Why hire a fishing guide?

[flatheadslayer]

Well stated. I see you with that nice flathead you obviously caught from a river. Had I been fishing with you and I hooked and caught it, you could have heard me hollering all the way back to Texas! That would have been MY fish, HA!
Hope you catch a bunch more like this and thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Thanks....And thats all they are is my thoughts,not saying they are right or wrong,just mine.lol

Anyone can catch big fish with hard work,it takes work to find them,thats all.And it would be your fish,partly anyways...J/K

[Jbuck]

While I do enjoy learning new water, if I was taking a trip to a place I had never fished before, didn't know what was working in that area and only had two or three days to fish I would consider hiring a guide for the first day. Having said that, I would guess (and maybe rightley so) guides get kind of upset if they take you out and show the hot spots only to come back tomorrow with new clients and find you already fishing there. If I had five or more days to fish I would most likley just start fishing on my own hoping to figure out what was working and where. I suspect guiding is like most other occupations, while it may seem like a dream job we don't get to see all that is involved.

[Dobroplayer]

My personal opinion is IT Depends. If I were traveling to South America to catch Peacock bass and was on a limited time schedule, I might hire a guide the first day, then I would know the pattern/bait and could catch them myself. But locally, I use this Catfish Forum as my guide service. If I am traveling to another part of the state or out of state....I ask questions of those folks that know about that region to help me locate fish. I have talked to folks that catch big catfish in NC an have learned from their experiences. When I started fishing rivers, I asked questions of river fisherman from all over the north and southeast and learned many techniques I could adapt to our waters, so, I think it always depends on the situation.

[cat stalker]

I guess it does depend on your view of things, but in my opinion the USCA (BOC) has been a guide to all of us here over the years. I know I personaly owe most of my cafishing knowledge to the USCA, but that doesnt take anything away from me when Im catching cats large or small. Im just happy to be fishing.

[lukeclayton]

I appreciate all the input this article has created. I also feel the need to set things straight. The USCA has a fishing forum that many of us partake in on a daily baisis. Ours is a very good one that is well policed. I've never seen anything negative on this site and I know that I won't. This fact is what drew me to this excellent site in the first place. Every fishing site is definately not so well policed. Where I live, there are some down right cut throat statements made and the powers that be allow them to remain. These unmonitored and unpoliced sites are what I referenced in this article.

[DANZIG]

Hire a guide, don't hire a guide,, do as you wish and enjoy!

Speaking just for me, Working the "puzzle" of where, when, and what, is half of the fun. Just being out on the water is the other half,,,, and actually catching fish is gravy on the biscuit.

Now, if I was fishing water that was physically beyond my current skills,, (large swamp easy to get lost in, 30 miles offshore, African river with angry hippos you need to know the location of,, something along those lines) I would not hesitate to employ a guide. I am all for a bit of excitement but I prefer it if the odds favor my getting back alive.

[stoney53]

Hire a guide, don't hire a guide,, do as you wish and enjoy!

Speaking just for me, Working the "puzzle" of where, when, and what, is half of the fun. Just being out on the water is the other half,,,, and actually catching fish is gravy on the biscuit.

Now, if I was fishing water that was physically beyond my current skills,, (large swamp easy to get lost in, 30 miles offshore, African river with angry hippos you need to know the location of,, something along those lines) I would not hesitate to employ a guide. I am all for a bit of excitement but I prefer it if the odds favor my getting back alive.

agree with this one

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[Aphotic]

Been asking myself this question recently. Planning a vacation to Oregon, where I've never fished before and fishing time will be towards the bottom of the list of things going on with the multiple families involved. Figure if I pay a couple hundred for myself and my family to get put on fish (I can't decide on steelhead or sturgeon) for a day using someone elses boat and gear it's well worth it.

Does it take some of the fun out of it? Absolutely. I love going out and spending days on the home-turf exploring each cove and hole, but I don't expect the family to want to do that while on vacation.