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The ins and outs of hiring a fishing guide: Picking the right one is about more than just knowledge
BY Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
Through my 25-year-plus career as an outdoors writer, I’ve fished with and written about more than 200 fishing guides, several of whom have become close friends.
For newspapers, magazine articles and recording my weekly outdoor radio show, I visit with many fishing guides on a weekly basis. I’ve never had aspirations to become a fishing guide myself, but I have the greatest respect for those that make their living greeting a new boatload of eager anglers at the dock every morning.
I work as an archery elk guide up in Colorado and guide deer, hog and duck hunters here in Texas, but that’s far different from guiding fishermen.
There are many reasons for hiring a guide to take you fishing.
Tournament pros often employ the services of guides in an attempt to better prepare themselves for an upcoming tournament. These pros understand that the only way to stay current on fishing patterns is to be on the water on a regular basis or hire a guide that is. A parent or grandparent might hire a guide so they can concentrate on teaching a youngster to fish rather than running the boat, studying the sonar or a host of other things that distracts from one-on-one time with the youngster.
A hardcore largemouth bass tournament pro turned fishing guide might not be the best choice for taking grandpa and a couple of 8-year-old grandsons fishing.
This guy would be better suited for serious bass anglers wishing to learn more about their sport. A congenial white bass, crappie or striper guide would be better suited for taking young kids fishing. Youngsters need action and lots of it to keep from getting bored and these species often provide it.
Choosing a guide that best suits your needs and personality can be a daunting task.
I’ve seen posts on internet fishing forums with statements such as “I want to fish Lake Bigfish next weekend, anybody know a good guide?” The thread will instantly be covered up with all sorts of replies, everything from “Don’t hire ole guide Bestfisher, I fished with him last week and we only caught one small fish” to “Definitely hire Joe Puddlejumper, he’s the best on the lake” to “Hire me, Joe Jackfish, the best guide on the lake.”
Guides’ personalities and fishing styles vary greatly.
Think about it this way; the fellow that posted about guide Bestfisher could have been fishing a bluebird day in the winter after the passage of a blue northern when Bill Dance couldn’t entice a strike. Puddlejumper might be the best angler in the state, but have a personality closely mimicking that of Scrooge.
It’s a good idea to spend some time visiting with a guide you might wish to hire. Be honest about your fishing skill level and tell him your expectations for the outing.
You might be looking for a big mess of catfish fillets for an upcoming fish fry or you might need technical direction on using sonar. He needs to know what you expect from him just as well as you need to know about how he runs his trips. Communication is the name of the game.
Don’t assume anything.
Make a list of questions before you actually visit with your guide and go through them one by one. Remember, there is a great deal of good information and misinformation on the internet. Take what you read online with a grain of salt and remember, a 10-minute telephone conservation with a guide you might wish to hire will serve as a much better introduction than a few words, good or bad, about him that you read on a fishing forum.
Bow season quickly approaching
In Texas, hunting season never closes.
Summer is prime time for hunting exotic game animals and one of my favorite times to hunt hogs. If your plan is to arrow a big buck or fat doe this October, now is not a minute too soon to hone your skills. I shoot my bows year round for relaxation and fun, but also to keep my skills sharp for hunting.
I am often asked about broad heads; what my favorite style and brand is.
I’ve done things differently in my bow hunting career.
Most older bow hunters began by shooting fixed broad heads and then tried mechanicals. I did the opposite. I began shooting a big, two-blade mechanical that opens on impact to a huge 2.75-inch diameter. I like the mechanicals because they flew exactly like my field points. I stayed with these for many years until I discovered a quality three-blade mechanical broad head that performed better for me, both in flight and harvesting game.
Innerloc (innerloc.com) has a complete line of broad heads, both fixed and mechanical. And after experimenting with them the past year, I am impressed.
The company is owned by the Sullivan family, which has a long career in designing and manufacturing broad heads and other archery gear. The Sullivans don’t just produce broad heads, they are shooters and hunters. Their products have to prove their merit before they hit the market.
One reason I shunned fixed broad heads is the fact I could never get them to shoot to the same point of impact as my practice field points. I would have to adjust the sights on my bow for shooting the fixed broad heads and then re-adjust when practicing with field points.
Enter the three-blade Carbon Tuner 100 grain broad head with Blade Alignment Technology. With a quick turn of an Allen wrench, the blades can be indexed to match the vanes on the arrow. This makes a huge difference on the flight of the arrow. I was happily surprised when I began shooting these fixed broad heads. They flew exactly like my practice points.
I have great confidence in the Innerloc mechanical, which is called the Cliploc.
There are no O rings to break and the blades are held in place with a built in clip. I’ve taken several hogs and one deer with these innovative mechanicals and had excellent success with them. This fall, I plan to load my quiver with both the Innerloc mechanicals and fixed broad heads. Finally, I found a fixed blade that meets my needs: it’s well constructed and flies exactly like my field points.
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