After reading a while on here i would like to know why some of you guys hire guides. I get that not all of you have boats and fish tournies but the guys with boats and fish alot. I see guys on here ripping other guys for fishing that C-Bell lake and the same guys doing the ripping recomend so and so for a guide because they fished with them before. I have been to fork and the big sam and did ok but just dont understand why some call that there home waters and still hire a guide. I think the guys fishing C-bell are paying to fish that lake not for a guide. So whats the difference in getting a DD from C-bell or needing to hire a guide to get it.
P.S this is no knock against you guides i have helped out on some events and your job is not all that easy.

I hire a guide to learn. I don`t know everything. Shocking I know.

why do the worlds best golfers need a coach? always something new to learn from a pro. ive hired 3 guides on my "home water" ivie and learned something every time...

I hire a guide when I want to fish for fun at a lake I probably wont fish on my own and I don't want to spend a week looking for fish. Cheaper to hire a guide.

I've never hired a guide, but would like too. They are a wealth of knowledge and you can always learn more! They are on the water every day (most of them) and so if you're not strong in one technique or another, it's a great way to learn the right way and not get bad habits. I hope to hire one of these great guides one day!

Cause they'd have to get a real job if we didn't?

I've hired many a guide over the past 30 years. To learn. Still hire them today, to learn. Simple as that. I don't have the time available like I did in my 20's and early 30's to pre-fish, or learn a lake.

Guides will help me learn the lake (and a few "spots") and the general places to begin, given various seasons. After that, it's up to me to refine on my own. And I can do so much more quickly...by hiring a guide to point me in the correct direction.

Some folks hire guides to "catch" fish for the freezer. That's fine too so long as you convey your desires and expectations, before the boat leaves shore.

I.ve never hired a bass fishing guide before. Only guided trips i've ever taken were offshore fishing, obviously because i don't have a offshore boat lol..

But I have considered it a few times, but never did.

reasons i have thought about it were on lakes i had either never been on, and wanted to know how to run them, or haven't been on in forever.

Or a few times traveling for work and ended up having some time off, i've thought about getting one because i was needing to kill a day and there was a lake close(and my boat was hundreds of miles away.

Nothing wrong with it, i would do it to learn, not to go big fish hunting, but I've caught numerous dd's over the decades...


I almost hired one once because they ran a particular boat I was interested in and thought it would be a good way to fish out of one for a whole day, but never found the time to do it.

I have , however fished with a few guides over the years, but not as a client. My old team partner was a guide and i've had some friends that were guides over the years , so i guess that killed the mystique for me. Most guides are just guys that fish, and have a boat.

Some are obviously better than others..

Like Fouzman I've hired guides for years and hired one last week to learn more from him. I want to fish alongside them to see if I can catch as many as they catch and if not I want them to tell me why. I have learned much more than I can write here. Guides can be a good friend and I am thankful for each one I have fished. Everyone I have hired has been a man of integrity whose goal was to meet my needs and everyone has done that.

Theres many reasons why you would hire a guide. Learn the lake or learn it better. Catch the fish of a lifetime. Catch a large number of fish and have alot of fun. I know people that are guides and the best guides I've been around have litterally fished every inch of the lake they guide on and can put you on fish every day of the year. One of the best things about fishing with a guide is you may go somewhere you've already been to on the lake and they'll show you a different technique that works in that spot or help you understand why that spot is good when a nearby area that looks similar is not.

In a nutshell, there's your answer.

I have hired guides when taking my customers fishing. It makes it easier on me and is just a better time. I can concentrate on spending time with my customer drinking beer and having fun and not worry about running the boat and finding fish.

This right here sums it up I wondered the sameyhing till I finally hired one well worth it IMO.

To learn about a specific lake, techniques, electronics, season patterns, etc.
They are a wealth of information, wish I could hire one every time I go fishing.

If I had the spare change laying around I would hire a guide or two...