4. STEWARDSHIP
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resourceful. If the river’ s too crowded with other boats--savvy guides will find a rough ramp putting their clients ahead of the crowd. Getting a late start? There’ s a work around for that, too.
Last week, when fly fishing Steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula, we arrived at the put-in at 9:30 AM, a hearty breakfast still warming our bellies. Counting( at least) 15 other rigs at the ramp, I could see the wheels turning in our guide’ s mind … ten minutes later, we’ re in the raft floating … upstream??? As a resourceful guide, it apparently was his duty to give us an hour of untouched“ first water” upstream of the ramp— which we joyfully fished! After rowing us directly across an iceberg-strewn channel, we walked the raft upriver crossing again … twice! Though we were skunked during the mile-long float we’ d earned, the anticipation( and the hike) kept our blood pumping and( his clients) smiling.
4. STEWARDSHIP
Has your guide exhibited good stewardship of the fishery resource? Successful guide trips usually involve many opportunities for decision making— i. e. release this fish, but bonk that one. Pick up after your shore lunch or not? Who cares you say? Well actually: you do! You and your guide are responsible for your actions while enjoying your outing. If you forget your license, or you forget to punch your card, it’ s on you!( A good guide will ensure that you have done both.)
On the other hand, how many tickets has your guide gotten? Maybe that’ s why they lost their guiding license? An
easy way to check that your guide usually does the right thing, is to check with your fishing guide Outfitters Association. In Montana, a useful resource for finding an outfitter is right here. Additionally, you can check your state’ s business licensing service to see if your outfitter’ s business is registered— a‘ good sign’ you might say. In Washington, you can find that here.
If you enjoy the fly anglers’ discussion boards such as this one, you can peruse those forums for mention of the‘ good, the bad, and the ugly’ fly fishing guides. Of course, comments on these forums, though hilarious to read, are often given anonymously and must be taken lightly, if relied upon at all.
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