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Honest feedback requested. #12841806 07/25/18 09:53 PM
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Natekh Offline OP
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I've been posting on a few different fishing forums to try and gauge the interest in an idea I have. My reason for wanting to put this idea into action is it's something I would use anytime I traveled to a new place. I also haven't found anyone else doing exactly what I'm thinking of.

A lot of times when I travel to a new place I would like to spend a day fishing, but I may not have the gear necessary with me or I might not have enough knowledge of the area to have a fighting chance of catching anything. A guide would be a great option, but a guide usually will charge (for good reason) more than I want to pay. Sometimes though I just want to fish, get a few pointers from someone that knows the area (basically be guided for an hour or two) and then fish by myself for a few hours. I also don't plan on buying a boat anytime soon and want to learn new styles of fishing that I can replicate without a guide. Guides are likely to take you out in a boat.

On the other forums, I just posted if anyone would take me fishing in their local area and let me rent their gear for a few hours. I wanted to see if the general idea would work. It seems people don't really want to take a stranger fishing. Shocker. But, would anybody do this with the protection of a trusted third party.

I hate to use the phrase because it's so clich้ but think Airbnb for fishing. It would be a website where you can rent gear and get a local fishing guide that would give you a lesson on catching fish in their local area. I know this is valuable information, but the local guide could charge whatever would make it worth it to them and most customers would be traveling through and wouldn't steal their secret spots. One of the greatest benefits to this site would be fisherman could make some extra money doing what they love and people like me could go fishing when they travel without spending so much on a guide (since for me specifically, I don't always want the fully guided experience). The guide would still make enough money for it to be worth their time while still keeping the price down for the customer since the guide would charge separate fees for their guided time vs rental time. For instance, a guide may charge $25 per hour for their guided time and $10 hour for their gear (obviously prices would range greatly depending on the value of their equipment). For an hour of the guides time and being without their gear for 3 hours, they would make $55 dollars. The customer would get to fish a new spot semi-guided for $55. That seems like a good deal for both parties.

The website would either require a deposit or provide insurance to protect the guide's gear. A review system would be used to ensure customers can find good trusted guides.

Would anybody be a guide on this site?
Would anybody be a customer on this site besides me?

I'll definitely appreciate any honest feedback you guys are willing to provide. I don't want to waste my time on an idea no one would use.

Happy fishing!

Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841826 07/25/18 10:05 PM
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jbcarroll3000 Offline
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Growing the sport...

Welcome to the Forum.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841832 07/25/18 10:10 PM
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craigfish Online Content
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I think you might be on to something. I was in a different state this last week and wanted some kind of basic intel. to find some public access and make some casts. I couldn't afford nor did I have time for a guide trip. I just needed some local knowledge to get a start. I ended up going to the little towns visitor center and the kid working there made a personal call and got some info from a fisherman friend. Worked out well. Went where and did what he said and caught a few trout with the wife. Would I have paid for that kind of local expertise? Absolutely.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841834 07/25/18 10:12 PM
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Hmm. Sounds like a neat idea that interests me.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841842 07/25/18 10:19 PM
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JCBfromTHF Offline
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Pretty much any basic local knowledge you need can be found right on your phone with all the various apps, and forums. Just have to do a few simple searches and the info is right there in the palm of your hand for free. Where the guides come into play is to get you off the bank and into the boat and up to speed on the latest up to the minute patterns that are working on a certain body of water...……...and most will let you use their equipment if you are a out of towner.

So the only real niche I see in your idea would be the renting of your fishing equipment to someone. Personally I would have no use for such an idea or be willing to rent my gear to someone.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841877 07/25/18 10:47 PM
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Lee Finlay Offline
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I'm in Connecticut right now, wishing I had access to a rod.

Found this awesome pond that would be perfect for a frog.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841884 07/25/18 10:51 PM
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I mean I have fished with many on this here website, have met some good people. Had a lot of fun. I have let more then a few use my gear when i took them fishing. Never had a problem.

