Guiding

Trails and trout said:
Just wondering if anyone has experience guiding and would have any tips for a young dude looking into it ?
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Full time or part time?

Full time?

Move to a state where the weather and water conditions allows you to go long stretches without unfishabe conditions. You need to be in a situation where you have as many days possible booked in the "prime" season. It also helps to be in a "destination" where you can charge top dollar for a day on the water.

Then when winter rolls around, go guide salt water trips or south America, or have some other gig lined up for the off season.

Bottom line. Book as many days as possible. If that means switching to warmwater in the summer and steelhead in the colder months, do it. I cannot stress how important it is to have work lined up. Otherwise you won't make it. Also don't think that undercutting your competition will get you ahead. It will just get you poor.

Depending on where you end up, you may have to work for an outfitter. You will be low man on the totem pole until you build a reputation. You will get the least desirable clients and you may get a lot of days unbooked. You need to not let that sort of thing bother you and don't phone in trips because your sport can't cast or is otherwise a bad fisherman.

Other than that, actually be good at fishing, be incredibly patient, figure out how to be a good teacher, and most of all be a chameleon. Be whatever your clients need you to be.

For part time? Do whatever you want. Just make sure the clients you do book get a good experience.

Honestly if you are in your early to mid 20's and don't have much of a career started. I'd say go for it. But if you find that it's not for you, or you are struggling to get by, bail and go get a real job.
 
Trails and trout said:
Just wondering if anyone has experience guiding and would have any tips for a young dude looking into it ?
Click to expand...
Never guided but would point out what many people don’t know right after highschool. The most valuable money you invest is in your late teens early money just because of how compound interest works.

$20,000 invested at age 20 will be roughly $300,000 at age 60 if annual return 7%. Wait to invest that money till age 40 with only 20 years to grow at 7% annually now its only 70,000 at age 60.

I say all this because depending how early you want to retire and fish more you might consider getting the job you love with sketchy pay later in life and go fir a higher paying job that pays more early on in life when the law of compounding interest and time is still on your side.
Trails and trout said:
Just wondering if anyone has experience guiding and would have any tips for a young dude looking into it ?
Click to expand...
 
PennKev said:
Full time or part time?

Full time?

Move to a state where the weather and water conditions allows you to go long stretches without unfishabe conditions. You need to be in a situation where you have as many days possible booked in the "prime" season. It also helps to be in a "destination" where you can charge top dollar for a day on the water.

Then when winter rolls around, go guide salt water trips or south America, or have some other gig lined up for the off season.

Bottom line. Book as many days as possible. If that means switching to warmwater in the summer and steelhead in the colder months, do it. I cannot stress how important it is to have work lined up. Otherwise you won't make it. Also don't think that undercutting your competition will get you ahead. It will just get you poor.

Depending on where you end up, you may have to work for an outfitter. You will be low man on the totem pole until you build a reputation. You will get the least desirable clients and you may get a lot of days unbooked. You need to not let that sort of thing bother you and don't phone in trips because your sport can't cast or is otherwise a bad fisherman.

Other than that, actually be good at fishing, be incredibly patient, figure out how to be a good teacher, and most of all be a chameleon. Be whatever your clients need you to be.

For part time? Do whatever you want. Just make sure the clients you do book get a good experience.

Honestly if you are in your early to mid 20's and don't have much of a career started. I'd say go for it. But if you find that it's not for you, or you are struggling to get by, bail and go get a real job.
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That’s helpful, thanks. I’m 17 so it would mostly be a part time job and I’d probably work for a fly shop or another outfitter store. In the off season idk still figuring things out.
 
Look up the Alex Lafkas videos on YouTube. Pretty good reality check.

Knowing fishing is certainly an important part, but the other part is customer service and teaching. You can know all the techniques but if you’re an *** and cannot help your clients, and they aren’t having a good time, you won’t have repeats and you won’t be a guide long.

Be flexible. It takes years to build up a base. Until then, be prepared to need to do other work for income. Genuinely, good luck!
 
Not full time but yes, I guide. What do you want to know? I'll be more than happy to discuss it with you by phone. My nephew is 25 and wanted to go to guide school. I had him guide me and I combined all of the bad traits clients had and he tapped out before the day was over.

It ain't what you think it is. That's what I'll tell you. 🤣😁. You need to be exceptional or like eating cans of soup.
 
Kgregor12 said:
Never guided but would point out what many people don’t know right after highschool. The most valuable money you invest is in your late teens early money just because of how compound interest works.

$20,000 invested at age 20 will be roughly $300,000 at age 60 if annual return 7%. Wait to invest that money till age 40 with only 20 years to grow at 7% annually now its only 70,000 at age 60.

