In life, defining what makes one individual better at a given task than someone else is difficult and often based only on personal opinion. Few occupations yield themselves to an easily defined hierarchy. Guiding is no exception and frequently proves to be a matter of personal preference and style. There are, however, many traits and ethics that all good fishing guides possess and these are what the prospective angler needs to look for in a professional fishing guide.
1. A good fishing guide should have an agenda for the day that calls for his anglers to first enjoy themselves, second learn something about the sport and third to have success. Fishing is supposed to be fun and that is why so many people are interested in this sport. Too many guides worry excessively about the end result and forget why their anglers are out there in the first place. Many times this attitude boils down to an ongoing ego battle at the marina.
2. Guides need to be flexible with their plans and tailor the trip around what the customers want to do. A discussion about the goals of the trip often helps so that each party knows what the other wants to do. If a guide finds out that all the person wants to do is catch as many fish as possible, then he needs to try to accommodate that with either a species that is conducive to that or choose tackle or techniques conducive to catching a lot of fish. If learning a specific skill, like fly casting, is the primary goal of the trip, then that also needs to be accommodated.
3. A guide should be professional in all matters. As in all other occupations, guides need to maintain his equipment in top condition, operate his boat and business in a safe and conscientious manner, and have a well thought out strategy for the day or week before he ever meets the customer. When a guide does meet the customer, he obviously should be on time and neat in appearance.
This professional attitude should carry over into the respect that the guide shows for his environment and to other guides. Flats guides should know the water well enough that they never disturb sea grass beds with their engine, or destroy any part of the fishery. In fact, guides should make an effort to leave the fishing grounds in better shape than when they came by picking up obvious trash. Guides should not crowd other boats and make every attempt to do unto the other guides and recreational boats on the water as he would like them to do to him. Professional captains should also make every attempt not to interfere with other boats fishing by cutting them off, crowding them or running too closely to them.
A strong catch and release policy on gamefish is admirable but killing a fish occasionally for the dinner table is certainly acceptable as long as it complies with the state and federal regulations.
4. Flats fishing guides have a reputation of being impatient and vocal. Anglers should never tolerate a guide yelling at them. Remember who is paying the bill here and their employees don’t usually yell at bosses. I think that treating customers badly should not be tolerated and any guide who does that on a regular basis should suffer the consequences of loosing business.
5. Guides should have an excellent knowledge of the water and tides. This knowledge is only acquired by spending a lot of time on the water and paying attention. Guides should like to fish enough to fish on their days off. The best guides are so booked that they have set aside their personal fishing time before they make the schedule out for the upcoming year.
6. More than anything else, a good guide needs to have an optimistic attitude and never give up on the fish or the angler. A person that gets on a flats boat deserves the best effort that a guide can give them.
A good fishing experience is linked to a good guide. If you have someone who truly cares about your experience then you will have a good trip regardless of the weather or the fishing. Unfortunately, I have experienced bad and unruly guides in my own travels. I know what this can do to a trip and the bad taste I have for that outfit and guide will never leave my mouth. I will also never return or subject myself to that treatment again.
I constantly work on my fishing and guiding skills. Because of this, I have developed a steady stream of return clients and my time is in short supply. I get a lot of phone calls requesting fishing dates that I simply cannot accommodate. I know that my recommendation for another guide directly effects my reputation and standing in that persons mind. If I give you a bad guide, you will be mad at me. This is why I have chosen 10-12 guides in the Florida Keys that I am very comfortable with to refer my trips. Each of these guides is a full time professional who leads by example and demand the respect of their peers. These are the guys I like to fish with on my days off. When these guides fill their schedules, I do not give out any more referrals. I hope that you will give me the chance to either take you fishing myself or let me make a suggestion as to who would be the best guide for your skill level, expectations, and goals for your next trip to the Florida Keys or anywhere else in the world that I have fished.
By: Capt. Tom Roland
