Question for our professional anglers

[big al]

hey a reasoned well thought out debate with great insight from some top anglers ,what ever next on anglers net. great thread cheers lads big al

[charliebettell]

I know where you are coming from Newt - I'm 50 this year!!

 

I have to go out in all weathers - even if I am not feeling too well.

 

It not about loosing money, you just don't want to let clients down that have been looking forward to their day out for so long.

[poledark]

50?? FIFTY ???? christ man you are still young...what's all this about having to go out in all weathers?? Thought you were a Pro

 

Den

[charliebettell]

I see we have something in common - we both like photography - are you into digital yet?

[Dunk Fairley]

Interesting posts from all concerned. I get to meet quite a lot of "proffesional" anglers, through my SAA dealings. Luckily, most of them can enjoy their angling, but still have a good eye on the need to maintain the buisness side of things.

 

I don't think I've met many at all, who I can really consider put the money making side of things, above what they enjoy from fishing.

 

Quite a lot however, will spend their buisness time making money out of one sort of angling, but spend their leisure time in another angling direction, i.e, their angling buisness may be based around coarse angling, but their leisure angling is based around fly fishing, or even Big Game fishing. Or they may be angling writers for money, but their leisure side is mostly collecting angling memorabilia.

 

I had an interesting chat with a young lad while at the Carp Show the other day. He was doing an IFM (Institute of Fishery Management) course. He was 18 years old and wanted to set up his own fishery. I suggested that if he ever found his buiness life was starting to have a detrimental affect on his angling life, he should make a decision to settle his priorities one way or the other. Evidently, I had no need to suggest this, as he'd already decided he was going to run a Trout fishery for a living. This, he reckoned, should have little or no effect on his love of Roach, Dace and Barbel fishing. If only life could be so simple!

[Dick Dastardly]

Some more interesting comments.I personally dont think that Pike are a suitable species to build a guiding buisness around also I like to keep my piking for myself!BUT these are just my own feelings.Guides are indeed instructors as well in a lot of cases so talking now as a Pike angler rather than a guide I would have to admit to rather seeing a beginer go with a Pike guide rather than on his own.

 

A mate of mine works full time on a famous trout reservoir he is a ultra keen and very sucsessfull angler.He likes fly fishing and is competent but does he go every day? No of coarse he doesnt,two or three times a year at most.He fishs most days for his favourite species,pike.though but keeps his "work fishing" and personnal fishing seperate.

I tend to keep mine seperate by only guiding to venues I have "finnished"(?) fishing.Saving the exploring of new waters for myself.How do you guys get around this?

[mark barrett]

i am fairly lucky in the guiding that i do in that in the fens the waters are pretty much dfined two ways as far as zander goes. we have waters where there are god numbers of zander like the Ouse but you coul get fish of mixed sizes or there are waters like the middle level and the relief channel wher runs are far fewer, but the average size is much higher, but you will get a high number of blanks or dissapointing nights. now i wouldnt dream of taking a client on these waters as blanking will teach you little about zander that you couldnt get from a book or article. but on the other waters they get a chance to be hands on with a zed, but to be honest i dont fish there as i am not interested in numbers of average zander with the occasional biggie. i am these days fishing to try and get 14+ zander and so i will fish the harder less populated waters where i consider one of these more likely. this keeps me happy and hopefully my clients too.

[malevans]

Well the clients view is.......

 

Full time is irrelevent. What one pays for is:

 

a) Teaching ability if we are talking instruction.

Knowledge if its actual guiding (gillie in effect)

 

I expect a professional but not superior attitude, one arguement says that if the guide is totally dependent upon his clients for his family income then he needs referrals and repeat business. However the reverse is that a guide in these circumstances might be desperate for that days cash. The guide should advise on whether fishing is advisable based upon conditions. At the end of the week I judge a guide on:

 

What did I learn in general to add to my overall experience and knowledge, and did I end up on the target species. Was there something specific and unique about their input in terms of set up or location, which meant I caught from that venue.

 

Part time or full time don't care.....would like to see formal licensing of guides however.

 

Would I like to be a professional angler or guide...no chance...would spoil the fun and release. Would I like to be a lottery winner who could fish as much or little as I please and not go to work...TOO RIGHT I WOULD.

[charliebettell]

Wouldn't we all Malcolm.

 

Malcolm, you say "full-time is irrelevent".

 

Would you mind paying to fish with a 'so called professional guide' that does not fish the water that they plan to guide you on very often?

 

A 'professional guide', in my opinion, should be totally up-to-date as to what's happening on the water he/she guides on; and know how best to fish that water - the best method/technique to use on the day being based on the previous few days that the guide had been fishing that water.

 

There are plenty of anglers that have good experience in methods and techniques, but those anglers would still need to be out on the water nigh on everyday to be able to put a client on to feeding fish - and to know the best method/technique to use, based on the guides accumulated knowledge over the previous few days of fishing the water, to entice the target species.

 

Are you honestly telling me that you would be happy giving £100+ to a 'so called professional guide', with good fishing experience, that has not been near the water for weeks that he/she plans to guide you on?....!

 

Many of my clients, a good percentage being high-flyers working in London, come out with me because they want to have a nice day out in an environment very different to the one in which they work - and to catch a pike or two.

 

It is a must, if you say you are a 'professional' guide, to know how a water is fishing, know where the fish are holding up, and know the best method/technique to use on the day - that method/technique being decided by how the target species had been responding to specific methods/techniques during the previous few days of fishing that water - which could be many thousands of acres in total.

 

[ 27. March 2004, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: charliebettell ]

[Dick Dastardly]

There is a lot to what Charlie says there.Being on the water every day certainly does keep you in touch.A big advantage in being able to get on feeding fish.