I need some input concerning striper fishing with a guide. I am going out of state for vacation and have hired a guide for some striper fishing. In talking with him recently he bragged that the last 2 weeks he has had his limit within 1 hour with 7 - 10 pound fish. While I think that is great, I am wondering if paying close to $400 for 1 hour fishing is a wise investment. Having only used a guide once before is this normal? Any input is appreciated.

Richard

Rabbit. Last time I used a guide it was limit or 8hrs..

After about 6.5 hr we were close to our limit and the weather was getting worse so we called it quits, However it is stated that limit or 8 hrs fishing so if the limit is caught real fast it would be up to the guide to continue on or pack it in..

Also The guide we used on texoma only charged 220.00 for 2 people for up to the max time

Where are you going?

If you are going say to Arkansas for trophy fish, explain to him before hand, like now on the phone, and tell him you are looking for a big fish for a mount or replica. That way if a fish can survive being released you can toss some back while you search for your bigun....

As a rule for striper fishing it is time limit or until limit is reached if before time is up, not much more to go fish for once you are limited out.

If you go and limit in a hour or so, then you might be done for the day.

I am guessing that the striper limit is just 4-6 fish. If you are paying close to $400...that equals close to $100 per fish.
No way I am going to pay that much for a fish, or pay that much for an hour of fishing. Now, we all know that there are no guarantees you will catch your limit in 1 hour...it's just the risk you take when you lay your money down. That's just my $.02 worth.

I'm NOT a guide but I use them to 1. catch fish and 2. to learn some of the tricks of the trade of that lake or area. Taking home fish is a bonus for me. I kinda look at it like taking a fishing class for the day. Of course ya gotta pick a good guide:)

I agree with Bradbury & Duck_Jerky. The fish may not survive releasing them in hot weather. So you must keep what you catch and stop at your limit. Also, there is no way I am going to pay someone $400.00 or $150.00 for an hour on the water.

Why could not the guide fish for another species after the limit is reached?

Most people who hire a guide want to learn how to fish a particular lake. The guide could spend the rest of the time teaching his customer.

There is one guide I hear on KRLD radio on the weekends that boasts about how he gets his customers back to the dock in one to two hours. That does not seem very customer friendly to me.

Back in the 70's, a friend and I hired a guide on Texoma mainly to learn how to catch the elusive striper. We arrived at Highport at dawn very excited. It happened to be a very windy day. After about an hour on the water the guide told us that it was too windy and he was taking us in. We asked what did we owe him and he wanted the full amount. We payed and he never heard from us again. The next time we hired "Pepper" Roberts. We were very pleased with him and used him several more times over the next few years until we were able to fish up there and catch a decent amout of fish for ourselves.

Customers ask me how I define a half day trip. I explain it is four hours and that I enjoy fishing.
So we usually fish until one of us have had enough. A few weeks ago I had a couple out and at 11 AM he told me he had enough. On the way in I was thinking, what did I do wrong? We got the boat on the trailer and I asked him what was wrong. He told me he just got hot and tired and that he had a great time!

Thanks for all the input. I was hiring a guide to put us on some fish and enjoy the day with my sons. It is not often when you get a chance to enjoy the outdoors with your boys and I wanted to make the most of it. I was thinking 1/2 day of fishing meant 3-4 hours. I may have taken it wrong, but it seemed the guide was judging his success by finishing the trip as quick as possible. But when he told me he completed a trip last week in 45 minutes that hit me wrong.

We will be fishing in Arkansas, but I don't expect any trophy fish.

Richard

Ok maybe I should have been more specific....Assuming this is a striper trip, what lake in Arkansas will you be fishing? Beaver, Norfolk ??? The limit is 3 in Arkansas, if it is you and two others then you can catch 9 fish.

I have had trips where I have limited customers out in an hour and sometimes sooner or a little longer, or taking the full amount of alloted time. I will leave biting fish to go to another area to find more or bigger, or whatever.

