I have been doing alot of thinking and alot of talking with people that I know well and trust and am happy to call friends above all else and I am pretty sure that I have came to the conclusion that after april 15th 0f 2015 I am going to call it quits on this whole guiding thing...... I will say this that over the years I have met some outstanding people, Been in some crazy situations, had a few knock down drag out brawls.......But most of all caught a shitload of fish with a ton of great clients that most of which have become much better friends over the years then anything else......some of you may wonder why I am doing this at age 50 ? well I will tell you why, I am just pretty much disgusted at what this industry has become. Its a shell of its former self......when you book a trip now with someone off of facebook or craigslist or groupon or what have you you have no idea what your going to get. You might get a young dude with a really cool looking boat and lots of stickers on it and his lifted truck yet he has only been rowing a driftboat for a year or two and most of his fishing knowledge comes from youtube or other internet fishing sites. He did not grow up walking the stream banks as I and many other guides my age did and most of these youngsters are not proficient and or safe in rowing there boat down the river with customers in it...................yet since they spend the money on advertising, spend countless hours on facebook and the internet and take hundreds of hours of video they will get more of the unsuspecting customers then the guys of my era.....and yet at the end of there trip they will wonder what happened and why...I have got alot of my best new customers from these types but at the end of the day I no longer want to be apart of it or associated with it until this state can come up with some kind of competency test or internship or apprenticeship program...Do I blame the young guides ? No how can you, there just doing what the state allows them to do. You have to blame the state and its lack of leadership or thinking in this arena.........So I will say this in closing, its been alot of fun, alot of hard work and I don't think it was supposed to end this way but at this point I am just done !
So if you want to come have some serious fun and catch a few fish hit me up and sign up because April 15th will come faster then you think............Peace Fly....

Good luck in whatever you end up doing.

fp

Ok.

how many years did you do it Fred until you said enough is enough.......

25 or so full time. Would'a went a little longer but broken down body just wouldn't let me do it. Started when I was 35 and quit a good job to do it.

I am sure I got into it about the right time and got out at the right time. I never had the internet during those days to (help)? me out like it does now. I very seldom post a fish bragging picture as many now do.

It was a good ride and I am glad to be done with it. Don't fish much on rivers anymore. See some horrible guides these days out there. Also, see some very good ones too!

I worked very hard and made a decent living.

Thank you for asking,

fp

My whole life I have wanted to be a guide. I've looked forward to the day I can start. But as of late that dream has slowly died due to the over population of new guides who just fallow the next big hit techniques.
So many reason you speak of are the very reasons why I have not pursued that dream.

I hate to be a party pooper but if you want to do it move to Florida Brother !

I remeber when I started Fred you guys all hated me and for good reason.....I was a punk ass long haired loud mouth from the city but I eventually learned and matured over the years that everything isnt best resolved with a fight on a gravel bar....JR taught me that....anyways I will say to you and George sorry for the BS in the beginning.... I soon learned....
Its to bad that it has gotten so bad that I dont even want to fight it anymore............
Peace Fly

Superfly, A fellow that I have known since junior high is still an active guide (at least the last time I checked he was). He is much older than you, yet he is still at it.

We are free to draw our own conclusions.

I'm wishing you good fortune in your new life,








!

George Rose ?
its not that I can't do it.....its just I refuse to be a part of the " new " guide cultural wich is shallow and lacks experience and professionalism...

I started guiding in 1961 in Forks, 1963 started fishing Forks in the winter Oregon and Idaho in the summer. From that time on my whole year was guiding . It was tough to start then but with the conditions now in the industry I cannot see how any one can start out with any hope on making a living. Even in those early years you needed to fish many different river systems to stay busy , that was much of the fun and adventure, permits were available just by applying.

Without a permit on one of the regulated rivers and a year round opportunity to work it is more of a hobby ,with the exception being a few very talented and resourceful guides.

Was able to help all my children through college and teach my kids the smart people were riding in the boats not running them. I worked full time at it until 2005 when , besides getting old 71 , the enjoyment was not there anymore. I still have a couple powerboats and drift boats
and fish for pleasure . I enjoy the ocean more now , nice to not be running in the dark to find first water.

I feel your pain and hope you find another occupation that is rewarding as guiding.

