Was thinking about hiring a guide for bass/crappie but have any of you hired a guide and can say it was worth it?

Is it worth 300$?

Depends on what you want,how you approach it and who you hire.

A Bass guide for $300 is a steal these days.

That's what I charge for a full day 9hrs & if you want to learn new techniques I will try my best to teach you.

I just recently got back into fishing after a 15-20 year hiatus. I've hired guides 4-5 times and I've learned so much. I am constantly asking questions and getting good answers. If anything I hire them for half a day to just pick their brain about everything.

If they are a good guide then you should definitely be learning a lot

Some do some don't let them know what you want out of the trip. Learn to use your electronics a new technique etc. Or just put you on the fish.

All my trips are instructional. Whatever you want to learn, wherever you want to learn it. Your boat so I can can tweak your electronics & teach you how to read them, or my boat.

If you want to learn, hire Biggs. He is not a "Guide" he teaches how to fish mainly for bass but he has been known to land a big cat or drum occasionally. Completely changed the way I fish. I Catch more and bigger fish now. Bumped my PB twice once with him and once on my own doing what he taught me. You won't be disappointed. He's the Real Deal. PM me if you have any questions

Teach you where some good spots are!
Seriously though, yes a good guide will teach you a lot if you want him too. You can learn a ton just by watching his presentation and approaches to spots. Ask questions ask to watch him using his electronics and ask questions.
Some guides think they are competing with you though.

It really depends on the "bass guide." I've fished with a couple of guides that I wouldn't fish with again even if they offered to pay me to take them out.

I would recommend a guide that charges 450-550 a day. Unfortunately you usually get what you pay for.

I've learned more from cheaper guides then more expensive ones. There's a few who rather just get there money and not worry if u learn something or not. My first 2 guide trips were horrible but caught fish. My last 3 I have learned more on then a year of fishing lately.

I think you should talk to the guide as to what it is u want to get out of it. I have used them specifically to get confidence in certain techniques.

I understand what Andrew is saying, but there are a few who are starting off that know there stuff and just trying to get business. To charge $400+ you gotta be known and have lots of good references.

I guided full-time for years on Fork and lived there. Now I book guides and hire their services so I have been on both ends of this equation. It is absolutely worth every penny if you get a good one. There are a bunch of good ones on Fork. I have said this before and I will say it again, You will learn more in one day with a good guide then you will in a year by yourself.

However, you will be hard pressed to find a good one on Fork for under $450 a day. Do a search on here and you will find a LONG list of them. Also I read about bad experiences with a guide on here occasionally and I wonder if the guy that booked the trip did any homework at all before booking. All anglers have their strengths & weaknesses whether they will admit it or not.

You need to call the guide and talk to him before you book it. You need to have expectations and they need to be realistic. Don't hire a guide at Fork (or any other lake) thinking that a DD bass will be automatic. There are a few guides that will call pretty much any fish you catch on their boat over 7 pounds a DD then throw it back after a few pics. Beware of these.

If you truly want some help choosing one I am happy to assist you. PM me.

Oh Yea