Booking and Fishing With a Guide:
What you should be aware of:

Not everyone has hired a fishing guide and there  are those who annually spend thousands of dollars. Even the most experienced still , at times, find themselves unable to properly communicate with their guides and fishing buddies.
Lets start with communicating with the guide before you go fishing-

The moment you pick up the phone, or fire off an email to a fishing guide that you found off the web, or through a friends recommendation, you should know what to ask them and be prepared to answer honestly to personal fishing questions!
For starters, be CLEAR about what type of fishing you want to do, make sure that he or she understands your ability and your willingness to try other methods of fishing. This way there are no surprises at the dock when your guide shows up with only fly rods, because you never told them that you are a spin fishermen. When you fishing guide asks you how far you can cast, and how much experience you have had in this particular fishery, DO NOT embellish, it will only hurt your relationship for the day on the water, as your guide will, off the bat, be able to tell that you lied, and the day will start with bad blood. Let your guide know that you need help, and if you want suggestions to help you catch fish, cast farther, or simply make a softer presentation. Some people do not want advice, so if you are one of them, Tell your fishing guide that you prefer to give it a go on your own, as you came out to relax and not for a lecture.
Some guides have very strong personalities, so feel them out n the phone by asking a ton of questions. If they seemed to get annoyed on the phone, just thing of what I could be like on the water for 8 hours with them if you are missing fish after fish!
Ask your guide about the option of staying out on the water later then the regular hours. Discuss a price for this before hand, this will make it easier for everyone at the end of the day.
Be sure to ask what kind of gear your guide has o the boat, if any! If you are particular about what you fish with and cannot bring your own gear, make sure that you are familiar with the gear you might be borrowing on the boat. Some people have a difficult time using lines that are properly weighted to the rod, as most people, for years have been over lining fly rods. also be sure to check on the retrieve of the rods. Ask them if they change their lines often, as guides tend to abuse their equipment!
During your first conversation, ask about their cancellation policy, a well organized guide will email you their policy and have you sign off on it, as well as send a deposit. Ask if your deposit is refundable, and what are the conditions of getting a refund and cancellations!
Your guide should tell you what kind of boat they use ( if you are fishing from a boat). If you have health problems, research the brand and style and discuss this with your guide.
Find out who is supplying lunch. There in nothing worse then sitting down for a meal and finding that neither you or the fishing guide brought food!

Communicating with you fishing partner before the trip-

If you are bringing a buddy, client, or someone you meet on a fishing blog, be sure to settle on how you are going to share the bow, or if you are chartering a larger boat for trolling, who will fish first and for how long! This is more important for smaller boats where only one person can fish at a time. There are different ways to split of the time on the bow. One is shot for shot. If you make a cast to a fish and miss, then your buddy should have the next try, or if you are blind casting, time is usually the way to go, say 1/2 hour up, then rotate.
As long as you have communicated about this up front, then it eliminates someone from becoming a bow hog.
Decide on who is paying and how much, and who is going to leave the tip ( if you decide to tip).
Bring cash or a check, and do not ask the guide to wait after the trip as you run to the ATM as the guide is usually exhausted and wants to get home and eat and sleep! Nor should you say that you will send a check, that is just not acceptable.

On the boat.

A good guide will be walking you though all the moves as the day progresses. If not, ask what is going on with the tides, the moon, currents, and the bait fish, you are not only there to catch fish but to lean about how to read the water and the fishes habitats. If you have an understanding of what the fish are feeding on, then you have a better chance of imitating the bait fish with your lure or fly.
Ask your guide to cast a few times, maybe you will learn something, or perhaps you will learn that your guide can’t cast! Ask them to shoe you how to retrieve that line, or the lure. This is much clearer to understand then having someone explain it to you.
Ask to see your guide flies, it is kind of like looking into someone’s refrigerator, it will tell you a lot about your guide.

If your guide is being too critical of your fishing, simply ask them to stop. Nip it in the bud.
If your guide smokes and you don’t like it, again, ask them to stop.

Your fishing guide wants you to catch fish, so try to listen to what they are telling you to do. It is your best interest to not tell the guides what to do, unless they are completely hopeless, then it is fair game.

There are times when other boats or anglers around you might do something stupid. If this happens let your guide deal with it, as they have to be on the water everyday. try to refrain from screaming obscenities , putting your fishing guide in an uncomfortable situation, or if your guide is screaming at other boats and you are not comfortable, than ask him to stop.

For the most part, Fishing guides with a good reputation will live up to it. So the message here is to be clear and leave nothing to the imagination!

Amanda Switzer