One big question many fishermen whether beginner or veteran face is whether or not to hire a guide, I always invite an interview process if you will in making my case for yes they should. Beginners need a great first experience and many of the experience types need help in finding trout waters locally. Below pretty much expresses what I try to achieve a memorable day.
My mission is a fairly simple one. First, early on I get on the same experience level as my fishermen. I think it’s wise for anyone thinking of hiring a guide to pick up the phone and actually talk to the guide they are considering to see if the fit is right. It benefits both parties, and I know from my end pretty quick if I can provide what the customer is ultimately seeking.
Everyone has to be honest on fishing skill levels so things work the best from the beginning. An experienced guide has had lots of dealings with both novice and experienced types and will know to customize a fishing trip to optimize the outing enjoyment level. Nobody likes to be talked down to, especially beginners who put themselves in my hands and who always want to have a memorable and educational first experience. I only have customers for four or eight hours, so I do have to intensify the process in a fun, learning way. Being too casual and non-responsive on a trout stream can be a bad thing, so, I try to instill in them early good fishing habits from equipment set up to final release of the trout.
Part of my mission is to teach beginners the skills to land a few Rainbows before the day is over. That’s no small task. Learning to cast a fly rod is the first big hill to climb for most, and I work hard to make this easy for them to grasp. Trout don't have table manners, so there are just a lot of things to work out in learning to find and catch them after you learn to cast. I have over 60 years of trout fishing experience in our local waters and can adapt to any skill level and be respectful in the process. Yeah, most of my experienced types (of anglers) want to at least be put over trout pretty quickly. That is a challenge of my job that I look forward to every time.
I tell all my anglers, whether novice or experienced, that if they want to leave the stream or fishing spot at day's end, I have done something wrong. When you walk away from one of my trips, I'm hoping you may have learned a few things in a few hours that just might stay with you for a lifetime. I invite my all fishermen who go with me to follow up with me for advice if they need help taking their game to the next step when they start out on their own. Heck, I mi
