Why go fishing with a good charter operator/ guide

When you go out on that big fishing trip to that exotic location you have read so much about, drooled over the pictures and reports and imagined yourself holding that trophy fish and coming home with a memory to cherish forever…… have you considered who you will be fishing with or the company you are going to book this trip of a lifetime with?

Once you have decided on the location for your fishing trip and selected the operator who will host and guide your angling holiday a good operator and guide can give you a wealth of information on how you should prepare for the trip and the target species you want to catch. This will range from the time of the year and season to the tackle set up and lure selection. Yes you may have read about what other people have used and forums give you good advice but the ones out in the zone will know exactly what is what i.e the guides you will be fishing with and the charter operator.
So get in touch with them and establish a one on one so they know in advance your expectations, experience and capability, you will also be able to judge how responsive and prompt they are in attending to your needs and more importantly what will be possible and what not.

If you are going to go out on a holiday with a new operator do ask for some references of pervious clients, a good guide and operator will always be honest with their clients.

An important aspect of going on a fishing trip is going to be the weather conditions, today with changing weather patterns it is hard and difficult to predict the conditions accurately, guides and operators have no control of this but they can keep you informed of adverse weather conditions being expected and most often give you the chance to reschedule a trip to a later date.

A good guide will not only advise you on the tackle you need to carry with you, he/she will also help you to set up your gear, select your lures to match the bait the target fish are feeding on and ensure you are not carrying the things you will not need.

Expect a good guide to give you a briefing on what the tide and current will be doing while you fish for the day, and what species to target and when. Discuss this openly and come up with a plan that you are comfortable with.

Good guides and operators have a lot of fishing experience behind them they do this for a living and would probably have seen more fish caught than most of their clients, a good guide is going spend 8 hours a day on the boat with you for a week he/she can give you a lot of pointers and guidance on Casting Techniques and the best way to work your lures and also advise you as to which lures or colours will work the  best in given conditions.

Ask questions and observe, a good guide can make you a better angler and teach you how to read the water, to look for signs of fish and feeding and also how to position the boat both to fish the area effectively based on the structure around and to give you the best opportunity to hook, fight and land your fish of dreams.

A good fishing guide can also suggest alternatives that may result in landing that dream fish so be open and flexible if you can.

After all, the charter and guide’s income is determined by how successfully a customer can be put onto fish, after that it is up to you as the angler to do your bit as well to make sure that fish is landed, photographed and released to fight another day.

Comments are welcome to this post.