Should guides fish?

[Ufatz]

Raised this issue in another forum and thought I'd seek your comments here. I have fished many areas, many times, with many guides. They have never fished. The prevailing opinion among professional guides I know is that Guides "guide" and clients fish. I hear many comments here in the mid-west about guides fishing with the client. Whats the deal? How does the client feel when the guide lands the 10lb. walleye while the poor dude paying $200 a day lands the rockbass? What do you think??

[trapperdirk]

It's a tough call and depends on the situation . I find mostly that if were into the fish heavy I don't get time to throw in a line as I'm too busy holding boat in position or helping them land their fish but occassionally I do fish and most times clients ask me to .I use it as a tool to demonstrate the presentation .

TD

[Jarrod32]

When I fish with friends, we generally start out using slightly different presentations (lure color, style, etc) to see what works best at that time. If one seems to work better than others, then we switch to whatever is working.

So...for a guide to be trying different things to see what works best would certainly - in my mind, anyway - be appropriate. Also, as a previous post mentioned, to demonstrate presentation would be appropriate as well.

[AWH]

I've never hired a guide. But if I did, one of the things that I would pay for is to learn how they fish. This means being able to watch how they fish, how they present their bait, etc. I'd be disappointed if I hired a guide that didn't wet a line.

Aaron

[Kab Kid]

I like the question...good topic.

I guide 60-75 days a summer for the past 7 years...I love it, I fish with my guests about 90% of the time. Generally casting the shallows or if boat control is more demanding...I will not fish. But I ask my guests "what" they want from a day on the water with me, and the answers are generally...

Some fish to eat, to learn different locations so they can try later in the week/years to come, and finally different methods and techniques to catch MORE fish.

The most difficult client is the guest that KNOWS everything and hired us to teach his wife for example. Simply by listening and trying the techniques we've been having success with...by mid-day the man is frustrated because the wife and I have caught about 8 fish each to his 1...

If I were to go to a different part of the country, I'd hire a guide...learning the suttle techiques is crucial to having success.

TIP: Sit near the guide, watch how he "jigs", or sets up rods differently. Ask questions about "why" you're fishing a certain spot, or the guides ideas of "what" might happen in the next couple days if the wind switches or the weather warms or cools...get as much information about that area and species your fishing for on that GUIDE trip. Catching the "trophy" fish simply comes from "time on the water" and if you catch one on a guide trip...it is likely because the area this guide brought you too, or the rig he put on your rod....

Hope that adds perspective...

[Wayne Ek]

I am on the water, hard and soft about 200 days per year, either guiding, tournament fishing, family outings or exploring new water. I get alot of water time, so when I have a client, I do not fish. It's their day, and I do not want to take fish away from a client. Now, that being said, I do have repeat clients that insist I fish along with them. Also, if I have clients out that really want a meal of fish, and they are having a hard time, I will fish until we have enough for a meal, then stop fishing. I also will fish to demonstrate a technique or if I'm sure we are on fish and my clients are not getting bit, I will drop a line in to make sure we are on fish. But, with 2 clients in the boat, your to busy with boat control, looking for bites, looking out so no one gets hit during a cast, baiting and releasing.... I can not think of a job that is more fun...toss in a under-water camera and sometimes your clients forget about fishing and just want to watch the monitor.

[markkstanley]

If it's just two in the party and the guide I prefer that the guide fish. Makes sense to keep mixing it up and that's easier to do with 2 or 3 lines in the water. It's also easier to duplicate the hot technique when you are actually seeing it done. Most of the Mississippi river guides fish with you for that reason. On Mille Lacs trolling in the fall the guide I go with will always give his rod over to the clients to catch the fish while he helps clear the other lines and get the net ready. Never been out with a musky guide who did not fish along with me.

[gunflint]

First of all $200 per day seems a little cheap to me. That being said, what I do is fish until we are on fish and then I usually stop. Unless I have beginners in the boat that want instruction on basics like feeding line, or setting the hook, etc. Once we get on the fish I'm generally to busy to fish.