"Whether you're an old pro at guided trips or it's your first time using a guide, this article from a recent issue of Fly Fish America says exactly what I think every guide would like their clients to know" - Matt

Excerpts reprinted with permission from "Guides-Indispensable Tools", by Paul B. Downing, Fly Fish America, February 2006, p.4-5

What to Expect

There are certain things you should expect from your guide….and a few things he or she should expect from you.

Your guide should be knowledgeable of the area and fish. Not just generally knowledgeable, but possessed of the highly specific knowledge that comes from fishing this particular water every day and talking to other guides who also fish it constantly. A guide who tells you that he wants to move to the location of a hatch that comes off at 4:00 p.m. is exactly the guide you’re looking for. That guide is knowledgeable and interested in providing you with the best possible fishing.

Your guide should make every effort to insure the success of your fishing day. If the usual techniques or locations aren’t producing, he should suggest something else and continue the search until he finds a combination that works. I recommend that you do not suggest alternative techniques or flies until it is obvious that the guide has run out of ideas. A guide will always take your suggestion and may stick with it even if it, too, is unsuccessful. The guide’s attention should be fully on you. He or she should not fish unless you insist, or the guide needs to briefly try something to see if it works. A guide who has you nymphing a run for a half hour with no success, while he picks off fish after fish on dries in the backwater, is not doing his job. The resentment a client feels when a guide catches even one fish in a spot he could have put the client on is something a guide should avoid at all costs. I have seen guides deliberately miss a fish while experimenting and immediately switch me to the spot. That’s a good guide.

Forming a Partnership

Fishing with a guide is a partnership. It combines skills and knowledge of both parties into something more. I have learned something from every guide I ever fished with, and some have even learned from me.

The secret is in the attitude you and your guide bring to the day. Think of your new partner as a friend. Both of you are off for the day on a fun adventure. You already have the strong bond of love of fly fishing and the outdoors on which to base this new friendship.

There are several things you should bring to this friendship. Treat your guide as a friend, not your slave. Offer to help with equipment. Carry your own stuff. Be honest about your abilities—it’s better for the guide to know your skills and expectations before the trip, when adjustments can be made. Be reasonable about your expectations. Your guide should make every effort to put you on fish, but if they’re just not biting, no matter what you and the guide do, don’t blame the guide. Blame the fish!

A good guide makes your day on the water a joy! I once asked a guide who was an avid fly fisher how he stands not fishing all day. He said that he fishes every cast with his client and is just as excited about his client’s catch as he would be his own. That’s the kind of guide you want to find!