A couple of years ago we had a trip to Jackson Hole in the spring, around the usual prime time after snow melt. Unfortunately, that year they had record snowpack & it rained for two weeks prior to our arrival. You could see how bad the river was from the air, & it looked like a river of mud as we drove into town. I had setup a guide session ahead of time w/ the idea that the guide would help w/ instruction for the two women that had never fly fished before. I walked into Jack Dennis’ shop to talk to him about it & he said he was setting me up w/ a particular guide, we were going to a spot in Yellowstone that we could actually fish & made some other considerations. The guide not only helped both women catch fish in the morning, but after they went for lunch & shopping, he put me on more fish than anyone else saw all day. @ one point, in order for me to get a shot @ some rocks mid stream, he had the back of my waders in one hand & a tree in the other to keep me from getting washed away while I was casting to where we thought we could hit some bigger fish. Didn’t want to leave until we did.
That said, a friend of mine & I had a horrible experience w/ a quide on the St Joe along the Indiana / Michigan border. He not only had us chunking, but he was a stone asshole the whole time. Sometimes people forget that they’re in a service business & referals are what keep them in business. J From: vfb-mail@googlegroups.com [mailto:vfb-mail@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Peggy Brenner Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2016 10:22 AM To: vfb-mail@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [VFB] Keys Fishing report Well said about the guides, we had a similar problem up in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons this winter. I had prepaid deposits for 4 trips with one guide before we went down. when we got there there was some obvious water quality problems, but no one was talking until the end of our trip in March. So we went out and looked at brown water 4 times, saw a fish once, but paid each time. The entire time there was a 20 mile by 5 mile algae bloom that is similar to red tide. We did feel taken but kept quiet, although Jerry shortened each trip to half days, if you don't sight anything resembling a fish in four hours time to go in. We go more fish from shore, all small and a mix of flies and shrimp so next year that is what we will do. Now that we are home the guides are all taking about the water quality affecting the fishing all winter, so next season we will go back to self guided in the kayak and forget the fancy stuff. Try Captain Pips in Marathon for boat rental, we have used them several times, there is also a great flat bay side of 7 mile bridge and lots of Tarpon in May, June timeframe. Peggy On Thu, Jun 9, 2016 at 9:11 AM, Don Ordes <f...@tribcsp.com <mailto:f...@tribcsp.com> > wrote: Finally got things sorta under control here since getting back from the keys. Had a great time, but my bucket-list still has a tarpon trip in it. Went out with a guide twice (a good one), and all we did was sit there and watch for them swimming by on their normal routes, which they didn’t. Was windy both days we went out. We tried spot after spot to no avail- just did not see fish other than once at a distance. I have to be honest and say that I kinda feel ripped off, too. Guiding must be one of the few jobs on the market where producing is not necessary for charging full fees, well, other than a politician. I did see some charter boat signs saying “No fish- no charge”. And to me that is good for business. I understand the costs involved in spending a day on the water and the prep involved, but a no-fish day should be expenses only, and then fish added as bonus money. In Mexico when I caught the two sailfish, I tipped the guide (who was included in the package) $200 because that was all the money I had on me that day. That was a couple of weeks pay for him. Well worth it for me. I did a little shrimp fishing from the dock (didn’t enjoy it that much, but it was nostalgic), as there really wasn’t enough room for a fly back-cast. Next time I will rent a boat for the whole week and then have the flexibility I want. The way we tarpon-fished, any kind of boat with a casting-bow would have worked. So maybe next year. DonO -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com <mailto:vfb-mail@googlegroups.com> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VFB Mail" group. 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