This is not to sound that I am trying to undermine any guide, and most of the time we have had some very good experiences. However there have been times when I wish that I had known more before I had gotten into the mess. After one such trip off the west coast of Vancouver Island, where the outfitter went bankrupt, & 2 of his skippers who had not gotten paid the year before split the bookings of 2 different areas & tried to cover the bookings for just the price of the balance due. We did not have a map of the area or even have decent directions for the marina. And Port Renfrew is the end of the road where the hoot-owls make love to the seagulls.
Needless to say the skippers had not communicated with their ex-partner as to what the clients were expecting as far as the type of fishing we were interested in. The skipper was guessing we would bring cash, but would not a honor money order or cashiers checks made out to the outfitter who now lived in interior BC. Two of us had to borrow cash from the other fishermen to pay the balance owed for the trip. We had to be careful on where we ate to conserve money & when we got back home, I had $2.36 Canadian in my pocket other than the un-cashed cashiers check. Total lack of communication & frustration on our part. Oh & he double booked us with another party. We lucked out, but they got shoved off onto an older smaller slow boat & they were not happy.
His boat was a new 27' aluminum, Volvo I/O & with lots of room. This guide only used 2 rods for 4 fishermen & we had to rotate. He only supplied knucklebuster reels. It was the last week of the season & the game wardens had went home. I asked if he minded if I took a GPS reading of one of the halibut spots. His comment was "only if you do it behind my back". I did & later found out that we were fishing inside the halibut closure zone.
The last morning he ran up the coast, but there were few fish & for the rest of the day he just trolled down the coast toward the home bay killing time. He was using downriggers in 30' of water with 10' rods set out at 90 degrees to the boat & the tip low near the water with the herring ran 60' back off the clip. There was so much belly in the line that when a fish hit, by the time we got the slack out of the line the fish was gone 90% of the time.
About noon, I asked if he had ever used a diver & Apex off the stern. No, & he would not know how to rig one anyway. He agreed to let me try one, & before the rest of the day was over, we caught 3 of the 8 off my one rod. The only reason we limited is that he happened to find a underwater reef with a eddy at the entrance to the bay & when he trolled into & turned away, we hooked enough to finish the day. He came into the marina limited & made it look good for him. That day, the fish we caught were not because of his expertise. Sure he was good, but he did not really know how to fish. He just happened to be in an area where there were numerous fish & we drug the bait in front of them. Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds an acorn.
I came home & made up this list before I cooled off & my memory mellowed some.
(1) How long have you been in business continuously as a guide?
(2) What size is your boat/boats?
(3) What is the age of your boat/boats?
(4) What is the size of engine/engines on your boat & how old are they, & do you maintain them?
(5) Is your trolling motor a 2 or a 4 stroke?
(6) Do you brief the clients as to life jacket/fire extinguisher locations before departure?
(7) Do you brief the clients as to your fishing procedure & what to expect before departure?
(8) Do you ask input from the clients as to their fishing preferences prior to the booking, or each day of the trip?
(9) What species of fish do you target?
(10) How many clients do you take out at a time?
(11) Does everyone have a rod, or do we share rods & rotate? How many rods do you run at a time?
(12) Do you normally troll, mooch, jig, backbounce, backtroll, or use bobbers?
(13) Do you supply the rods & reels?
(14) Do you use the long "noodle rods" & single action reels, common in Canada?
(15) Do you offer star drag & or Left Hand reels & downrigger rods as an option if the answer is yes to any of #14 above?
(16) Can I supply my own rod & reel if I am left handed & or bring gear that matches your requirements?
(17) What angle are your rod holders mounted for downriggers, & are they out to the side or basically straight up & facing rearward?
(18) What brand of downrigger do you use, & is it electric?
(19) How far back from the release clip, do you normally run the flasher for salmon?
(20) Do you run bait, or lures?
(21) Do you use scent on the bait/lures?
(22) Do you clean & provide for packaging & freezing of the clients catch?
(23) Do you supply the clients with a map of how to initially find your location?
(24) Do you make provisions for client’s motel/cabin stays if applicable?
(25) Where do we meet you for a day of fishing, at our cabin or the dock?
(26) When is the departure time, & how long are we on the water?
(27) Do you offer some sort of a "Rain Check" provision for unfishable weather?
(28) Do you have a maximum fuel allocation per trip?
(29) What is your guiding fee?
(30) Is your fee is based on how many clients per trip?
(31) Is this fee all inclusive or are there any extra hidden charges?
(32) What type of funds do you require?
(33) How much of a deposit do you require?
(34) When is the balance due?
(35) Can I bring my wife along as a non-fishing guest that stays ashore? At what additional fee?
(36) If we have a cancellation of one of our clients, can a new client be substituted, even at the last minute?
(37) Do you have a “Standby List” of names to fill in for a cancellation, who can come on a short notice at a reduced rate?
(38) Do you have a back-up guide in case YOUR boat/motor is disabled, or YOU have health problems?
(39) If fishing salt water do you have any crab pots that you offer your clients the use of?
(40) Do you stay abreast of any new fishing regulation changes?
(41) Do you have a e-mail & a web-page?
(42) Do you have a cell phone that we can contact you if need be?
Last updated 05-02-05
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