Not sure of our meaning here. You think it's not a good idea for guides to fish all day long?

A guy you can have fun with. If I'm not having fun I'm not going to want to learn. . .or even fish. That's why I like Marc Mitchell. Not only is he a hell of a guide, he can teach whatever you want to learn, put you on fish, all that. But it's FUN to fish with him, most importantly.

. . .and take what Jeresy says with a grain of salt like the rest of us do.

I think the guide should find fish on his days off without clients in the boat and let clients fish alone for the most part rather than casting down the center off the brushpile sitting on a chair.

Someone who trys his/her best to meet the customers expectations. Whether that is learning how to fish a particular body of water, seasonal patterns, trying to catch numbers or size, learning electronics, etc. The customer has just as much or more to do with the total experience as the guide. The guide has to know your expectations prior to going out and then work diligently to try and meet those expectations, within reason. For instance, it would be difficult to teach summer pattenns during the winter months. A guide needs to be versatile in order to meet the unique challenge that each day presents and explain to the customer why there would be a change in plans if needed. It's all about communication.

Worst for me are the ones who demand to do what they want to regardless of the situation, season, or current pattern.

You mentioned that you wanted to learn. The people I'm talking about don't.

Not to be long winded, but let me give you an example.

Back in the early 2000's I was absolutely wrecking em on Senkos. Only myself, Shane Alman and Jeff Buchanon, 2 other guides, were fishing them. Shane picked em up fishing FLW, and Jeff and I fishing BASS. None of the tackle stores even carried them yet on Sam Rayburn.

The day before I had a 10.73, 2 over 9, and a hand full of 5-7 pounders. One of my best days ever. Water was up in the bushes and pine trees, and the big girls were too.

The guy fished the senko for a total of 3 casts and said there's no way a bass will eat this "stick". He pulled out an old firetiger ratltrap that had a rubber tail on the back and one treble. Said he caught his largest walleye on it and it was his lucky lure. I told him he would lose it in the bushes. He made a couple of casts and hung it up. No way I could get to where it was back up in the trees. He had to break it. Switched to a rogue and promptly lost it.

I convinced him to try a lizard. He caught a fish on the very next cast but said he hated soft plastics and went back to another stick bait.

I hate to admit it, but I gave up. I tried to explain why the plastics were working and why he couldn't fish baits with trebles, but he got mad because I didn't want to go out deeper away from "all this junk".

So we went out to open water and fished for about an hour. I caught 4 or 5 on the Senko and he said he had had enough. I took him back to the ramp, and wouldn't accept his money.

Only time I've ever taken someone back to the ramp.

THAT was the most frustrating day in my 17 years of guiding. I knew what to do, where to do it, and how to get him on numbers and size. He just didn't want to learn or take advice.

BTW, The next day I had a lady catch an 11 using spinning gear with braid. Made up for the day before.

I made a thread not too long ago saying what I wanted out of my next guide trip and it was for a guide to mark fish, catch 1 and do that 5 times for me. I said I was ready to go to whatever lake, whenever, whatever day of the week, and it could be a 1/2 day or a whole day.. however long it took. I need to learn to mark fish and catch them. Like you, I don't want to just go catch fish.

I had no takers.

. . .I have to say, coming on a forum and stating your expectations is not a way to hire a guide. It's up to you to contact them, not the other way around. Not all of the guides are on the TFF either.

I asked a number of guys that I trusted first, then contacted about 10 guides PRIVATELY, stating what I was looking for. Then I went and looked at price ranges. Only then did I narrow it down to a couple and picked based on availability.

I work too hard for my money to just take whoever says they can put me of fish.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but didn't I tell you we could do that later in the year on a dropshot once they moved back out?

Found it.

No problem doing that on Rayburn after the spawn. Some breaks around brushtops in 25-30 feet get loaded, looks like lasagna on the graph. You can see the dropshot weight and worm in the mix, then see the fish as you reel it up.

Downside is, they may all be 12 inch Kentuckys.

I'm just going to respond to this and then probably leave it alone.

There's a hundred guides on this forum constantly promoting themselves. They make thread after thread after thread about why we should hire them. Watch this video of me, and that video of me and call me to book your next trip and look at these big bass my clients caught yesterday! I don't see anything wrong with making a WTH (want to hire) thread.

But you're probably right, though. And I say that seriously.

You're absolutely right. My mistake. I'll definitely be in touch.

A good guide knows how to care for his customers. I've been with probably 15 guides on Fork. I have a few I will call back, and some I'll never call back.
They know who they are, and they are the guides that stay booked all the time, and are in demand. They can adjust to any customer, from the guy with a couple kids looking to have a fun day, to the serious angler that really wants to up his game. He is prompt, has a clean boat, a great disposition, and actually makes you fell like he can't wait to go have a great day on the lake with you. He explains what's happening, what pattern he's looking for, what we are fishing a certain way,...what we will do next, what he's thinking, why he's looking here or there. I like a guide that will fish with me if he's looking for fish, or teaching me something. A good guide will spend time with you trying to improve your fishing technique, your brainology, share his knowledge.
I want an honest guide, if it's going to be tough tell me like it is. Don't tell me how many you caught yesterday. Ask me what i know, and what I don't know, and what I want to know. Teach me, show me, tell me why or why not,..make me better. Most of all have some fun, enjoy the day, don't doom and gloom me all day because we're not catching 10 pounders, or 40 fish. Don't watch your watch all day, text on your phone, or make business calls on my dime.
When it's time to quit say so,..!! call it a day and lets head in,..don't try to recover a so-so day in ten minutes..I can see right through that,
Like I said 'a good guide knows how to CARE for his customers' if he provides me his best effort, I will know it. 3 fish or 30 fish I know I got his A game, and I'll be back, or at least call him and try and get a trip,....because these are the guys that are booked...jim

To each his own.

I'm afraid I'll (respectfully) have to disagree somewhat on your assertion here. IMO, the purpose of any open internet forum is the open dissemination of information by all those who wish to participate. By asking questions of ALL participants (both guides and customers) I think we can foster an environment that allows for people to have a free flow of ideas/thoughts/exchanges that will benefit the whole. Case in point, almost every day we will see, "I am wanting to find a guide to fish Lake X. Does anybody know of a good one?" which is immediately followed by, "Sure do. You need to give old Bob/George/Bill/John a call. He'll sure put ya on 'em. Me/wife/friend/cousin/neighbor went with him and caught 100's/PB/DD." And so the thread goes. Who actually learns anything from that?

This was an attempt to get all parties talking to say the good and the bad of their experiences and opinions.

I will agree 100% that we work to hard for our money to give it away to just anybody who CLAIMS to be a guide. Believe me, I have done just that.

A very good post. This is exactly what I'm getting at. I'd only add "running the lake" to that. I've had some that think I don't know that all we've done is for me to have had a very expensive boat ride.