All photos courtesy of Ian Barringer
With the summer fishing season just around the corner, a lot of anglers are planning
their Rocky Mountain fishing vacations. Many of these trips will include at least
one day with a guide. A guided trip can be a great way to learn new water, improve
on techniques, or just enjoy a day of fishing with some friends. The following are
some tips that will help you get the most out of your trip, and hopefully make it
that much better.
1. Be honest about your skill level
As a guide, I believe this is the most important thing clients must do. Nothing
can ruin a day faster (for both client and guide) than a client who exaggerates
his/her abilities, either out of vanity or simply by not objectively evaluating
their skills. Often the choice of destination is influenced by the client’s skill
level so if you are not up front about your abilities you may find yourself having
to do things beyond your capacity all day in order to catch fish. Guides see clients
of all types and skill levels, and will know rivers and lakes suitable for anyone,
so be honest about your skills so that your guide can plan accordingly.
2. Let your guide know what you expect from the trip
This is your day on the water and you should be able to do whatever you want (within
reason) to maximize your experience. However, your guide is not a mind reader and
cannot help you if he doesn’t know what you want. When you meet your guide at the
beginning of the day, or, even better, when you plan the trip, let him know if there
is anything specific that you want to do or learn that day. Do you want to catch
a lot of fish? Pursue a certain species of fish? Head hunt big or difficult fish?
Stick to dry flies? Improve your high-stick nymphing? And so on. Let your guide
know the answer to this question. Also note that some options may preclude the others:
everybody would love to catch thirty big trout in a day on dry flies by head hunting,
but most of the time this is unrealistic. A good guide wants you to enjoy your day
and will help however he can; it’s your job to make sure he knows what you want.
3. Be reasonable about your expectations
A good guide can do a lot of things to turn an average day into
a great day, but he’s not Houdini and no matter how hard he tries he won’t be able
to meet unreasonable expectations. For instance, don’t show up to fish the Railroad
Ranch section of the Henry’s Fork expecting to catch twenty fish. Conversely, don’t
hire a guide to take you into Rocky Mountain National Park to catch a twenty-inch
fish. Guides can only do so much, so make sure you aren’t setting your bar too high.
4. Let the guide do his job
You hired a guide to guide you, so let him do it. He won't be able
to do his job if you don’t listen to him about which fly to use, where to cast,
etc. All too often clients show up on a new river and want to use the techniques
they use to great effect on their home water. What they don’t understand is that
a given technique (or fly) that works at home might not work well elsewhere. The
#20 midge fished on 6X that works great on the Ozark Mountain tailwater probably
won't be the ticket on the Yellowstone, even if #8 hoppers fished on 3X seems crazy.
Your guide has spent more time on the water you are fishing in the last month than
you have, so accept his guidance. Of course, if you want to figure out flies, proper
drifts, and so on and only want your guide to take you somewhere where the fishing
has been hot, hold lunch and the net, and crack jokes, tell him that ahead of time.
See suggestion #2.
5. Don’t hold the guide accountable
for something he has no control over
Guides do have control over a lot of what happens during the day, but no one can
control the weather, whether or not the hatch that should happen does happen, or
the actions of other anglers. For instance, it’s not the guide’s fault that the
tributary stream halfway through the float got slammed by a thunderstorm, turned
to chocolate milk, and muddied the lower half of the float unexpectedly. Its not
the guide's fault that some other fisherman hole jumped you or walked close enough
to the bank to spook your fish. Finally, it’s probably not the guide’s fault the
fishing was slow. Even for guides, some days are better than others. That is why
it’s called fishing instead of catching. A guide can take you to where the fish
are, tie on the right fly, and even show you what kind of drift ought to work. He
cannot, however, actually make the fish eat, and when it comes right down to it
he doesn’t have the rod in his hand, either so he can’t cast or set the hook for
you.
These tips are meant to help you get the most out of your guide and your time on
the water. Good guides will want to make your day enjoyable and help you in whatever
way they can; they just need to know how to help you.
There are, of course, certain things you should expect from your guide as well.
1. Your guide should never get mad or
yell at you (unless a bear is charging)
There is no reason for your guide to be angry at you during any fishing situation
that might occur during the day. If your guide yells at you for poor casting, missing
fish, or even hooking him in the ear you should speak with the shop/lodge manager
at the end of the day. Guides are there to help you and make your day enjoyable
and there is no excuse for being upset at clients for fishing. Yelling is also unacceptable
unless it is for a serious safety concern, such as ordering you to sit down when
whitewater is approaching. Even then, he should explain to you afterwards why he
had to raise his voice and make it clear that it would not have happened if he wasn’t
concerned for the safety of everyone.
2. Your guide should follow all state
and federal laws
This can apply to anything from guiding without a license (where one is required)
to poaching to trying to slip you in to Yellowstone Park without paying the required
entrance fee, but the biggest things that should concern you in this category are
safety issues. This is especially true if you’ll be in a boat. All Rocky Mountain
states have laws specifying that there must be a Coast Guard approved life vest
for everyone in the boat. If they aren’t readily visible, ask your guide to see
them before departing for the day. He should also have a first-aid kit and spare oar.
Also, he should NEVER drink while on the job. A lot of clients will offer the guide
a drink, especially at lunch, but it is unacceptable for him/her to be drinking
until you are back at the shop/lodge at the end of the day. While even one drink
may seem harmless, the guide should politely decline. You wouldn’t want your bus
driver to be drinking on the job, so why would you want the guy rowing the boat
down a river full of obstacles doing it?
As discussed above, the fishing is better some days than others, but a slow day
on the water should not be an excuse for your guide to take it easy. Even on a slow
day of fishing, there is always something different the guide can do. He can help
you with your casting or maybe teach you a new mending technique. He can change
flies over and over trying to find a fly the fish might eat. If nothing else, he
can talk about the fishing in the area and tell you what it’s like at different
times of the year or maybe help you with some places to fish on your own later in
the week. He should not give up on the day just because things don’t go according
to plan.
Your guide is there to help you get the most out of your day on the water, not his
day on the water, so if any of the above does/does not occur you should speak with
the lodge/shop manager at the end of the day. Many states also have a guide and
outfitters’ association that will allow you to file a complaint if your guide breaks
any laws or engages in unacceptable behavior, such as illegally keeping fish (or
“squeezing and releasing” whitefish, which, unfortunately, is still common) or grossly
violating on-stream etiquette. These associations govern the outfitters and guides
of the state and will take seriously any complaints filed against a guide. Penalties
for illegal activity can range from a fine to loss of guiding license.
Hopefully the above suggestions will help you maximize your time on the water this
year and make a new friend in your guide along the way. Guided trips can be a great
way to experience new water as well as to improve old techniques or learn new ones.
JD Miller is the Managing Editor of Rocky Mountain
Fly and a guide for Henry's Fork Anglers. He lives in Island Park, ID
and can be reached at
jd@rockymtnfly.com