Fishing guide disappointment

[TRIGGER]

I have been fishing KY lake quite a bit this year and honestly I have just enough experience to be confused. I fish with some of the what I would call local experts from time to time but decided I would go on a guided trip with someone that I or the fishing group I associate with doesn't really know just to get a new feel for the lake and learn some things. WHAT A JOKE. I am really disappointed with the trip and actually cut it off early. The guy is a "pro" that has fished the lake for 27 years. He has fished bass masters tournaments and of course the tournaments leading up to them so I know this guy knows how to catch fish but only took us (my fishing buddy and I) on a wild good chase. We fished the same pattern for 6 hours with only 3 fish put in the boat. I know the pattern he was fishing and it has been pretty good but it just wasn't working but he wouldn't change. That is the exact reason i wanted to go with a guide is to learn when,why and how to change things up when the known pattern shuts off for whatever reason. All he said was "the sun is out today they are going to be hard to catch". I kept grilling him on what we should do next but he never did anything. I told myself going into it that I was not going to be stubborn with my ways and let the "pro" teach me so I kept relatively quiet and not too pushy. I probably screwed up big time by letting him know that I fish the lake quite a bit. We were supposed to fish until 3 but at noon I asked him to take us back to the ramp. My buddy and I unloaded our stuff out of his boat and into mine and went back out. We had a limit on the boat in an hour and a half. What a waste of money. Not only did I not catch a fish with him but also didn't learn a thing. Rant over

 

[SilverFox]

You'll find a lot of guides only get spoken good of because the fishermen they take out don't know anything. It's hard to find a guide who actually works for fish anymore. Most want the easy money. Catch a few fish and shoot a beginner a line about how tough it is and they will love you for it... they don't know any better.

 

[TRIGGER]

You'll find a lot of guides only get spoken good of because the fishermen they take out don't know anything. It's hard to find a guide who actually works for fish anymore. Most want the easy money. Catch a few fish and shoot a beginner a line about how tough it is and they will love you for it... they don't know any better.

We were one step above bobber fishing

 

[ZachMarkus]

If you want to take I guided trip on guntersville I know the man to call. He's probably 27 or 28 but man he knows the lake and will put you on fish. I went with him about a month ago and our best 5 was over 30lbs. I caught my personal best which was an 8lb 2oz largemouth. We caught probably 40 fish and we both lost a fish over 7lbs at the boat. I don't know how many fish over 5lbs we caught. I couldn't believe it, it was the best fishing trip by far I've ever been a part of.

 

[cmn]

Sorry you were not happy. You had a bad guide. I do not guide KY. Lake but any guide worth his or her salt will change patterns if the "norm" is not working. The only time I held back was when the client told me wherever I took him he was going to return until he had caught and KEPT all legal fish out of the spots I showed him. I proceeded to find out where he fished on the river. Lo and behold what do you know.... That is where I fished also. I have been guiding and hiring guides for over 30 years and occasionally you will have a bad experience. Sorry for your bad day. Don't give up keep trying

 

[rsimms]

I've posted here before (when asked), I don't believe a guide's tip should necessarily be based upon the number of fish caught... but on the individual's level of effort, attitude and demeanor. I hope his tip was "zero."

And I don't typically guide for bass (although we catch 'em)... nor do I offer "guarantees," but had this been one of my catfish trips you would have been offered a "slow day discount."

 

[bigluresonly]

You'll find a lot of guides only get spoken good of because the fishermen they take out don't know anything. It's hard to find a guide who actually works for fish anymore. Most want the easy money. Catch a few fish and shoot a beginner a line about how tough it is and they will love you for it... they don't know any better.

We were one step above bobber fishing

Wow, that really puts your level of disappointment into perspective.

 

[RUGER]

Been there, got the t shirt.

Some people just suck, period.

 

[Biggun4214]

We flounder fished at Myrtle Beach last year after Anna hit. When we finished and paid the guide he commented that he appreciated our business but he knew we would not catch fish. Other charters that I have dealt with have always been up front on weather related issues.

