Know what you're buying when you hire a guide

Thanks to outdoor scribe Jim Shepherd for reminding me to pass along some tips and experiences for those of you heading north.

I have fished the wilds of Canada for over 50 years. I've been fortunate to have roamed the jungle waters of Central America and the mountain streams of New Zealand and South America. And it was on many of the lakes around Hayward, Wis., where I learned the basics of guiding anglers. I later fine-tuned my skills in Minnesota and enjoyed putting customers on big fish.

Shepherd noted in a recent blog, “When you're fishing with a lodge, the guides will all be qualified and about equally equipped. There will still be quiet guides, talkative guides, helpful guides and guys who simply drive the boat and put you on fish. If you have a preference, tell the lodge beforehand.”

Jim explained that one trip turned into a nightmare.

“When we introduced ourselves, the guide grunted, but didn't tell us his name. At the first fishing spot, he took the front seat and used the trolling motor to turn everyone in the fishing party (except himself) downwind and away from the hot bite.

“He yelled at us to get the net — to land his catch,” Shepherd explained. “He never touched the net again until stowing the gear to head back. The anglers (his customers) handled the net the rest of the trip.”

Outdoor photographer Mike Seeling and I had a similar experience on Lake Fork in Texas. This huge impoundment is still noted for giving up jumbo largemouth bass. We had arranged to be with a bass guide, someone who had just landed a new state record for largemouth on this lake.

The guide parked himself in the front of the boat and made sure he made the first casts to what Seeling determined were prime locations that could possibly hold nice fish. The guide never suggested we move to the front of the boat. We paid him a substantial daily fee for him to “front-end” us for two days.

Mike and I were fed up with his cavalier attitude and told him we weren't paying him just so he could land another state record. But our objections went unheeded.

One one far northern, Canadian trip Seeling and I had a guide who liked long boat rides. He took us in circles and finally ended the sojourn at a spot he said was the best walleye location on the lake. We told him we weren't interested in walleyes, but rather big pike and shallow weedy areas. He pouted the rest of the morning. He subsequently drove the boat for five minutes to a nearby area that had exactly what we wanted.

Let's face facts. These are difficult economic times, and when someone books a trip to a lodge and enlists a guide to point out the best locations, one should expect yeoman service. There are guides in Wisconsin and Minnesota who sometimes act as if they are God's gift to the fishing business. I've met a few, and Seeling and I immediately tell them what we expect. If that doesn't jibe with the guide's plans, we go someplace else.

A lodge is dependent on repeat customers, especially when the price to play goes up every year. Repeat anglers, novices and experienced alike, should be able to communicate with the guide and if that's not feasible, go to the lodge owner and ask for another person to take over.

On one Quebec trip not too long ago we met some locals who told us the reservoir we were to fish was loaded with big pike and jumbo walleyes. The locals fished with us for three days and in the end we discovered they were only interested in filling their ice chests with “cigar-sized” walleyes for their home freezers. We later found out the whole trip was designed to send small fish home with the unsuspecting clients.

I've suggested that when you head to a new lake, or one where you're not comfortable fishing alone, hire a guide and have a long conversation before the motor is cranked up. Tell the guide what you expect — otherwise you're just pouring money down the drain.

Ÿ Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.