The Common Sense Guide to Finding and Fishing With a Guide Part 2

I titled this the "common sense guide", but you would be surprised at how many people don't know, or do know and just don't practice the things I write about here. 

Part 2

Advice and proper etiquette while with your guide

 

Ok, so you've followed all the steps in part 1 and booked a trip with the guide of your choice. Now you might have some questions, especially if this is your first guided trip. Or, maybe you've fished with a lot of guides and have been committing some serious etiquette blunders without even knowing it.  Either way, read on, and I will give you some tips that should help you have the best trip possible. As well as making sure the guide enjoys the day with you as well.

Be on Time!

Your guide will have worked out beforehand where they want you to meet them the morning of your trip. Maybe it's spot where they launch their drift boat. It might be the fly shop, or a parking lot. Wherever it is, be on time! Remember, your guide is a professional. Respect the guides time just like you want your time to be respected. You're paying a lot of money for this, so why be late? People do it all the time, and I just don't get it. 

Your guide has probably either pre-fished the water they're going to take you on Or, has been on it with other clients the day before. So, he or she has a plan about where they're going to start you out. How much time to spend fishing each hole at what time of day. As well as back up spots if the fish just aren't biting in those locations. If you're late you may throw their whole plan for the day out of whack. Or they might not get you to all the spots that they wanted to take you to. Either way it might result in less fish caught for you.   

Keep in mind that your guide wants you to catch a crapload of fish just as badly as you do. They need you to tell your friends about the awesome guide you went with and caught 55 Rainbow Trout and 18 Browns. That's how they make their living. By positive word of mouth advertising. If you do something that causes you to catch less fish. Chances are you'll forget to mention that part when telling your friends about your trip.   

Being on time means on time. Not super early either. Your guide might have something they need to do on their drift boat before you arrive. They might need to run into the store that you're meeting in front of to grab something for your shore lunch. If so, then it's going to make them feel uncomfortable if you show up 45 minutes early, and are waiting on them. 

"I've fished here and there and caught this and that" 

Your guide has heard more fish stories, and has probably forgotten more about fly fishing than you'll ever know. So, don't try to impress them by making yourself out to be the second coming of Lefty Kreh. 

Listen to what your guide is telling you

If your guide tells you to cast to a certain spot....do it! Even if you can't see the fish that they see. Your guide has trained, experienced eyes, and will see fish where you can't a lot of the time. A perfect example of why this is important is fly fishing for Bonefish. Bonefish are often called "ghost fish" because they blend in so well with their surroundings. It's pretty much impossible to even see, much less catch Bonefish on a fly without an experienced guide to locate them for you, and telling you exactly where to cast the fly.Unless you have plenty of experience doing it yourself.    

Your guide may tell you not to wade through a certain spot in a trout stream. Probably because there's a spawning bed there. Please heed advice like this. More baby trout mean more big trout for your fellow fly fisherman to catch later on. Or, they might just know that there's a big drop off that you're about to step into and fill your waders up.

If your guide tells you to strike.... do it! Even if you don't think the fish took your fly. Remember they want you to catch fish as badly as you do, and their trained eyes will see a take that you miss. 

If you're taking your first drift boat trip. Be sure to listen to your guide! When more than one fly fisherman is casting from a drift boat it's important to cast perpendicular to the boat. With the anglers paying close attention to when and where the other is casting.If not, you're going to spend the day tangling your lines together, but at least you'll provide a lot of entertainment to the other boats that may drift past you. Your guide will give instructions during your trip to help you avoid this.       

Be Teachable

One of the best things about spending the day with a guide in my opinion. Is the chance to get expert instruction.  A lot of guys have the attitude of "I just want to be shown where the fish are, I already know how to do the rest." That's the wrong mindset to have. I've learned a lot of things from every guide I've fished with. So, make sure to listen when you're guide wants to teach you something. Pay attention if they give you a demonstration on how to present a certain fly. If you just glaze over, or act like you know it all. Then your guide might think "well it's a waste of time to try to teach this guy anything", and it might keep them from bringing up something later that might really interest you and help you.  

If you're new to fly fishing hiring a guide is one of the smartest things you can do. For the instruction alone! It will greatly ease the learning curve on casting, knot tying, learning to the read the water, how to fish the different types of flies properly......and so on.