In the fly fishing world, the writing was on the wall when several outfits started "guide schools", where a fresh college graduate with essentially zero true angling experience could fork over $2,500 and learn "everything you need to pursue a rewarding career as a fly fishing guide" in a 10 day course. In this week, a student would learn rowing a boat, casting instruction, entomology, reading water, running your business, etc. For most truly great guides that knowledge was acquired for many years or decades before they decided it was honorable to take people's money in exchange for a fishing trip.

I know a lot of good guides who have been throwing in the towel lately, totally disenfranchised with the state of affairs in the angling world currently. Most of them are now happily engaged in other careers and most don't miss the guide business, which says a lot to me.

I'm pretty well convinced this "bubble" will burst at some point in the next few years and there will be a massive capitulation once many of these guys figure out they really aren't cut out to be career guides. Perhaps at that stage some of the really respectable guides will come back onboard and we will reach an equilibrium once again where limitless egos and chasing the "flavor of the week" isn't the game.

My observation.......all in Grays Harbor or close to, 1968 to present day......late 60's - 70's......not many guides, weren't really needed, lot's of fish, wild runs were big, hatchery fish were everywhere.

Bank access on many rivers was EVERYWHERE.....very few driftboats and VERY few sleds. Rivers like the Hoh, Queets, upper Quinault, Wishkah, Humptulips, Wynoochee, Satsop, North River, Willapa, and others all had steelhead, Coho, Chinook. I can actually say, that I have NEVER bought any "red meated fish"....

What happened???? Well Bolt decision was the beginning of a start to where we are....NT gill netters were under control, only fished salmon, Chehalis River and of course Willapa. Bolt said basically, treaty tribes were allow 50% of the fish...salmon and steelhead....for many years the local tribe only fished during the salmon season.....no problem, hatchery's were running full bore....lot's of salmon and lot's of steelhead, both wild and hatchery.

Fishing remained good, late 70's - 80's but changes were taking place....tribe which hadn't been netting steelhead, started.....more nets for longer periods of time, hatchery productions started to be cut back....access on many rivers, started to be "closed off"......so the answer was, closed waters......hire guide or buy your own boat to get where the fish were. Pretty soon boat traffic got to be what, seemed like out of control......but wasn't close to what it is today.

You can check back on some of my old posts......many people were retiring earlier, 401 plans gave them the $$$$$$$ to buy/do many things their folks couldn't do. Driftboats, jet sleds, guided trips, sky rocketed...now many people have boats and can afford guides 25 years younger than I could even think about buying the same equipment.

Now you have the equipment, or time off, or can just afford to hire a guided trip.......more people want to use their boats or just go and try to catch fish.......bottom line, LESS FISH, longer netting seasons, more and more boats.....tough to enjoy the time on the water, fish are tougher to get, got to get there earlier to "get the prime spot", so you can produce if you are a guide or just catch a fish if you have your own boat.

MORE people coming to State......just aren't making anymore rivers....I get burned out trying to get to areas to fish and having to sit until day light......grrrrrrr

I liked the Old days.............

Oh Joe.....wish you well in your search for a new job opportunity.

Interesting perspective DrifterWA and Joe for younger guys!

I guess more people is happening all over not just in your area. Doesn't someone here have a signature line about expectations of fish are due to current (sh!tty) conditions and we forget about the old days, or something to that effect?

Its a hard life being a guide, good luck and have fun fishing for your self!!!

I feel you fly.

How about the new young bucks dream bigger than being a guide? It is crazy to me how many young dudes think being a guide is a huge accomplishment. It is a huge accomplishment after 25+ years, not after you have a shiny new web site and are guiding a bunch of family friends. The new guides I see obviously have a lot of family funding going into their little project. They often have vehicles and boats that I only dream of owning as a hard working person. It clearly doesn't add up and they are stealing business from people who provide the real deal experience.

It's about more than calling yourself a guide and charging rates that cover Red Bull and jerky.

Ain't that the truth! It always makes me scratch my head when I see all these new guides rolling up in $40,000 lifted trucks with Micky Thompson tires and $2,000 worth of rims on them, towing a brand new shiny drift boat with $1,000 of aluminum rod holders mounted to the roof. Then you see the old time guide with a beat up Willie and a 15 year old truck...the guy that should be at a higher status all things being equal. The math never really added up to me...a lot of engineers I know have fewer toys and spend a lot less money than most newbie young-gun guides it seems.

Anyhow...I digress! Good luck in your future endeavors!

