skin and cold. I suppose that if they're not dressed right, you could just cut the day short, but I hate to do that to the client. So, I carry raingear in several sizes.

All right, now we've talked about the tow vehicle, the boat and the gear. So what else is there to get? Well bucko, there's still licensing and insurance. The guide license for Wisconsin is easy to get, fill out an application, send in your money and that's it, you're a guide! But what about insurance? Let me say right now, if you guide for money and you don't have guide insurance, you're an one-who-thinks-I-am-silly!!!

Think about it for a minute. You've got a client or two in the boat and these guys go fishing once or twice a year, so their sea legs are iffy at best. Now, you're out there, it's choppy, the boat is rocking and they're casting large lures with three sets of razor sharp 5/0 treble hooks. What do you think the chances are for an accident of epic proportions are? Or how about this for a worst case scenario...

I heard about a guide that had taken two clients out on one of the Great Lakes, trolling for walleyes. This guide is good, with a 21 foot boat, designed for big water fishing. Well, they were into fish, not paying as much attention to the weather as they should have been. Before they knew it, a storm system had moved in on them and whipped the water into huge, dangerous waves. They pulled in the lines and were trying to make their way back to the harbor when they hit a wave wrong! One of the clients was washed overboard and ended up dying of hypothermia. Can you imagine the lawsuit? Now, still think that you don't need insurance?

Don't tell me that you've got boat insurance and that's good enough, cuz I doubt it. I too had boat insurance, thinking that I was covered. But talking to my insurance agent, I found out that if you're taking clients out for money, regular boating insurance won't cover you. My premiums went from $118 a year to over $500! And you have to have liability and medical coverage, as well as insurance covering the boat and contents. You won't believe how quickly those contents add up either. I estimate that I have well over $5,000 tied up in rods, reels, lures, locators and trolling motor.

All right, now you've got the tools for guiding, what's next? You've got to have clients if you want this to be a money making proposition. That too takes time and money my friend. Gone are the days when you get some business cards printed up, put them in a couple bait/tackle shops and get clients. I'm not saying that this won't work, just don't expect to be very busy. Nope, in this day and age, you have to market yourself. This means building a HSOforum, a good one that will answer many of the client's questions, make them want to book a trip with you, or at least contact you for additional information. This isn't easy. Even if you have the most fantastic HSOforum on the net, just because you built it, that still doesn't mean that the world will beat a path to your door. You have to have someone host the HSOforum, that part is easy with HotSpotOutdoors offering HSOforum hosting, but it's still an annual expense that needs to be covered.

You should be doing things that get your name out in the world. That means doing things like this, writing articles for various publications, it means promoting your service through other places as well, maybe offering to do seminars for fishing clubs or tackle shops. This will help draw business. Probably one of the best methods for getting your name out is sport shows. But these are not cheap, you have to rent booth space, there's travel expenses, lodging, meals, show displays, embroidered shirts, hats, etc, brochures to hand out, promotional items, etc, etc, etc. This can run into some major coin, but how busy do you want to be? If you're hoping to do this full time, you're going to have to do this and more. How much more is entirely up to you.

OK, now we've got the financial aspect more or less covered. Now think about the time you're going to have to invest in guiding. You have to stay on top of the fish, so now you have to be out fishing, in all weather conditions, because again, you owe it to the clients to make their time on the water as productive as possible. You can't pick and choose the weather that you're going to fish in. It seems to never fail, the weather will be perfect for fishing, until the client gets into the boat, then a major cold front blows in. You won't get a lot of repeat business if at the end of the day, all you have to show for your efforts is a lot of fresh air and a nice boat ride. So you have to be able to produce fish under all weather conditions and that my friend, isn't easy. So even though it's cold, raining, blowing and generally nasty and miserable, you have to be out there. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but believe me, some days it is.

All right, that still doesn't sound bad, and most times it's not. But remember, there's going to be times that you're not feeling good, or the Packer game is on, or some friends want you to hang out and pop a couple of cold, frosty ones and you've GOT to go pre-fish for an upcoming job.

Then, you've got the clients themselves. 95% of my clients are great people, a joy to fish with but that remaining 5% will drive you nuts. There's a reason that I have all of this gray hair and I can't blame it all on my kids.

You have to have good people skills. It's not enough that you're a great angler, when you're in the boat with a client, you have to wear many different hats. You have to be a teacher, a coach, a cheerleader, a story-teller, a stand up comic and sometimes even a marriage counselor! You won't believe some of the conversations that I've had in the boat with clients. You hear all of their hopes, fears, aspirations and frustrations. You'll hear about past successes and comparisons to "Guide Joe". It doesn't matter that Guide Joe was guiding them on a Canadian Fly In and that the walleyes were hitting anything that moved. Now you're fishing cold front conditions in August, with jet skis, water skiers, pontoon boats ripping around the lake with bright sunny skies and a 20 degree temperature drop, they caught walleyes throwing shallow running crankbaits and "ripped them up." "Why aren't we throwing Rapalas?" "Guide Joe said that Rapalas were the best walleye lure ever made!" Try to explain that they were fishing pre-spawn walleyes in shallow water and now you're trying to dredge up inactive fish in 25 feet of water, they won't believe you, because "Guide Joe said...."

