A guide that is truly making his living guiding is well worth $450-500 day. You guys have to remember, a guide isn't guaranteed to get a paycheck 250 days/year. If they were guaranteed this, then they could lower their prices some and still make a decent living. But when they are only getting paid 100-150 days per year, then they have to charge a price that will allow them to pay their bills.

My friend, do you think a guide has ZERO expenses?

[quote=HARD WORKN HAROLD]Has anything else come down since gas is down? Just sayn. [/q

YES,,,, we adjust our pecan & walnut pricing according to the market and fuel cost has a lot to do with that.

They need to charge what the market will bare, I am in the concrete business, fuel been steadily dropping, cement and aggregates been steadily rising, supply and demand.

by-the-way: I am NOT suggesting guide rates should go down,,,,,
just answered the question that was posed.
I think all pricing,,,,,,, guides, fuel, nuts, plumbing,,,,, should be what the market will bear. If you are willing to pay $350 for a rod then there will be manufacturers of $350 rods. If you will pay $450 for a fishing guide there will be $450/day fishing guides.

Everyone has expenses. His work vehicle is no different than the car that I drive to work with everyday. However, the guide can write off a ton of those expenses in his taxes. Let's be real. Yes the price seems high to some, others it's a drop in the bucket. Those who can't afford to take guides out think it's a high price, nothing wrong with that. Those of us who are fortunate and able to afford them think prices are reasonable and worth it.

Majority of the time people who pay for a guide service are looking for a good time. $400-500 would be gone really easy at Disney World or Universal Studios. It's all in how you view it.

Yep. Those guides are getting rich and living the high life. Everyone of them. And they now have health insurance for a reasonable rate thanks to Obamacare. I have even heard supermodels are leaving their NFL husbands to be with the top bass guides on Fork. Life is good great!

This could be solved easily.

-Guide shows up with a boat full of fuel and oil.
-Takes out his client for the day at X amount say $350
-At the end of the day, the guide fills the boat back up with fuel and oil and the client pays whatever that cost. Guide prices stay steady that way regardless of fuel cost and the cost of your trip goes up or down accordingly.

Probably not going to happen because it would mean a change in a long standing tradition of guide taking care of everything so that all you have to worry about is the fun part and none of the work but it is a solution.

Good idea in theory. I can see it now though...

"Mr. Guide, can we fish here a little longer, I don't want to use anymore fuel."
"Mr. Guide, why are we running all the way to the dam?"
"Mr. Guide, can you just follow me to Greenville to fill up your boat? It's $.02 cheaper up there."

post of the day!

What I said above was an attempt at a simple solution for those who are concerned about what they are paying for on a guide trip.

Personally I have been grateful for the on the water class I have gotten every time I have been with a guide and I always pay about 20% more than what they ask! Though I have been on guide trips where I have only caught one or two fish the catch or spots as some people use them for have paled in comparison to the information and confidence in techniques I have received. A trip with a professional is worth every penny!

I love it, $72,000 a year
Try around 35-40
We still pay taxes, as well as the 2,000 + a year in broken equipment, and that's just in rods and reels. Not including seat damage, and all kinds of little things I could go on about.
But besides all that. We do it because we love it, not because what we make, it's the memories we provide and happy faces at the end of the day. The posts that are put on the forum like the one Lee Livesay got today about his customers incredible trips. That's why we do it. Trust me we are not even remotely close to getting rich. Go to the coast for a day, it's $800 dollars to go soak live bait till you get your limit, then your done. Those guys do that 3x a day, now they getting rich lol.

as someone else said, it's all about supply and demand. if people are willing to pay $450 a day, then that will be the going rate. only when the guides are sitting at home will the price be lowered.

I am a supporter of the guides getting whatever they can get. as a young fisherman, I thought I wanted to grow up and be a fishing guide. but, once I looked at everything, I decided against it. when you look at the cost, the maintenance, the a-holes that you have to take out sometimes, the bad weather days, the fact that even if you don't feel good you still have to get up when the alarm goes off, and that sometimes the fish just will not cooperate, I think that being a fishing guide is a lot like being a public school teacher. you do it because you love it, and not because you will get rich doing it.

thanks to all the guides on this forum who try to help us "average" fishermen for free.

but that's revenue... how much of that $72k goes to expenses?

It's not the same as a guy with a normal job making $70k

I would not think prices would drop seeing how higher gas prices drove everything else up inculding minimum wage. If fuel cost stay cheap long enough then other prices may slowly begin to fall but I wouldn't hold my breath.