Thanks Guys you all make excellent points and its all true ! which is sad...
I am Driving my 2002 ford f-150 fx-4 which is paid for and I keep it in tip top running condition with a new tranny, new front end and new rear end all in the last year............Much cheaper then the 6-800 dollar a month Car payment.....My 17x 60 Thor is paid for and all my gear is top notch and all piad for by me and my guide money !
It is sad because I had the best salmon season I had in years ! absolutley Killer and I fished almost every day from early September all the way up to Damn near Christmas...... and many days alone on water that was blown out but after all the years of doing this you learn where to catch the coho in high brown water.................
Anyways I have alot of offers and opportunities in front of me.
I will guide again someday but it will be in the 305 area code where guides are actually paid what they should be and there isnt a bunch of entitled youngsters with no experience trying to undercut all the other guides and guides actually work together and keep one another booked...
When I step away you won't see me on the water for quite sometime, Its not fun for me anymore and I really don't feel like fishing for myself at this time..............anyways only time will tell how long this BS will last but I think it will be short lived.............Thanks for the support and take care
Peace Fly

Fly, good luck in your future endeavors, you will be missed. Stay positive.

I am sorry that you feel this way Joe...

You say you are not blaming the new guides but that is precisely what you are doing. Quiting and blaming it all on the younger guides and guys on the river is really lame and using them as a scapegoat is not the right way. You have been a highly respected and great guide, don't just blame the up and coming and quit. Nothing ever stays the same and everythign evolves, most change with it and those who don't are usually left behind feeling empty and lost.

Are their lots of reasons why the new "guides" suck and are ruining it for lots of people?, yes and most agree with your perspective... But that is not the underlining issue. Plenty of other stuff to give good reason for not wanting to be a guide anymore.

The rivers are overcrowded, overfished, overnetted, overregulated, and most of all overguided. This isn't the good old days anymore and it surely is going to get worse, not better (the truth). The way of the guide is a tough life and if you can't handle it anymore than so be it but don't blame everybody else for it. There are plenty of other guides that continue to have a positive attitude no matter what and find a way to make it work (like Ray Ray for example).

You are so good at many other things and I know you will be succussful at whatever your going to end up doing. I wish you the best my freind and hope to see you soon and get some days on the water before its over this year. I hope you can find peace in whatever you end up doing. I'm sure glad to see you found a new girl and are happy.

Long live the KING...

Fly I would really check out the 350 area before the move. Competition is very tough and a federal permit is needed to operate in the Park. Guides have to leave 3 hours before daylight to stake out for a good tarpon spot. Bonefish are larger than most other places but very difficult. Bait fishing for these is much easier but most the people with the money want to fly fish and very few cast well enough to catch fish. Living expenses in the Keys are out of sight. You will loose more days to weather in winter than you do now on the coast.

The great part is the weather and the miles of flats to explore , spend some time in that area , I hope It all works out for you.

sz

I find it interesting that this conversation is more a slam at people who can afford or who take advantage of todays technology (be it the internet, new boats, trucks, equipment, etc.) causing your "forced retirement". Let me give you a little business 101. If your company/ business model doesn't evolve with the rest of the industry, your company/business will die! Just like nature. If you dont evolve, your species will die.

Are guides who have stickers on their boats able to make more profit? If the answer is yes, then perhaps you should put a couple stickers on your boat. Are guides who post their services online getting more business? If the answer is yes, then perhaps you should get a website/facebook page/twitter page etc. to meet the demands of the consumer. Are clients more likely to book trips with guides who have new/updated boats? If the answer is yes, then you should probably update your equipment like they do. It's simple: Keep up with your industry! If your consumers are demanding something, you'd better start adapting regardless if you like it or not! If you truly had the "passion" for the sport as you say, you'd adapt like the rest of the industry.

I'll give you an example! Which book stores are actually making money!?!?! That's right! The ones that have gone online! Hence why Borders had to close their doors. They didn't keep up with the online trend. By the time they realized the future of book sales was going to be via the internet it was too late and they struggled to keep up and generate a product comparable to their competitors.

Perfect example of why evolutionary science teaching should be required in all schools!

Look, you're free to pick your new venture in life! We aren't living in Syria! But dont start in with this getting people to feel sorry for yourself non sense. This is a conscious decision you made you quite because, "Screw you young guys! I'm going home!" I'm sorry but I dont have sympathy for things like that.