 

[fairchaser]

I used a crappie fishing guide once on Granada Lake because I didn't know the lake. I consider myself a pretty decent fisherman and was wondering if I wasted my money but I was wrong. Probably the best money I ever spent on a guide. He let me ask him any question and was honest with his answers. He never fished himself and competed with us but only guided us and put us on fish and big fish. I learned so much from him that I use today on a regular basis it's not funny. Needless to say, he got a huge tip. Sometimes its the guide and sometimes its just the wrong or right time to be there. Everyone wants success regardless of the circumstances. But, everyday is not going to be an epic day. I usually tip them based on their efforts and not results.

 

[TRIGGER]

I used a crappie fishing guide once on Granada Lake because I didn't know the lake. I consider myself a pretty decent fisherman and was wondering if I wasted my money but I was wrong. Probably the best money I ever spent on a guide. He let me ask him any question and was honest with his answers. He never fished himself and competed with us but only guided us and put us on fish and big fish. I learned so much from him that I use today on a regular basis it's not funny. Needless to say, he got a huge tip. Sometimes its the guide and sometimes its just the wrong or right time to be there. Everyone wants success regardless of the circumstances. But, everyday is not going to be an epic day. I usually tip them based on their efforts and not results.

Oh I understand completely that there is never a guarantee when it comes to fishing. I just feel like he didn't care enough to try something different. Therefore his tip or lack there of reflected that.

 

[raywa]

Don't fell to bad. I've taken my daughter's on 2 different guided trips on Percy priest. Two different guides one trip was for stripers and Hybrid. We caught a grand total of ZERO. Tried a different guide this time for crappie and again grand total of ZERO fish. I'm done with the guided fishing trips. Like Dave Ramsey says I paid my share of STUPID TAX. We are going back to bobber fishing. We at least catch something and its free.

 

[bowhunterfanatic]

If you want to take I guided trip on guntersville I know the man to call. He's probably 27 or 28 but man he knows the lake and will put you on fish. I went with him about a month ago and our best 5 was over 30lbs. I caught my personal best witch was an 8lb 2oz largemouth. We caught probably 40 fish and we both lost a fish over 7lbs at the boat. I don't know how many fish over 5lbs we caught. I couldn't believe it, it was the best fishing trip by far I've ever been a part of.

Was it Salzman?

 

[ZachMarkus]

If you want to take I guided trip on guntersville I know the man to call. He's probably 27 or 28 but man he knows the lake and will put you on fish. I went with him about a month ago and our best 5 was over 30lbs. I caught my personal best witch was an 8lb 2oz largemouth. We caught probably 40 fish and we both lost a fish over 7lbs at the boat. I don't know how many fish over 5lbs we caught. I couldn't believe it, it was the best fishing trip by far I've ever been a part of.

Was it Salzman?

Yes sir, Ryan Salzman

 

[rsimms]

Don't fell to bad. I've taken my daughter's on 2 different guided trips on Percy priest. Two different guides one trip was for stripers and Hybrid. We caught a grand total of ZERO. Tried a different guide this time for crappie and again grand total of ZERO fish. I'm done with the guided fishing trips. Like Dave Ramsey says I paid my share of STUPID TAX. We are going back to bobber fishing. We at least catch something and its free.

Stories like this simple ASTOUND me. :shock: I'm not bragging (well, maybe I am), but I've been guiding since 2006, mostly part-time, but full-time since Jan. 2015. I don't know exactly but I'm sure I've conducted at least 500 guide trips... and as mentioned previously, I don't offer "guarantees." But only two (2) times have my clients failed to catch a fish... two out of 500+. I assure you, they weren't charged a dime.

Maybe I can understand finicky fish or poor timing/conditions for stripers/hybrids. Any guide trips for any species of "trophy" fish can obviously, and understandably, result in zero's. I have been on a few of those myself. But crappie, not so much. On behalf of guides everywhere, I apologize for your poor experiences.

