Quite often, the OutdoorHub sends some very useful information my way. If you aren’t an OutdoorHub subscriber, you should be. But enough advertisements. Back to my point.
I don’t get the chance to fish with a guide very often. I’ve been lucky enough to be treated to a couple of guided trips in my time, but after reading a recent post on the OutdoorHub, I realize I may have committed some of the mistakes that can aggravate a guide.
Most guides provide the gear they know will catch fish and most likely won’t malfunction. It turns out guides can get a little owly when you show up with your “lucky” rig that’s been rattling around in your truck’s toolbox for 30 years. The guide’s job is to get you on as many fish as possible, but he can’t do that if you’re constantly unsnarling your line.
Take the guide’s advice to heart, too, and not just the stuff he tells you while you’re out on the water. If the guide sends you a list of gear to bring, especially outerwear in case of inclement weather, do as you’re told. You don’t want to be the guy who makes the whole group quit early just because you failed to bring a rain coat. The OutdoorHub article said that’s probably the biggest pet peeve guides face.
And back to the fishing gear, take care of the guide’s stuff even better than you do your own. Don’t use the eyelets on the rod as hook holders. That’s what the hook holder near the reel is for. If you put the hook in the eyelets, you can damage the eyelets, which can fray the line, and rods that fray line have to be replaced.
So if you get the chance to fish with a guide, try not to tick him off. And tip him well.