What a joke. The yearly fly by

SF, I can understand you're frustration. You're one of the old dogs now, and it's come full circle time to help these young'ens grow up. You said it yourself, "I was a punk ass long haired loud mouth from the city but I eventually learned and matured over the years that everything isn't best resolved with a fight on a gravel bar." The problem may be that instead of the old dogs outnumbering the young punks, it's the other way around, so your situation isn't the same now as it was for those who had to steer you into maturity.

Perhaps it's time to get more organized as a profession. Many other professions have organized societies and self-published guidelines. I think the OPGA is just scratching the surface of this. Just my opinion, but I think it's better to be self regulated than state regulated.

Good luck in your future endeavors. I've enjoyed the PSA's.

I am curious about the turnaround status, and if this is something you are still planning on doing. I know a few of the guys I know and go with are also interested. Especially if you were able to get permission from Green Diamond.

It's not about young and old, flashy or not. It's about people guiding for basically no profit. You can't compete with that as a legit guide.

If you don't enjoy it, don't do it.

Be the change you want to see.

I find it amusing that by your own admission you were one of the punks that you are complaining about. Imagine if all the old guides in your early days had quit like you, no one would have been around to straighten you out. Who is going to straighten out the today's punks?

I am not sure the times are all that different except there are more people around so you notice the punks that you may not have seen before. I gotta think there were punks back in the day, just fewer of them proportionally.

There are still places you can fish by yourself and catch fish, beautiful places, even.

And blaming the State? Cop out. I for one don't want to wait around for the state to do something because it will suck, it always does, bureaucracy is rarely a good solution to a problem that could be solved privately.

Bottom line: The industry isn't going to get better if the good guys bail.

Best of wishes for your next round of adventures. Good luck,

SZ

I blame the guides for blowing up river on FB and putting more pressures on not so popular rivers....good luck fly.

Ther are alot of right answers and solutions but like everything it takes alot of time and effort and that is all I have been doing for the last 11 years is fighting for better seasons and transparency with the department and we have came along way.....more then once Myself and other guides like Andy Shanks tried to form a guides association down here but got nothing but lack of interest because all the local guides said that most of the guides come from elsewhere for two months and refuse to give anything back to the area because they are only here for a short time.....which has a lot of truth to it..........
So I am willing to sign on and help but I am done leading the charge on this kind of thing anymore.....I can put that effort and passion into moving on and doing something else that matters....................
I will say i like the banter this thread has created as far as ideas and opinions......in the end I think we need to have a limited entry deal or have guides select where they want to fish and you only get to fish so many areas...anyways something needs to be done and i dont have the answers myself but until this happens I am choosing to step away.......
Peace Fly

hey fly, if you end up guiding in Florida I would book you in a second.

Less guides = Less new fishers = less license revenue for Wdfw?

Quit ur whining pussy....

Are you the only one dealing with overpopulation? go ahead and move to Florida...

Sorry you drive a piece of [Bleeeeep!] rig...but that sounds like a choice to me.

You should be embarrassed.

Will fish for pills.... maybe drug testing should be added into the guide licensing process

Joe-I've probably fished with you more over the last couple of years than most on this board-we've caught lot's of fish-both with my son and thanks for putting my grandson on his first river caught salmon and his first steelhead! Having said that -I have a few comments and a few questions. If I read this right you are ready to quit because you don't like how the "new guys' are doing business-who cares-by your own admission and by my observation-you have caught more fish and have been booked for all the dates you can handle! So again-who cares how the young guns conduct there business-besides who made you "keeper of the guides"! Worry about what you can control and screw the rest. I have enjoyed our trips together-even yelling at your sorry ass for being late but also seeing how you can go from zero to hero in 15 minutes! If you decide to follow through with this-I wish you nothing but the best-I will truly miss our times on the Hump/Clearwater-besides, I don't have many years left and I don't want to waste what I have breaking in a new guide!

Nobody can do DRAMA like the fly

I would like to see a limited entry, like on the Smith or Chetco rivers, but that is also based on my own selfishness.
Are you still considering turn around services, and what is the Green Diamond status.
Good luck in what every desire you choose to persue.

Dibs on your boat ManBearPig......

Joe, wishing you more joy in life and in fishing. We have much to be thankful for, friend. Peace.

You mean instead of booking the old school guides who learned that fishery through years of hard work? A little ironic considering the genesis of this thread.

