George Welcome

The way you worded these questions is probably the best way I have ever seen it asked. The question is so good that I think it justifies a complete response so without writing a book this is still going to get lengthy. If one enters this profession with the intent of getting paid to fish they will only be around for a brief period of time. Intrinsic to the reasons for becoming a guide has to be the love of fishing, the desire to share knowledge, and the true enjoyment of meeting and interacting with people. The money, although absolutely needed to sustain ourselves, is secondary to the profession. The second part of the question is directed to requirements needed to keep the people coming back. I answered a post on another page that asked the question: "what does it mean when someone says that to be successful you need to have paid your dues?" Suffice it to say that most people that try this profession fail because they simply have not learned to fish yet or as stated, "Paid their dues". People hire a guide with every expectation of catching more and bigger fish then if they were to go it alone. In order to produce the guide needs to excel in all areas of expertise required to come in first place in the catching of their chosen quarry. It is not sufficient to own a boat and to have fished the lake a few times. Being intimate with the lake is but a small part of the equation and of far less importance than simply truly knowing how to fish. For edification purposes I am enclosing my response to the "dues" question. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you have learned all the mechanical skills with the tackle of your choice. Most people settle for learning only a few. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say you understand all the mechanical skills of the operation of your boat and its associated equipment. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you can look at your electronic equipment and with a glance can tell exactly what it is telling you. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you understand and can use all of the various bait presentation techniques and the proper baits associated with them. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you are completely aware of the happenings that are taking place around you at all times. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you ask, (where, how, why, when) on each and every fish that you catch. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you know what member of fish the bass belongs to, and based on that you have an understanding of its probable actions throughout the various seasons that you fish in. You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say at the end of a fishing day that you put forth your absolute best effort all the time that you were on the water, prior to going on the water with preparation, and after you have left the water with review. What's the most difficult single item in any of the above? You know you have paid your dues when you can honestly say that you have been completely honest with yourself in your evaluation of your fishing skills. You know you have paid your dues when your mindset is such that you never stop learning. The day you stop learning is the day that you begin to fail. Without meeting the above criteria you cannot and will not succeed in this business, or in the business of tournament fishing. It is foremost and the most critical of all aspects of making a living in the fishing industry. In addition to meeting the fishing skills criteria, a successful guide needs to have an understanding of the business world and how it rotates. A guide needs to do far more than cast baits to the water. The day starts well before the actual launch of the boat and well after the boat has been trailered and the customer has gone home. As with any day of fishing for anyone, preparation is essential to a successful day. Obviously the mechanical preparations must be filled: ice, gas, and so on, but in addition weather, the day's techniques, and baits to be used must all be paid attention to. Typically, we start at about 3:00 AM for a 6:00 AM launch to take care of these items. Once home at fishing times close, we now have to attend to the business end of this endeavor, and boat cleanup for the next trip. On the business end there is accounting, (the tax man wants his share). Communication needs such as answering e-mail has to be attended to, fishing reports filed, fishing logs completed. We file fishing reports on many pages and this alone takes as much as 1-2 hours almost daily. My day typically ends upon the completion of all this at about 7:00 PM. In between all the above is the attending to maintaining your name in front of the public. Again this is a constant chore and includes participating in forums such as this, writing of articles for various media, and so on. Last but not least is attending to family needs and obligations. It takes an understanding spouse and family to allow one to pursue a path such as this. Both my wife, (all our children are grown and have given us 7 grand-kids), and Scott's family understand our love for what we are doing and our dedication. This is a simple overview of all that is involved. The involvement is intense, but the enjoyment and satisfaction far outweighs any aspect of guiding that could be considered work.

Scott and I will book in excess of 300 full day trips this year. This year is off a bit, probably due to a compilation of effects from 9/11, hurricanes, and gas prices. On average we book in excess of 400 trips per year. Actual days on the water for both of us will be in excess of 320 days.

Was it Craig? We fish very frequently - most trips are artificial and I fish right along with the clients. A good deal of the time the trip involves learning new techniques and what better way than using the "monkey see, monkey do" principle. As for pressure: each and every trip is the same as a tournament, with positive results having to occur. To last and grow you must produce. There is no second place in this business if you are going to be around very long. However, I put the same pressure on when it is myself and Scott out there. I enjoy the challenge, the people, and the business.

Full time bass fishing guide: you have to love the work to succeed, but someone has to do it.