Every fly fisherman needs someone that knows what they're doing to look at their casting every now and then in my opinion.You can develop bad mechanics over time without even realizing it. A good knowledgeable guide is the perfect person to do that. Just like Major League hitters have a hitting coach there to let them know when they start to make mistakes or have bad mechanics with their swing. Don't let your ego get in the way of fishing better. 

Ok trip's over, do I tip the guide?

I always tip. I tip anyone that provides any kind of personal service, and I consider guiding to be a personal service. How much is up to you. If you feel that you received excellent service, then tip accordingly. 

If the service wasn't so good......well I'll leave that up to you. I tip anyway, because I believe in pay it forward. Plus, you never know maybe this guy or girl is just having a bad day. Maybe they just lost a loved one or found out their teenage daughter is pregnant. Who knows? Don't confuse a bad day's catch with poor service though. Sometimes fish just don't bite. Even in the best spots. So, don't punish your guide for it. 

Hope you enjoyed reading,

Tight lines!

Shawn

       

               

        

Float Trip,Watauga River,TN 8-16-12

I had the pleasure of fishing with Ollie Smith of Blue Ridge Anglers on this trip. This was a very emotional trip for me. Ollie was my father in laws favorite fishing guide and also very close friend. This trip was Christmas gift to me from my father in law two Christmas's ago and I was of course supposed to go on the trip with him. Sadly, he passed away in November of last year. So, I instead went on the trip with his friend King of 48 years as that was as close to going fishing with my dad in law as I could get.

I'm the big guy on the left,Ollie center, and King right.

                                                                                      

Guide

Ollie Smith-Blue Ridge Anglers

Ollie is an amazing guide! Very professional, and has a wealth of knowledge about the area's  entomology,trout locations,feeding habits, and what flies worked and what wouldn't.  He handled his Hyde low profile drift boat like a pro always positioning us for the perfect cast, and he knows the Watauga like the back of his hand. Mid-day he served up a great shore lunch of homemade fried chicken,various chips,pimento cheese, and a ton of other items. He just kept pulling and pulling food out of the compartments in that boat. Which was good,because King and I can eat!  

Ollie offers half day and full day trips on some of North Carolina and Tennessee's most scenic rivers. He tailors each trip to meet his clients' desires and skill levels. Blue Ridge Anglers also offers cabins for rent at The Watauga River Lodge located right on the bank of the Watauga. You can see rates and pictures by clicking on the hyperlink to The Lodge above. 

I've never gone fishing with a guide and not learned a lot, and Ollie was no exception. He knows more about trout behavior and feeding habits than anyone I have ever encountered. Although I've fly fished for years, Ollie noticed some bad mechanics that I had let creep into my casting. He helped me correct them, and I was casting better right away. I think that is one of the most valuable things about fishing with a good guide that people often don't think about. Just like Major League hitters have a hitting coach there to let them know when they start to make mistakes or have bad mechanics with their swing. I think it's a good idea to have someone who really knows a lot about casting to look at your cast every now and then. Don't let your ego get in the way of fishing better.

     

 How did we do?

We put the drift boat in at 8:30 in the morning and took it out a little after 4 in the afternoon. The trout weren't biting that well. Due to it being late in the summer and they have been fished hard for months. However, we still had a great time. We started out stripping size 14 olive and white bead head Wooly Buggers from the bank and started getting takes right away. Later Ollie switched us to a Stimulator size 12 with a Quasimodo bead head pheasant tail #22 dropper that we caught several more on. We also saw some  action on a pink Salmon egg pattern. Altogether caught around 30 Rainbows like this guy here.

Which wasn't a great day on the Watauga. Ollie said a good day earlier in the season is around 60-70 trout. King pissed me off by catching the biggest of the lot!

   

If you've never seen a trout's stomach pumped. Here are a few pictures of Ollie doing it below. Didn't help us much, as whatever this little guy had eaten was already too digested to figure out what it was. 

My one that got away story is on video below. I was high sticking a San Juan worm in fast moving water and hooked a HUGE slob brown. I played him for five minutes before King started filming this video. I made the mistake of thinking he was through fighting just as he went on another run and broke the tippet. I wasn't giving him my full attention and that big brown made me pay! He lulled me to sleep, and yes I'm still kicking myself! You can hear Ollie coaching me on the video.

It was great day still. I plan on taking another trip with Ollie next year much earlier in the year like around May, and have one of those 70 trout days! 

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Tight Lines!

Shawn