You'll find out that there's people out there that you could actually, cheerfully pitch overboard. I had one client that when he missed a nice muskie because he didn't believe in figure 8's and didn't do one when the fish hit at boatside, started cussing a blue streak and threw a St. Croix rod and Ambassaduer 6500 reel just as far as he could. As I watched the rod disappear in 20 - 30 feet of water, knowing that there was no way I'd ever find it, I couldn't believe my eyes. The client refused to reimburse me for the rod, demanding that I give him another rod and reel! That was the only time that I returned to the landing and demanded that he GET OUT OF THE BOAT NOW!

Guide long enough and you'll find out that catching fish is actually a small part of guiding. I know some anglers that even though they make unbelievable catches, I wouldn't want them to guide me, because their people skills suck. Conversation while fishing? Forget it, you've got to catch that fish. Tell a joke or get them to crack a smile? No way Jose. Miss a fish a get complained at. Not exactly what I would call an enjoyable day. Nope, you've got to keep the clients spirits up during those fishless times, telling jokes, stories of past successes and failures, make small talk that shows you're interested in their lives, all the while trying to figure out a pattern that will start producing fish.

You'll have to be able to teach your clients to cast, retrieve and explain what the feel of a walleye picking up a jig in 20 feet of water feels like. You have to be able to cheer them up when they just screwed up on the fish of a lifetime, answer questions about anything and everything while controlling the boat, ducking lures, re-tying lures, re-baiting hooks, again still thinking of the next move in your fishing plan.

But, for the most part, my clients are great people. Many of the clients have become close friends, some to the point that I feel odd taking their money. I get Christmas cards, birthday cards, invitations to family functions, their or their children's weddings and the like. It's people like this that keep me coming back, season after season.

I love the look on a client's face when they hook into their first muskie, when that big smallmouth leaps from the water 10 feet from the boat. I love to see the closeness that develops between a father and his child as they share a common experience. One of the best feelings in the world for me is at the end of the day, a client tells me "Thanks Steve, I had a great day and I really learned a lot about fishing today." That's a reward that I can't put a price on.

I've just briefly touched on the high points of guiding, there's still the pricing, covering expenses, bookkeeping, records, etc. Remember, you can't price yourself so high that people can't afford you, but you still have to cover your expenses, plus make a decent hourly wage. Don't think that you'll ever get rich being a guide, "cuz it ain't gonna happen." Heck, when you get right down to it, you could probably make more money flippin burgers at McDonald's!

But, if you think that you have the time, money, ability, people skills and the mental toughness to put it all together, become a fishing guide. You'll find out real quick if you've got what it takes.

I don't mean to scare you off if you're considering becoming a guide, I just want you to benefit from my experience and go into this venture with your eyes wide open. If you're considering this, feel free to contact me, I'll give you all the help I can. Just don't expect me to tell you my good spots

[walleyedan]

Wow, was that well put!! Lot's to read, but I'm glad I did. I kept scrolling down to see when I was going to be done, but I hung in there!!

Walleyedan

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Gull Lake Guide Service

[canvasback kid]

WOW,
Thats right up there with war and peace!!
Very well put!!! That really opened my eyes about being a guide,best of luck to the guide wannabe!!! I need a cigarette after that one. VERY GOOD WORK THOUGH!!!!!!!!

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Let the Walleye fishin begin!!!

[uffdapete]

Steve - you should consider submitting that for publication. Seriously. I'm not an English major (my son is) but I found it to the most informative perspective on your profession I've come across. Well done!

[united jigsticker]

Being a good guide. Whew! Here's my advice. Try this, skill of catching or finding fish aside first before you consider this any further.

Take thee most annoying and clumbsy people you know out fishing with you for 8 hours a day for 5 days straight. Keep your patience, and respond and answer each question and comment with enthusiasm, kindness, and tone like you appreciate them being out there.

Be at their beckon call, and maintain a light attitude while continually joking with them and showing interest in their conversation.

At the end of the week, replace all your damaged, missing, and worn out gear, set it all back up, and take some more annoying people out for 5 more days of fun...If at the end of these two weeks you still want to be a guide...Then go for it!

If your method for prep is gonna be to fish fish fish fish fish...alone...that will work as long as every 20 minutes you step on a rod and break it, throw some stuff overboard, whip yourself in the head with a rod, snarl your line up and respool it, go to shore to potty, talk to yourself, ask yourself questions, answer them, hit some rocks with your prop, dump your tackle box in the lake and watch the lures sink, wonder why fish blink, detirmine if fish sleep, question your choices of spots, go to an area where there is no fish because it "looked" like a good spot......yep...do that for 5 days every day...then see how ya feel.

90% of it is all about patience, customer service, people skills, and being a leader. The other 10% is fishing.

[This message has been edited by united jigsticker (edited 05-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by united jigsticker (edited 05-11-2003).]

[Guest]

Nice writeup.