I say all this because depending how early you want to retire and fish more you might consider getting the job you love with sketchy pay later in life and go fir a higher paying job that pays more early on in life when the law of compounding interest and time is still on your side.
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This is actually something that people should think about when they are young, but most of us are too busy living young and dumb to care or worry about such things when we are in our teens and early 20's. I think I spent a few small fortunes at bars and beer distributors throughout my 20's.

It is good advice, though. Start a retirement account soon and make wise investment choices.

No offense to the guides on here (sorry, Kray), but being a guide sounds terrible, and other than to access private water off limits to others, I see zero reason to even higher a guide for PA trout fishing. I love fishing to get away from people and enjoy myself, not to spend all day paying someone to take advice from them.
 
krayfish2 said:
Not full time but yes, I guide. What do you want to know? I'll be more than happy to discuss it with you by phone. My nephew is 25 and wanted to go to guide school. I had him guide me and I combined all of the bad traits clients had and he tapped out before the day was over.

It ain't what you think it is. That's what I'll tell you. 🤣😁. You need to be exceptional or like eating cans of soup.
Click to expand...

I want to hear more of that story!
 
fcarp said:
Look up the Alex Lafkas videos on YouTube. Pretty good reality check.

Knowing fishing is certainly an important part, but the other part is customer service and teaching. You can know all the techniques but if you’re an *** and cannot help your clients, and they aren’t having a good time, you won’t have repeats and you won’t be a guide long.

Be flexible. It takes years to build up a base. Until then, be prepared to need to do other work for income. Genuinely, good luck!
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Thanks for the info dude, id like to say im a good teacher, definitly not an *** hole about anything. And pretty laid back. So idk but that might help
 
I’m the ideal client. I’m a bad caster (in the conventional sense, I can hold my own trick shot wise on small streams), I don’t mend well, I don’t listen, I’m impatient, I fish fast and I like to cover more water than any guide I’ve ever hired was willing to walk. I don’t like nymphing. I don’t try to figure out picky fish, I move until I find some that are less picky. If I can’t find any not picky ones, I’d just as soon go get wings and beer. Guides love me.

To the OP. Just make sure you really want to do it. Fishing is my favorite hobby in the world. Personally, I wouldn’t want to turn it into a job. Because inevitably, you’ll have clients like me. (I’ve realized that I’m a bad client, and haven’t booked a guided trip in years, but it took a few guides having to deal with me for me to figure that out.)

Edit: kray - In light of the above, do I still have that standing offer to float with you? I promise I won’t make you stop at every trib and hike a half mile up each one with me. 😛
 
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The reality is, if you choose to be a guide you will have no ability pay your own way through life. You will not be able to afford a house, health insurance, business insurance, workers comp insurance, a truck, a family, or a retirement plan. Trying to make a career out of what you do for fun is a poor plan. At 17 years old you need to seriously rethink the rest of your life and you better hurry. Sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear but it’s the real world.
 
As a side/weekend gig, or as a Summer high school/college job, yeah. Hard to beat that probably. And I worked at a golf course as a kid.

Otherwise PD’s advice is worth at least thinking about, as he’s largely correct. And for some guides, that lifestyle is ok and suits them. It’s just really hard to guide and earn enough just from guiding to have the lifestyle that less popular (fun), but better paying careers (normal, boring jobs) can more easily afford. For some people that’s not an issue, but just know that your perspective on decisions you make now may be different when you’re 30, or 40, etc…And this is also normal, I think.
 
poopdeck said:
The reality is, if you choose to be a guide you will have no ability pay your own way through life. You will not be able to afford a house, health insurance, business insurance, workers comp insurance, a truck, a family, or a retirement plan. Trying to make a career out of what you do for fun is a poor plan. At 17 years old you need to seriously rethink the rest of your life and you better hurry. Sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear but it’s the real world.
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This is true, however look at all the water you will own.
 
As I got into this sport years ago, I used to have thoughts about how nice it would be to do what I love for a living.
That was my heart talking though.

Then my brain would kick in.
And I realized that I needed to keep my real job, and its many benefits.
Health insurance, pension, etc.........

I've been comfortably retired for 4 years now
And looking back on things, I'm sure I made the right choice
 
A lot of weird advice here.

Can't pay your way through life? Are all the tens of thousands of guides in this country on welfare?

I am not a guide but if you really want to find out if it's your path I would first recommend hiring a guide and get a feel for what they do. Then look into getting a job in a fly shop that runs a guide service, even if its just sweeping the floor. Let it be known what you want to do. This may involve moving possibly a great distance from home. What are you willing to sacrifice?
 
I have several friends who guide. Some full time, some part time. I echo what "dudeman" says: "look into getting a job in a fly shop that runs a guide service".

This seems like the best advice to get started. Also, guide school to learn the basics.

I have one full time guide friend who travels between Patagonia, Alaska and New York each year. A lot of time away from home each year.
 
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