-S

Joe - unfortunately, 305 is closed for business and they are NOT giving out any more guide licenses down there. You think the comp is tough up here with stickered sleds and jacked trucks? Try spending $500 - 750K on a 42" Yellowfin or Contender. It's literally Nascar on the water and if you don't have the cash to buy the horsepower, you can't compete. Period. Add in another $750K for a small chitty house and another $150K annual for your slip. You have to be a millionaire or have major financial backing to run those waters. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I have the contacts if you still want to explore - happy to help out....but....they are gonna tell you the same thing.

If you really want to branch out into B.W. guiding, check out the lower Leeward and Windward islands (St. Vincent & the Grenadines). There is zero comp down there and you are right off the largest blue / black / white marlin spawning grounds in the world. If I had the means, that's what I would be doing right now.

Jeezus Luis - his body isn't even cold yet and you are trying to slide right in. That being said, dibs on the front right seat.

Fvck it, couple Mai Tai's and he could be convinced to sign anything......

When I first started fishing, the rivers on the Coast seemed so wild, so remote, and so foreign that it drew me in. I spent every spare dollar on gas to head out to fish Joe's rivers. Regardless of whether it was the Queets or Nooch or Hump or others, and regardless of whether the river was desolate or packed with boats, I always looked up to those diehards that spent the vast majority of their life on the river. These guys were the pioneers before me. Some were quiet, some were loud, some were professional, some were renegades.

Fact of the matter is, that today, the old school guys fish hard and do what they do, they keep on trucking, and many of the new school guys shamelessly flaunt themselves on social media to gain street cred. and to drum up whatever business they can. And today, that's what it takes to build a guide business quickly, even if it means selling out a little. I love sharing pics myself, but I also limit my network to family and close friends, not just any one that friends me with a fish in their profile pic.

Every guide has a following, and I think that there is so much noise on the internet that it is easy to feel like the younger and louder guides are more successful, but it's all noise.

I have a lot of respect for you, even though sometimes you say some pretty retarded stuff, I always have enjoyed fishing around you and watching your public service announcements, you mean well!!

So JOE SUPERFISKY, keep putting your heart into it, you've got a big one, keep putting limits in the boat, keep it professional, make those phone calls to your regulars, and don't give up. There will always be haters, there will always be someone new on the river that thinks they are the sh!t, but they won't last and they shouldn't steer you away from your livelyhood that you've spent 30 years doing what you love.

nah I just like catching fish and some guides can catch them some cannot. If Phil Stevens moved anywhere else I would book him too.

I gave it up years ago. Tough to go from seeing few boats a day with double digit hookups 20 yrs ago. To today, a race before daylight for first water, and a boat or bankie in almost every hole and maybe a take or two if your lucky. Still some soiltude available but the numbers are'nt there any more. It's like going from prime rib most of your life to a sirloin. For the youngins who hit it hard these days, cudos! You'll never know or understand how good it was compared to how bad it is today. Sad situation indeed. I 100% understand Flys move and hope one day for a limited entry guide system. Best of luck!

Just got home from a Wynoochee lookie lou.....A Thursday, thought I had f'ucked up, got wrong day....Twin Bridges, to Black Ck., to Cross Over Bridge, to White Bridge.....

EVERY WHERE, lot's of drift boats and jet boat trailers.....well no jetters at cross over. 1 guide was leaving White Bridge....something mumbled about "some kind of zoo"...

Amount of driftboat trailers at White Bridge tells me either 7400 Line must be allowing put in, or some private property is allowing access.

Can't wait for the weekend for another Zoo, like its been.

Be safe!!!!!!!

Thinking "turn around" guys are making big bucks!!!!

Not sure if anyone's doing turnarounds at 7400. I was there Tuesday and talked to two guys doing their own shuttle. There were 5 or 6 other trailers parked there when I left in the afternoon, which tells me at least most are doing self-shuttles.

Maybe a lot of the trailers at White Bridge were guys planning to do the Black Creek drift and do the shuttle afterwards? Either way, no shortage of anglers. That's for sure.

I have an old "Fishing Holes" map book from 1975 for coastal streams. In the accompanying article the author Terry Rudnick (sp?) mentions that the 'Nooche was an overlooked/underfished stream.

If you want solitude go on superbowl sunday.

And with good reason.