As a fishermen who is always on the lookout for a good guide I will say that to me, the most important things a guide can do are:

1) Teach me how to fish for that particular species in that particular area during that particular time of year. This may sound easy, but consider that you are doing something that almost comes as second nature.

Many of your clients are doing something that is brand new to them. In my case I often look for a guide when I coming to fish new, unfamiliar waters and will be there for a few days. Time with a guide is well spent if that one day of fishing with you leads to me being more proficient throughout the rest of my trip.

2) Make me feel like I have spent my money well with them. This does not necessarily mean I have to catch the biggest fish I have ever seen, but I want to feel like we are trying like heck to do so.

A good example is a gentleman that posted on this thread. I went out with walleyedan about 6 years ago on Gull on a day that can be best described as brutal. It was cold, rainy, choppy as heck and the bite was very tough. Dan put us on fish and impressed the heck out of me with his knowledge and enthusiasm. I swear he was more disappointed than me when the northern I fought for 5 minutes got off because my brother couldn't work a net correctly.

Thats why I sent him an e-mail last night about my upcoming trip to the area.

Rich

[kwkfsh]

want2Bguide, there is a wealth of good information here. Smallmouth guide put it quite eloquently, and every word he spoke is the truth born of many wonderful and many not so wonderful experiences with clients. I have guided for over a decade and as I read his post it brought back many memories. As far as not getting rich that is probably true, but it is entirely possible to earn a very decent living in many parts of the country. I personally know guides who knock down over 100k a year in Texas and quite a few in Alaska who earn over 60k in a 4 month season. It is entirely possible to guide in Alaska during King season at certain lodges and make from 6 to 10k or more in 4 to 6 weeks with tips if you are good with people. One thing you should consider is getting your Coast Gaurd license as this will allow you to guide most anywhere in the country. Alaska has started requiring everyone who guides from a motorized boat to have a Coast Gaurd license regardless of the body of water operated on. What this has done is raised the daily wage for a guide from $50 a day to $100 to $200 a day plus tips for a licensed Captain at most the of lodges. So if you want to be a guide start documenting your time on the water now because you will have to show 360 days on the water to even apply for the license. And keep records of your boat ownership as you have to show that as well to verify your time on the water. Without that you will have to provide statements from people who verify you operated their boat for the required time. You will find very few people willing to have false statements notarized and sent to the federal goverment. So keep those records and document your time. In the not to distant future you will see more and more states requireing USCG licenses for guides as it lets them off the hook liability wise. Good luck!!!!

[fishinphyl]

I have never been a guide but I have worked with people all my life and what Smallmouth guide said is the best I have seen. If you want to learn to work with people - all kinds of people - get a retail sales job in the off season at your favorite sports store where they expect the BEST in customer service. Pick a store that when you walk in they make you feel welcome, they know what they are talking about and can answer all your questions. Then go and get a job there - even if you have to keep after them to get it. Believe me you will learn more about people working in this store than you could ever pay to learn anywhere else or out of a school book.

I could take everything that these guys have said about working with people and compare it to working with horse people in a western shop for years and there would be no difference.

There is always the customer that knows more than anyone else, the couples that don't agree, the customer that expects you do everything for them, the customer that talks about Joe Blow's store and what they have and the prices, etc. etc. So here would be a way for you to get a great education and make some money to start your own business. Plus think about all those prospective clients you could meet.

Believe me, even if you never become a guide this experience will help you in any business you go into. It will teach you what people are REALLY like and how to deal with it.

I hope your dreams come true - good luck.

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Phyl

[Scoot]

Side note- do guides need to be first aide and CPR certified? I think they do in MN, but I'm not sure of that. Even if it's not required, I'd think it would be a darn good idea.
Lots of good info here. My cousin, who has a passion for fishing, guided for a couple of years. All of the annoyances that people mentioned here made him decide to hang it up. I think he decided that if he wanted to fish with annoying naggers who didn't know what they were talking about, he call me

Another thing that has been alluded to, but not mentioned is burnout. I know a few guides who have guided for a while and they can get really burnt out. All of the annoyances previously mentioned really get to them and they lose interest in fishing and people. Guides who I would fish with had better have a passion for fishing. I fished with Ed Carlson (Backwater Eddy) this past fall one evening and was extremely impressed with his passion for fishing. He was hooting and hollering and yeeehawwwing with each nice fish he caught (he somehow managed about a 5:1 ratio compared to me). I was extremely impressed with his fun-loving, contagious, positive attitude towards fishing. I'd say that if you're the kind of person who can't maintain that sort of attitude for a long time, guiding might not be for you.
One last thing, do the education and guiding routes need to be mutually exclusive? It seems like taking a couple classes and guiding part-time might be a good way to work towards a degree and get a clientelle started. The education could be something that would greatly enhance knowledge of fish, fisheries, or the outdoors- maybe wildlife management, limnology, or ichtheology. You'd be able to b.s. your client's ears off with all of the good info you'd have. On the other hand, there's no learning like just doing it. However, I'd think that if you use education as a means of enhancing your #1 plan, it might not serve as a crutch.
Good luck,
Scoot