Wife's tale: you have a better chance at catching a big bass with live bait. False Location is your chance at a big bass, and then the correct cast. During the course of the year with our clients we catch more big bass on artificial baits then we do on live bait. Live shiners are choice bait in Florida: Again this is false. They are the choice bait for the "I've got a boat so now I am a guide" types. Shiners have there place, and they are just another bait. They give no gurantee any more than any other bait, and they give no better chance. The only thing they make easier is getting bit if you don't know where to fish. If you drag them about long enough, over enough water, they will get bit. Hooking them is another matter. If you thing that's a guarantee, give it a try. If you ever do come to Florida, and you ever do think of hiring a guide, do a little investigation, and get references. Calling oneself a guide does not make it so.

Very few of the Pros only fish for a living. Even less guides in this country are full time. In both endeavors many come but few remain. The tools it takes to be successful in this game are gained with time on the water. To enter the game without them destines one to an endeavor rife with expense and little return for the dollars invested.

An anchored boat in 30 mile winds on open water will be a swamped boat in short order if it is of the class of bass boats. Simple seamanship: if the wave height is greater than 25% of your waterline than you are flouting broaching, or worse yet pitch poling. At 30 mph any recreational boating is very possibly dangerous on an open body of water.

Live bait is just that, another bait. It's not cheating to use them, and it is not near as easy as those that haven't done it, think it is. Our average client has a less than 50% hookup ratio with instruction and far less than that without. It is an expensive way to fish, but it is no way any guarantee of catch. We don't use live bait all that often, and prefer artificial, but there are times and situations when live bait makes more sense.

Good luck on the outing - catch a big one.

The color has been out for quite a while now and yes they work very well.

Since 1948 there has been 342 attacks by gators in Florida and only 12 deaths. The last was a 12 year old at Deer Lake. However, dusk and early evening is a primary feed time for them and it would not be recommended to be walking around a shore line at that time. From a boat, gators are no threat, and are only bothersome if someone is feeding them.

What lake are you talking about?

"I am planning on getting my Captains license this fall so I can take out charters of up to 6 people. Just to sort of pay my expenses." If you think the touring "pros" life is tough, wait till you try this one. You are going to need better motivation than paying expenses to be any good at this one.

Amen Mr. Coovert - there you have it: it moves more line.

Rediculous need to validate: If you use one bait or the other why do you feel the need to validate your usage. It would seem to me that if, as you claim, your bait choice is so good, then why would you care what the Senko costs. Do you do this with everything you purchase? Obviously, you must think that in reality the Senko will outperform what you are using or you wouldn't be trying to compare them and prove to everyone how you are right in your decision. I cannot imagine that anyone would think less of a fellow fisherman based on the bait they are using, or the amount of money that they spend on fishing tackle. Let's go fishing!

It does nothing to swish a bass back in forth through the water. To resuscitate a bass, hold the bass by the tail until if forceably swims out of your hand. To move water over the gills the bass uses a combination of its mouth and gill covers. When you hold it by the mouth you are preventing it from breathing properly. Do not be fooled by the bass that has not recovered. It will almost always make a surge for depth when released, but unless it is breathing normally, it will probably die.

So, you have made a decision. That's great, but do you now expect a following?

Nothing works better for learning than "monkey see, monkey do". Get with someone in your area that knows and fish with them for a bit. You will have the basics down in one day.

Were the bass hitting the paint job or the lure? Would they have hit another crankbait that was 4" and painted orange?

I don't think there are any gators out there. A bit of gator info: You are the number one and almost only predator of gators. They know this and will avoid you. We wade fish with them critters in the area, and swim with them in the area all the time. They are terrified of humans, unless someone is feeding them.

If you don't set the hook you have no way of knowing if the fish has the bait. Typically what is felt is 3 taps. The first is the pickup, the second is the fish turning, and the third is the fish spitting it out. There will be times that the fish will pick it up and spit it just as fast. In this case you won't even know it occured. As a matter of fact they can do this with moving baits just as easily. They will inhale and spit out a spinner bait and you won't ever know they did it. I watch people daily miss hooksets by waiting. If it is different hit it - it's free, and if you are wrong you will get them on the next hit.

Try some of the knock offs: At least the Senkos are getting eaten. Costly baits are those that don't get eaten and you end up tossing them.

yep,, keep em clean - however, have that second rod with a worm for that event and throw it right where you had the strike. Clean the rattle trap after you reel in the fish.

Although it is a tad rare, there will be times like this: downsize drastically - a lot of good ones have been mentioned: my favorite is a road runner.

Hookset: I doubt that it is line, or hook. Good hookset is a function of speed and not power. Sometimes we get into the mode of trying to set with a big sweep and forget to add the speed. We go through many bags of Senkos and have experimented with many hooks. The best hook for being the least destructive to the Senko is a Gammy offset u-bend in 4/0 for the 5" Senko.