So it already exists and i don't think it would get alot of traction. But that is my opinion, and i could be way off. I would not be a customer.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12841898 07/25/18 11:02 PM
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jbcarroll3000 Offline
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I'm not a guide. If I were, I cannot imagine selling my hard earned fishing intel for $25 ($200 might be worth it, I don't know, but then that's messing with your price point and then maybe it's just best to do a fully guided half day trip). And you say it would be for "traveling through" fisherman? I'd have no faith that this would be true and that I wasn't selling my info for pennies on the dollar to someone who would then be on those spots for the next two weeks while I have other clients paying me a daily guide rate who I need to put on those spots. So, the only information I'd probably be willing to give would be as beneficial as a TPWD fishing report -- "Bass are fair on black/blue worms and white spinnerbaits on main lake points..."

On the user side, I therefore would expect my $25 to give me the level of information I could find on the TPWD website and might as well save my $25.

As a user--absolutely, I'd love to rent someone's guide-worthy equipment for $10/hour. On the guide side, no way in he%l would I rent any sort of usable equipment for $10/hour. It would require methods and time of getting it to the customer, getting it back from the customer, evaluation of and claims for damage--what occurs if I lend out 5 rods/reels and they come back (if I get them back) with backlashes to the spool in each reel? Will the customer then pay a re-spooling fee for fluorocarbon as well as a service fee for the time it's going to take me to re-spool? On this same line of thought, it would require having additional equipment set aside just for renting purposes. A guide could not lend out the same equipment that he then needed to have for fully paying guide customers the next day for a wide variety of reasons--loss, breakage, backlashes in all reels, etc.

As far as the review system--if I were a guide, I would not want to subject myself to this system for so many reasons. You can give the best info in the world--30 of your best waypoints, but if the person doesn't know how to fish, catches nothing, then blames you for it, what's the review going to say? That's my reputation there. Guides can get away with saying "you should have been here yesterday" to returning clients or clients that have been with them in the boat all day because that client can still see you visually working to try and put you on fish. It's also about the experience on the water and if you've ever been with a guide, there are some that the experience is still worth every penny even if the catching wasn't great, and then there are others...So, would not trust this system whatsoever as guide or user.

Someone else mentioned it, but the only idea I see here (and maybe you prove me wrong and this is the next Uber), is equipment rental. Again though, I would not want to be in the business of fishing gear rental, especially if it's the same gear I need tomorrow, and as someone who has rented gear to say fish on a coastal pier, rented fishing equipment cannot be of high quality. So as a user, it wouldn't be worth looking into for me.

I see additional problems that time will not allow me to discuss--liability issues, etc, but this is my honest, devil's advocate feedback because I want anyone looking into a potential business venture to predict the problems before investing. If you feel like they can be overcome, then go for it. Good luck.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: BMCD] #12841910 07/25/18 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted By: BMCD
I mean I have fished with many on this here website, have met some good people. Had a lot of fun. I have let more then a few use my gear when i took them fishing. Never had a problem.

So it already exists and i don't think it would get alot of traction. But that is my opinion, and i could be way off. I would not be a customer.


+1
All a business man has to do passing through TX. for a few days is make a POST on the TFF for help. He will get it. If you spy a local pond full of grass and need a frog; your local Walmart has everything you need. Just save your receipt. roflmao welcome


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Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: jbcarroll3000] #12842128 07/26/18 01:41 AM
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Txduckhunter Offline
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Originally Posted By: jbcarroll3000
I'm not a guide. If I were, I cannot imagine selling my hard earned fishing intel for $25 ($200 might be worth it, I don't know, but then that's messing with your price point and then maybe it's just best to do a fully guided half day trip). And you say it would be for "traveling through" fisherman? I'd have no faith that this would be true and that I wasn't selling my info for pennies on the dollar to someone who would then be on those spots for the next two weeks while I have other clients paying me a daily guide rate who I need to put on those spots. So, the only information I'd probably be willing to give would be as beneficial as a TPWD fishing report -- "Bass are fair on black/blue worms and white spinnerbaits on main lake points..."