That was only a few years after completion of Wynoochee Dam and hatchery mitigation hadn't started in earnest yet, winter or summer. I recall a low number winter run return of something like 14 fish to the fish collection facility one year…..or something close to that. Wild fish for the most part.

I am trying to get the 7400 deal sowed up so I can legally turn all of you around who want to fish up there........... As for Florida, I am a flats / back country guy, not a big money marilyn yellow fin guy.....I leave that to the ultra rich and ultra pros, I am niether.........

Thanks for the love and the props...........and you haters can keep kissing my ass and wish you could catch as many as Me !!!!!

its funny, every year out here the haters get less and less I guess its because of all the people I help every year out here who become successful...........larger then life, maybe at times , but it is life in which I want to live and I have to a point in my life where I dont need the noise anymore so what I decide to do is my business and always has been.
When I fish with customers I am as sober as a judge !
When I fish bymyself or my friends I am completely the opposite and I can be because that is MY time.............Haters keep hating....your just wasting your time.....
Peace Fly

I don't blame ya Joe, I'm not a guide but I used to spend a lot of time floating rivers. Then one day it just lost it's fun, pressure/ competition got to the point it wasn't enjoyable. Parked the drift boat and it's been going on 5 years since I floated her. Bought a ocean boat and a bow that's what fills my time now. Good luck with whatever you decide to do...

Eric- I seem to remeber that the 'nooche closed in mid-January when I first started fishing there as a kid in the mid-80s. It must have been to rehab the native run.

milkBottleMikey:

I also remember a early closure....and it was because Natives/wild steelhead were not returning in the numbers needed to keep the run going.

I also remember the late 60's where the Humptulips, the Satsop, and the Wynoochee were open until the end of April. Teaching was my profession, so I had spring vacation to fish those rivers....many days, wouldn't see another fisherman, even with the gear I had and my lack of experience, big fish tested me and my gear...... 18 - 25 pound wild steelhead were fairly common...... 26 - 30# were caught...really...

What boats, stop get breakfast, launch at 8:30-9 and the race is going on half way down river, the water has settled, the easy fish got picked, now the fun begins. And I rarely see many, if any. It is what you make of it. It's all good.

Joe ya gotta do what your heart tells ya, let us know if you get and decide to tun around 7400.

its really a strange phenom that things change, populations increase and business dynamics shift. Joe for all the smoke you blow, its obvious you have a great heart but half a brain. I know several young guides who have come up the past couple years and are booked solid and catch fish. It just shows the cream rises to the top. Good luck.

Now you've really made me feel like one of those old codgers with stories about "how it used to be.....". Pox on you!!

Seriously, that spring fishery was great - light jacket in the morning and shirt sleeves later plus long days to make the best of a float. I'd add the Nisqually to that list.

I think you need to relook at your business plan and strategy at your current guide business. I am suggesting you have been at this for a long time and you might consider some other approaches to fill your boat.

Those younger guides are like you said... Craigslist, FB on multiple sites, tweeting current stats and efforts. I think with your expertise and your results you could kill it with the right strategy.

I am definatley outclassed when it comes to technology and the internet......no fight from me on that one....But I worry about catching fish for my customers and catch more then all the younger dudes hands down ! There are a slim few who can hang with me day in and day out putting fish in the boat. That is why I fished more days this last fall then any other guide......I took very few days off and when the river was High and Blown I took my people and got them limits.....I figured out along time ago how to catch em when the water was blown and kept working and killing fish..............I have had several Booking agent / Guide agent people contact me not only from here but from abroad and have asked me to relocate and say that all I have to do is fish and they handle on the business stuff and to be honest with you that is what I need.......I suck at the business end, I hate worrying about putting stuff up on FB and twitter and instagram, I could care less, but at this day in age that is what fills the boats.....you no longer have to be a good fisherman or an experienced rower you have to excel at all the technology and master that then you will always have a full boat............. Pretty sad if you ask me.............Just like what one of my clients witnessed recently on the nooch and took a few pics of it. He watched one of these quote un quote "Young Guns type " hook and rehook a steelhead while changing jackets and plugs on the rod to make it look like he had caught multiple fish............pretty ridiculous if you ask me............us old dogs just go catch more fish..........oh well....
Time will tell where all of this leads and where I go...I am just trying to shed some light on everything and am glad to have stirred this up enough to have a good progressive thread.....and to the haters.....JUst keep hating and wishing you could fish like me.............
Peace Fly

Dude just make a simple web page with a photo of you with the hair playing that Les Paul like you were Ted Nugent and watch the money roll right in!!