Bass fishing, you pay for 8 hours, you get 8 hours, hybrid or striper fishing, you pay for a guided trip for 4 or 8 hours and if you get your limit then you are done no matter what time. That is the norm typically. Go out, catch your limit of stripers or hybrids in an hour, then you have 7 more to fish...Well, sometimes they will go look for sandbass or something, maybe catfish. I have been on guided trips where we did in fact limit out in about 90 minutes, I wanted to take the remainder of the shad and go anchor and fish cutbait for catfish, guide said no...trip over. I go out and limit me and some buddies out fast, well, we will go look for sandbass or something, but basically our trip is over.(that is personal fishing). We go limit out on hybrids and you are fishing with me, then well, if we have time we will go catch sandbass or vice versa.

Down at the coast in saltwater, samething, but you have a variety of fish, but it depends on the guide. Trip is 8 hours, most will go fish for trout first, that is the easier fish. Some will quit when you have your limit, but the ones I use are for the full 8 hour, we limit on trout, the we go looking for reds. I have had a guide where we caught our 4 limits of trout and trip was over and we did not look for reds, then I had a guide who fished for reds, we caught 4 limits and would not go fish for trout......Have not used either guide since then.

To me...a successful trip is making sure that the client's expectations are met or exceeded.

A guided trip is all about the customer...not the guide.

Tell the guide what you expect before you book him. If he can't do it find someone else.

I agree with Duck Jerky 100%....If the customers want to fish for something else, I take em if we have the time. If we are out of time, but still catching fish we stay. If we limit out quick, we go look for something else, if they want to, I typically want to anyway.. I have had folks who said, man, I am beat lets call it a day after two hours of fish and limits already in the box. Fine, but I tell them, we do not have to do that. The reason I do it that way is I have been on three trips where limit was reached early and trip was over, swore if I was a guide I would not do that and I have not yet.

RMP makes a good point, tell them what you expect and ask questions, if he does not want to do it, call another one.

On my trip to Beaver Lake, i told my guide I only wanted to keep fish if they would not survive release, I was looking for big fish for me and the family. He said fine, but if something looks like it will not make it, then we need to keep it. Fine with me. Sometimes the big ones do not bite, but we tried and got two over 24lbs. Only two we kept that trip.

I do a lot of catch-n-release fishing because I fish almost exclusively with artificials. While a trip on Texoma can usually "officially" be done when you hit a limit, we hang out and hunt for bigger fish, or do the C&R thing as long as we're not floating released fish. I don't fish half-days. Trips are 6 hours on the water, and an hour to clean and take pictures. Most of the time folks will hang in for the full time. When it's cold, or real hot, they'll sometimes pull the plug with time on the clock, but it's their call. If it's been a tough day, the clock doesn't matter all that much... nobody wants to catch 'em more than I do.

I've gotta agree. $400 for a 1-2 hour trip is pretty questionable, and I have some serious doubts about guys that will brag about having customers back on the dock by 7:30!

mark
www.texomasportfishing.com

WHEN I HIRE A GUIDE I MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I AM THERE TO LEARN SOMETHING AND ENJOY THE TRIP. IF IT'S A HALF DAY TRIP, I EXPECT TO FISH A HALF DAY.

WHEN I GUIDE OTHERS I KEEP THEM OUT AT LEAST THE TIME BOOKED. IF WE LIMIT OUT EARLY WE CAN C&R, OR DO LESSONS ON THE GRAPH OR FISH FOR SOMETHING ELSE, WHATEVER, IT'S THEIR TIME.

A TRIP IS NOT SUCCESSFUL TO ME UNLESS THE CLIENTS ARE HAPPY AND SATISFIED. A GUIDE CAN'T MAKE THE FISH BITE BUT HE CAN SPEND THE TIME TEACHING IF THEY DON'T.

I did call the guide again to discuss the trip and my concerns. When I mentioned catch and release he stated he does not do that! Catch your 3 fish and you are done. Then I ask about going after another type of fish for the remaining time and he responded he was setup for striper and that is what he fished for. Then he told me that Monday morning they caught their limit by 5:30 had the fish cleaned, bagged, pictures taken and the customers back to the pick up point around 7:30. I am sure he is a good guide and I am not trying to discredit him in any way, but I think we need to look for some other type of trip.

I agree with what has been said. If I hire someone for 4-6 hours of fishing. We will be fishing or learning for 4-6 hours. If I just want quick fish I will go to Kroger. If we limit early and can do no more C&R because fish are dying. Well we are goign to learn the graph, or be shown some spots, fish for something else or just go for a boat ride.