I understand what you are saying about the guide catching fish. I deal with it a lot with customers struggling to catch them.
Some "listen" and catch on but many do not. I tell them get up front, fish right there, quit yo yoing your jig, hold it still, etc.
some will try and others refuse to listen. Even when I am catching fish they still do not follow advice. I get frustrated but what do you do? I do not like scolding customers. We can all stay home or go to work and get scolded so I try to teach them and remind them in a nice way that here is what you are doing wrong and here is how to fix it.
Many days we could have 50 keepers but end up with 30 all because my customer for whatever reason refused to listen to my advice or listen. Our business is based on producing numbers and many times we look bad not because we didn't put a customer on fish but because that customer refused to watch and listen to what it was taking to catch them.
That is just part of being a guide.
My best advice is get in your guides back pocket and watch everything they do, ask questions, many questions. Pick his brain. Ask all the stupid questions your afraid to ask because no question is stupid. We all started some where and Asked those same questions. Get the most out of your trip. I tell customers all the time. You want to really learn, hope its a slow day and I have to work hard to find bites. You will see what I am thinking and hear me talking to myself and watch me dig deep trying to figure it out. You learn more on the tough days than easy days.

I've been trying to figure out the best way to voice my response and my "thank you" for your ode to us. When I was a kid, my friends and I all thought it would be really cool if we could fish/hunt for a living. I was romanticized about the idea, not knowing that my future would really involve sharing my passion with others, in exchange for their income.

Guiding is never a job, but it is a ton of work. Yes, this line of work does pay the bills, but that's not why I do it. If you get into guiding strictly for the money, it will be a short lived career. Guiding takes a passion for fishing, not just a love for the hobby. Too me, fishing and hunting are an instinctual calling that I can't resist. It's driven me all over the world, through conditions and situations that normal intelligent people wouldn't subject themselves too. And for what? There is no applause when I catch a limit. There are no accolades when I shoot a nice buck. There is just me and an animal, joined together as both of our ancestors have been since Nimrod fired his first arrows in the land of Canaan.

So why do I guide? Two reasons: One, I love the challenge that only Mother Nature can present us. Fishing and hunting for a living is the only thing I can do for a living that keeps me from feeling bored, and ultimately, caged. Like I said, it's an instinctual calling that I must adhere to for personal satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment. Secondly, I like to make people happy. If you know me, and not the me that has to play politics in public, but the real me, you know I can be a real smart A$% and a bit stern to put it nicely. But I love to make people happy, it's a way for me to serve the people I share this world with. When I fail (by fail I mean don't make the customer happy for whatever reason) I remember those people and their faces for a long time. A failed trip sticks out more to me than a trip when we caught 50.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write down your thoughts on fishing guides, JP24. I actually spoke about you over the weekend with my friend Greg Boyle when I was down at Cedar Creek. I hope all is well in your world and I also hope that your son has been doing well. Anyways, good luck this spring and thanks again for putting a smile on this man's face.

I would not, could not be a Guide for any amount of money.

I have the utmost respect for the whole group of them.

To put paying customers on Crappie, regardless of conditions (weather only being one of them) and dealing with the total range of angler skills that they see, defies words.

Some days crappie are easy to catch, most days they are not.

Wow! What a post.
Been looking at this forum for a long time, but don't recall a post like that.
Thanks for the kind words jp24. I think the majority of the guides on here are super people and really have a passion for crappie fishing. I know of, or somewhat know most all that have responded to this post.
Jerry H.,your thoughts are so in line with mine that it's as if you took the words right out of my mouth.
Especially about trying to tell folks what to do to catch fish that will not listen for whatever reason.
I had a 10 year old on my boat that was fishing with his Grandpa.The young man listened to every detail I was telling him and he was catching fish left and right. This young man was a novice fisherman, but was so willing to listen, he caught the most fish that day. Guess what.... Grandpa that was set in his ways, not listening to instruction, was not catching many even after trying to correct him. Like Jerry said, there comes a point to where you can't keep correcting people without them getting upset at you.That's when you have to help out with the numbers and catch a few yourself to add to the total. Grandpa was mainly interested in Grandsons catching fish, so all was good anyway.
If there is any thing that I could tell people that go with guides it would be..... WATCH WHAT THE GUIDE IS DOING WHEN HE IS FISHING!!!!!
There is a reason why he can catch fish, he has done it a million times!
A lot of times I will fish a pile just to see if there are fish willing to bite. Once I catch a fish, I try to show my clients how to do the same.

I have also found that sometimes, people could care less if they catch fish. They just want to get away from the hectic every day life and get out to the lake to relax and tell you a story or two about life in general. They just want to relax and have someone to talk to.
People say to me... "boy, I bet you really get some sorry customers from time to time".
But, you know what, I have been guiding for almost 8 years and I can truly say that I have never had a bad customer.
I have found that people that love to fish are generally GREAT people.

I love my retirement job and I love to see people catch fish and go home with memories of a lifetime!

Thanks jp24 and thanks to all my clients!

Awesome post, they are teachers and teachers are awesome

Awesome post! I truly enjoy doing it. With a little luck and a hand from the good Lord I'll be doing it for many years to come.

I always tell my wife that I could never be a guide,..."too much work."
I've had the luxury to go on about 30 guide trips in the last 8 years, both crappie and bass.
All trips were taken at Fork, Monticello, and one trip to Athens. When I do look back at all the trips
the thing I always remember is the guide. Sure there was one or two GREAT days, and a couple of GIANT
fish but the thing that sticks the most is the GUIDE. To me the most important things a guide can do
is be organized, and respect the client. When I see a clean, neat, well kept boat, and a guide that is
the same, I get a good feeling of about the type of day we are about to have. So far this has always been
a great measurement. I've been with guides from both ends of the spectrum, and the results always seem to
follow the metric.

Fishing guides have a very physically demanding job and must be very organized and personable. It's hard to imagine how they face the daily grind once they get to middle age. It's definitely for young, "in shape" people. Also i'm sure they know their dermatologist on a first name basis. My pet peeve is when a black bass guide allows you to fish on the front deck with him but yet "fronts you" by casting to all the fresh areas first. The other one is when the guide gets a fish on and then hands his pole to you to land the fish.

Great Post JP24. No doubt that it isn't what a lot of people think it is but as others on here have said, it is rewarding. It is all worth it when you see a kids face light up when they catch their first fish, even grown ups too. It often turns into a 5 hour teaching trip but what that person learned can carry with them for a lifetime. I always tell the client that this is your day we will spend it how you want to. Sometimes we mix it up and fish for different species and I have had people show up and just want to wet a line a little and drink beer a lot. We always have a good time.

I really appreciate the post. As a crappie guide on Lake Sam Rayburn, it is true that alot of hard work is involved. But it is very rewarding to put folks on fish. Some of my clients have caught their very first fish, and some have caught their biggest fish. I appreciate clients being patient and being willing to let us take them fishing. One of the best things about guiding is meeting people from all over the country. By far most people interested in fishing are good and decent people.
One of the services I provide my clients is video taping their guide trip. After editing, I send them 8-15 minute action footage via Youtube. They have shared those videos with their friends and family. One grandfather told me, his grandson will be showing that video to his grandchildren 50 years from now!
That made my day. So I appreciate the kind words, but the credit goes to the folks who trust guides enough to take them fishing!
Camoriver Guide Service
www.camoriverguideservice.com

Great idea for a post and lots of interesting replies. My hat is off to you guys.