Also Fly, you have one of the nicest guide web sites and logos/brands, if not the nicest, and you have the strongest forum/community presence out of all the guides I know. Keep it up, keep it professional, and I'm sure you'll continue to be successful!

Hankster..............Steelhead season as been almost the opposite as salmon.... dont know why but Salmon season was incredible and Steelhead is slow for bookings sofar.....feb is getting busy though and I am known for big nates so we will see what the year brings.....
Thanks Fly

So Spankster...............ya gonna come up and take a trip with fly then on day #2 jump in with me & Stam...............???????. Lol.. Good luck,

SZ

Fine Fuk U.Good luck,

SZ

PS, U couldn't hang more than 30 minutes anyways. Lol.......

Just got an email from family who went on a guided trip on the Klamath, I believe. 60 fish in a couple of days, averaged about 24" with a couple up to 30". Guide told them when to come back and find the big ones were just "average". Very pretty looking fish.

Fly,

If you do decide to stay with it (guiding), I am looking to market a guide in your A/O.

I will not promise you a billon customers, however I am looking for a guide that fishes that area.

I do strictly the marketing end of the business.

Best regards,


Corey

a timber hitch to the wrist about 3 ft up from the anchor, and hankster should be able to hang all day....

Fly, I bet if the Puget Sound rivers were managed well enough to offer good steelhead fishing extended past mid February you wouldn't see so many weekender/part time guides in your neck of the woods. I imagine it will only get worse unfortunately. Running a shuttle service during steelhead season doesn't seem like a bad idea actually, and if you can service 7400, you're golden.

How's that marriage working out Saundu?

Lol


Classic

this old hull has plenty of barnacles... can you haul me on a beach with a Californian mermaid?

take me with you

I hope it picks up because the S Fork sucked when it dropped in. Fish are late I think.

Some Classic stuff in here now......................Thanks Guys..........
Corey.............thinking about it..........if I stay out at it I will hit you up, if I dont I have a couple of really good dudes I will send your way...........
PeaceFly

Fly, please go back to posting just the pics of top less women. Your posts were more tolerable then. Thanks.
X.

I think everyone should post pics of topless women, but then I'm funny like that .

Let me guess, one room cabin w/single bed?

Buddy told me a friend of his drifted Benbow to the plant 2 days in a row and got zilched. Another friend drifted the Van duzen for one bite. Another fished the mad for a few turds. That's been about it. I hope these fish show up. We need rain.

I agree with joe, I have been fishing the hump since I was 10 or 11 I'm now 33 and I can honestly say that back in the early days I saw joe, and a few other people on the river, now when it's salmon season I have to fight for my private property sports with boat fishermen, it's becoming to the point where it's not fun, and I mostly enjoy the "blown" out days where I go 10 for 15 with no boats in sight, ps i have a drift boat, and have owned 4 over the years but it's not even fun to take it out anymore, bottom line, too much pressure, and wanna be guides...i made the mistake a few years ago while bank fishing, become somewhat friends with a guy, invite him to fish the "bank" spot I fish only to have that guy become a "guide" the next year and try to fish on you with cracker a$$ clients coming down with head lamps to beat you to this spot because they can't find there own spots, it's sad, and I don't enjoy that type of fishing, I work hard at my job and need a release, but unfortunately it's not fishing anymore , I'd much rather eat vegetarian with the girlfriend and release in her sweet tight pu$$.... Solitude is gone, for the most part I have moved on,

"I'd much rather eat vegetarian with the girlfriend and release in her sweet tight pu$$..."

Best thing ever written on PP

I sure hope you aren't releasing any spawners in there.

Awesome post Casey.............so right .............I am totally fed up and waffling on what to do and where to end up....... thinking I might just sell everything and be gone............

FS, @ least ya don't have to worry about getting low holed when ya stay off the river..............Just sayin.Good luck,

SZ

A guide complaining about crowded rivers seems almost funny.
Almost.

FS is a low holer himself SZ......

Wow, a Fish Prince sighting. Now this thread is complete!

I pay to fish with river guides in WA and OR several times a year, with friends, family and clients. Very little that's been said here resonates. The best guides are booked a year out and are not struggling for business. I covet my 'reserved' prime Fall weekend Forks days, they are the result of years of loyal business. When weather cancels a trip, it's not clear that I'm going to get to replace that date because my guide's book is full and other cancellations are trying to reschedule.

