The only good "guide" trips that I've had, we Striper fishing at Texoma. The Bass trips were always, meh. That being said, the Bass trips were always inclement weather related. Never hit a good day weather wise.

IF I was a guide, and I'm not, but I can fish and catch BIG fish regularly and have hired guides in the past and every one of them has taught me something....to have a guide front end you to build a rep is wrong. They are supposed to show YOU how to catch 'em. That being said with todays technology (Ultrex), if I WAS a guide, and I'm not, but if I was worth a SH!T I would sit in a comfortable fold down seat in the back deck with a remote control to the Ultrex telling clients throw here throw there etc. How easier for a guide does it get? Yes , I would have to find and pattern schools of fish or at least areas that held large numbers and maybe I would have to establish todays bite, but after that , looks to me like I could kick back and let my customers kick as$ and catch as many as they wanted listening to Jimmy Buffet or Casey Ashley? Whatever. Trophy fisherman a little different deal. They have to understand that you are looking for ONE big bite that day. And let me say that guiding bass fishermen has too be the most difficult profession I could ever imagine. You just can't satisfy everyone. What are you gonna do when a guy shows up wanting a 10+ pound bass with a Zebco 33 and 12 lb line? So communication is obviously key but what'cha gonne do??????? Adjust! My $0.02

First off I wouldn't be a guide no matter what the pay. It's a tough way to earn a living, and the older I get the more I wouldn't want any part of it. Maybe if I was 25 my body could take it. Wind, cold, hot, rain, snow, and clients who wouldn't know a palomar knot from a doughnot...no thank you. I've fished with buddies that A) couldn't flip a bait worth a dang, and B)did not know what a bass' body language looked like, and whether a fish was "locked" on a bed or not. I've hired some of the best guides on Lake Fork. Brian Duplechain, Mark Pack, Hollis Joiner, and several more. All of them fished with us. NONE of them front ended or tried to outfish us. When we got to a prime spot they would point it out, tell me what was there structure wise, why we were fishing it, and let me take first shot at it. I would imagine many clients are not great at all techniques. If they're really on a jig bite for example, and your client has no feel for a subtle jig bite, but the guide KNOWS they're on it, he might throw one to let you know...this is the real deal. And then let you try to learn the technique. That's what good guides do. I had another guide on Lake Fork years ago, who literally front ended me the first two hours, pitching a jig to the best spots we pulled up on and caught fish. Then told me why that fish he just caught was there. That ended quickly. I was on his left elbow the rest of the day and let him know I wasn't there to let him try for his personal best. R.M. for those of you who were around back in the early 90's was the guide. If you're bed fishing I would want the guide to teach me how to bed fish, regardless of my ability or skill level. That's how you learn. Show me a little, teach me the rest. If you can't flip or pitch and you're trying to bed fish with a guide, and he can't figure out another way to get a bite...he's not much of a guide.