 

[RUGER]

I have been on a few guided trips.
One was an absolute JOKE, the other wasn't too bad. In fact I would have to say it was good but we started out with some mis-communication on my part. I wanted to catch "stripes" by which I meant "rockfish". We caught true stripes, biggest was about 2 pounds, which was really good but.....
One guide tried, one tried to catch as many fish as he could and spent the time making sure he big holed me and the other guy every chance he got.


The rest of them have been with rsimms.
Always 110% effort on his part and always caught a boatload of fish.
If every guide had to take a test from him before they were allowed to guide there would be alot less bad ones out there.

 

[Kirk]

I have been very fortunate with the two Guides I booked for fresh water trips. Both were absolutely on top of the their games.

Booked Richard Simms 4 or 5 times on "Catfish" trips and each trip exceeded my expectations. You can't ask for a better catfish and general fishing guide. One of my favorite Simms memories is the Gar school we got into below the Chickamauga Dam. it was intense fishing for about 30 minutes. My late Uncle, Bill Young was so hooked on Simms catfishing trips he would drive up from Birmingham with his two grown children to fish with him. All it took was one trip with me and Simms that he tagged along and he was hooked. Uncle Bill was an experienced Gulf fisherman that had probably been on 50 chartered trips. He quit Gulf fishing after he discovered Simms.

The other was Rogne "Rogie" Brown. He is a Bass Guide. Went out with Rogie at least twice maybe three times. I fish so much it all runs together over the years. Rogie wore my ass out. I caught so many Bass my back hurt and my thumbs were bleeding. I ended the trip early because I was physically exhausted.

 

[landman]

I've posted here before (when asked), I don't believe a guide's tip should necessarily be based upon the number of fish caught... but on the individual's level of effort, attitude and demeanor. I hope his tip was "zero."

And I don't typically guide for bass (although we catch 'em)... nor do I offer "guarantees," but had this been one of my catfish trips you would have been offered a "slow day discount."

I've fished with this guy ^^^^^before
Just cause it was 100degrees and we where
Rednecks from Middle TN. He was thinking
he would burn us hot before noon, filled
Cooler before 11 am. My 79 year old father
would have kept him out until midnight, but
I called it about 4pm. Burn the guide out...

If everyone called a GUIDE was like Richard the
World would be a Much Better Place!!!!

Book with No Fear


Mike did you fish with Steve McAdams?
People always seem happy with him,
for crappie anyway

 

[agelesssone]

I'm a guide in Nashville and I hate taking people out for a "boat ride".
If the weather is not going to be conducive to fishing, I'll call the clients the night before and tell them and offer to cancel and refund their deposit.
Like when a cold front comes through. Maybe we caught a double limit the day before but the front moved through and we would be looking at cool clear skies, no breeze the next day.
I would rather not go out and catch 7-8 crappie and I'll give the customer an out.
I am as honest as I can be with my clients....about everything.
We have one guide in my area that, if you live within 200 miles, he won't take you out.
What's up with that?

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[blueball]

I've posted here before (when asked), I don't believe a guide's tip should necessarily be based upon the number of fish caught... but on the individual's level of effort, attitude and demeanor. I hope his tip was "zero."

And I don't typically guide for bass (although we catch 'em)... nor do I offer "guarantees," but had this been one of my catfish trips you would have been offered a "slow day discount."

I've fished with this guy ^^^^^before
Just cause it was 100degrees and we where
Rednecks from Middle TN. He was thinking
he would burn us hot before noon, filled
Cooler before 11 am. My 79 year old father
would have kept him out until midnight, but
I called it about 4pm. Burn the guide out...

If everyone called a GUIDE was like Richard the
World would be a Much Better Place!!!!

Book with No Fear


Mike did you fish with Steve McAdams?
People always seem happy with him,
for crappie anyway

Steve McAdams and Andy hicks if your looking for crappie in the paris landing area and you want go wrong[emoji2]

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