The Benefits Of A Fishing Guide

By Aaron Ralston

Here is my definition of a perfect fishing day: “Heading out into the open bays in search of 28” redfish and schools of hungry speckled trout, limiting out and loading up the boat with a stringer of fish that could win the next big fishing tournament, having the fish cleaned for you and not cleaning one rod, reel or boat, all before noon.” The fishing trip I just described sounds like the whopper of a tale you would hear while playing poker during guy’s night out, but fishing trips like this occur every day. Just ask a good fishing guide in your area.

If you are an avid fisherman and you are lucky enough to go fishing two or three times a week, then you may experience fishing trips like the one described above quite often. Unfortunately, many fishermen only have the opportunity to go fishing maybe once or twice a month. Either way, a fishing guide goes fishing five to seven days a week, many times twice a day. He or she is a professional, and the business is finding fish and getting the fish in the boat and back to the dock.

When you go on a guided fishing trip, the fishing guide offers you much more than a great time and a boat full of fish, he or she offers a learning experience full of many tips and techniques only a pro can provide. After all, a fishing guide’s income is determined by how successful he or she is at putting a customer on the fish.

A few things you can learn from a guide are casting techniques, especially for fly fishing, the correct way to work a variety of lures, how to “read the water,” the areas where fish are more likely to be, and which types of bait to use.

Redfish spook easily and one bad cast can send a school of redfish swimming for the open sea. Knowing how to cast correctly by having the skill to drop your lure in front of and about 10 feet on the other side of a school of hungry redfish will definitely increase your chances of catching a fish or two. A fishing guide can teach you exactly how to “work” a school of redfish, increasing your chances of catching a fish.

As you know, there are many different lures that vary in shape, color, the way they move through the water, and so on. Fish respond to color, shape and movement. If you throw a lure that closely resembles what they are eating, you will probably catch one or two. It is important to know what lure to use and when to use it to catch fish, and fishing with a guide will help you learn which lures are best used in different types of environments.

The tips listed above are just a few you can learn from a fishing guide, and there are many more that an experienced guide can you. The next time you hire a fishing guide, observe how they find fish, how they approach the area where fish might be, and which bait they choose under the weather conditions, tide conditions, and overall situation you are experiencing. You will possibly learn new ideas and skills, enhancing future fishing expeditions of your own.

Aaron Ralston
Gulf Coast Guide Reports
aaron@gulfcoastguidereports.com