I only fish with a few guides but not one of them has any jealousy about kids soliciting business on the internet. If anything, we find it amusing to watch a couple boats slide through a hole with nothing and then pull a fish or two out when we follow. I am not a great fisherman, but my guides are. Often they know exactly which rock is holding a fish. I've fished with Bob. He's like that.

My go-to guides also never yell at my wife, even when she's doing crazy [Bleeeeep!]. They mask frustration and disappointment. They want fish badly, but they put the pressure on themselves, not on me. And they are fun to be with even if the fishing isn't great.

This is not a young guy thing, or an internet thing, or a fancy truck thing, the issue is quality. If you don't have enough business, improve your quality or your attitude. I have no idea what craigslist customers pay, but I tip well because I know that I'm fishing with the best guys on the river, and for some reason they are charging me the same price as the mediocre masses.

you make too much sense

"My go-to guides also never yell at my wife"

Do others?

No one should have to yell at a woman.
They should listen the first time.

I have missed your humor.

No [Bleeeeep!]! Great point!

Guide Qualifications

must be able to row down the river %80 of the time without getting in a pissing match.

Only one pissing match allowed per trip

Must not low hole some poor old guy

May only use the "N" word once per trip

Must never have never received an ass whuppin for running into a bankie

Must have DRAMAmine onboard. We don't need no drama

Must be able to see your shoes by looking down over your puss gut

May not ride up the river in a sled after bitching about them on the same river.

Combining the first and second will eliminate most....

Not that I ever wanted to become a guide but it is nice to know that with size 14s I will forever be able to see (a portion) of my feet.

This is more fun than watching "As the World Turns" and may end up having a longer run.

Good one Greg, all apply but this one should be #1
Must have DRAMAmine onboard. We don't need no drama
To much of this on this thread.
chuck

GOLD I tell ya! GOLD!!!

This was the perfect response: I pay to fish with river guides in WA and OR several times a year, with friends, family and clients. Very little that's been said here resonates. The best guides are booked a year out and are not struggling for business. I covet my 'reserved' prime Fall weekend Forks days, they are the result of years of loyal business. When weather cancels a trip, it's not clear that I'm going to get to replace that date because my guide's book is full and other cancellations are trying to reschedule.

I only fish with a few guides but not one of them has any jealousy about kids soliciting business on the internet. If anything, we find it amusing to watch a couple boats slide through a hole with nothing and then pull a fish or two out when we follow. I am not a great fisherman, but my guides are. Often they know exactly which rock is holding a fish. I've fished with Bob. He's like that.

My go-to guides also never yell at my wife, even when she's doing crazy [Bleeeeep!]. They mask frustration and disappointment. They want fish badly, but they put the pressure on themselves, not on me. And they are fun to be with even if the fishing isn't great.

This is not a young guy thing, or an internet thing, or a fancy truck thing, the issue is quality. If you don't have enough business, improve your quality or your attitude. I have no idea what craigslist customers pay, but I tip well because I know that I'm fishing with the best guys on the river, and for some reason they are charging me the same price as the mediocre masses.

And if this is a requirement then SF is screwed LOL!: Guide Qualifications

must be able to row down the river %80 of the time without getting in a pissing match.

Only one pissing match allowed per trip

Must not low hole some poor old guy

May only use the "N" word once per trip

Must never have never received an ass whuppin for running into a bankie

Must have DRAMAmine onboard. We don't need no drama

Must be able to see your shoes by looking down over your puss gut

May not ride up the river in a sled after bitching about them on the same river.

I for one believe SF is not screwed.

By attending some anger management classes, some sensitivity training, and improving his people skills he could defiantly fill his boat with a group of prudes on a regular basis.

No more DRAMA... (must watch)

Your link is broken. Try this.

"Keeping it real. Peace y'all."

Now that is F'in funny...............need some of that stuff.

Oh ya,"Peace Bro"

Drama MIne!

DETOX.

Congrats on your recent investment in yourself Sol Duc!!!
Once your Detox is over you will consider it money well spent!!

Great post, glad you shared that with us.

This all could have been avoided with the ideas you have.

Lol!

They're probably in debt up to their ears.....

Wrong.

Really ?? Interesting.

That is very interesting, must have been great!