On the user side, I therefore would expect my $25 to give me the level of information I could find on the TPWD website and might as well save my $25.

As a user--absolutely, I'd love to rent someone's guide-worthy equipment for $10/hour. On the guide side, no way in he%l would I rent any sort of usable equipment for $10/hour. It would require methods and time of getting it to the customer, getting it back from the customer, evaluation of and claims for damage--what occurs if I lend out 5 rods/reels and they come back (if I get them back) with backlashes to the spool in each reel? Will the customer then pay a re-spooling fee for fluorocarbon as well as a service fee for the time it's going to take me to re-spool? On this same line of thought, it would require having additional equipment set aside just for renting purposes. A guide could not lend out the same equipment that he then needed to have for fully paying guide customers the next day for a wide variety of reasons--loss, breakage, backlashes in all reels, etc.

As far as the review system--if I were a guide, I would not want to subject myself to this system for so many reasons. You can give the best info in the world--30 of your best waypoints, but if the person doesn't know how to fish, catches nothing, then blames you for it, what's the review going to say? That's my reputation there. Guides can get away with saying "you should have been here yesterday" to returning clients or clients that have been with them in the boat all day because that client can still see you visually working to try and put you on fish. It's also about the experience on the water and if you've ever been with a guide, there are some that the experience is still worth every penny even if the catching wasn't great, and then there are others...So, would not trust this system whatsoever as guide or user.

Someone else mentioned it, but the only idea I see here (and maybe you prove me wrong and this is the next Uber), is equipment rental. Again though, I would not want to be in the business of fishing gear rental, especially if it's the same gear I need tomorrow, and as someone who has rented gear to say fish on a coastal pier, rented fishing equipment cannot be of high quality. So as a user, it wouldn't be worth looking into for me.

I see additional problems that time will not allow me to discuss--liability issues, etc, but this is my honest, devil's advocate feedback because I want anyone looking into a potential business venture to predict the problems before investing. If you feel like they can be overcome, then go for it. Good luck.



While I feel that you are sometimes a negative Nancy.... I actually agree with you on everything you threw out here.
I can appreciate the OP and his idea but I also have seen a LOT of guys step up on this site and offer a back seat when it has been asked for.

Last edited by Txduckhunter; 07/26/18 01:43 AM.
Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12842168 07/26/18 02:06 AM
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Natekh Offline OP
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I really appreciate the feedback! From what you guys have said, it seems like the market for customers may be there, but it would be hard to get people to guide. jbcarroll3000 thank you especially for the thorough feedback.

Back to the drawing board!

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12842200 07/26/18 02:36 AM
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Jumpin J Offline
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If you look at Golf, for example, most courses have a few Rental Sets available, however, only a few, new, but not top quality, and they are "dead money" sitting there, majority of the time. Rentals probably on the Coast, more than fresh water.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12842214 07/26/18 02:51 AM
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leethefishking Online Content
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I think that this could work.

Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Lee Finlay] #12842241 07/26/18 03:05 AM
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David Burton Offline
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Originally Posted By: Lee Finlay
I'm in Connecticut right now, wishing I had access to a rod.

Found this awesome pond that would be perfect for a frog.

What part of Connecticut? You can buy some equipment cheap, then donate it to someone, or ship it home! I spent two years up that way. Even though I didn't get much into fishing at the time, I still knew those ponds had fish in them!


David Burton
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Re: Honest feedback requested. [Re: Natekh] #12842254 07/26/18 03:16 AM
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I have had several TFF'ers haul me around when I was in town, and returned the favor several times when they have been in my area. Made some great friends, and I don't remember a dime changing hands once.

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