How To Become A Guide?

[Doug Weston]

I am just curious about this. This is not in my immediate future, but I would like to know how most people become guides? I think I understand the license requirements from a previous post. I am more concerned with, how to actually do it. Do most guides just help out another guide? How do you learn the trade? I understand you must spend lots of time on the water, and I'm sure thats an understatement. How many guide trips do most guides take, say per week on average. How do most supplement their imcome while getting started, or while building a client list. I have thousands of questions, but if anyone would be willing to give me a dose of reality, let me have it. I think I have a decent grip, but I've only been on a few guided trips and I'd like to know how some of you guys got started. Also it seems like there is several guides on Table rock. Is there room for more? Like I said, I'm not looking to do this anytime soon, but I would like to investigate this as a possible job/business for me when I retire from the military...

Doug

[Don House]

Doug, I think I'm one of the newest on the block so maybe I can tell you what it has been like for me and what you need in order... First of All get your USCG 6 pack License! This is a really big pain, you can do it yourself buy getting documentation to study from the Coast Guard or go to a class. Personally I went to the Class by a really good teacher here in Branson his name is Slim and works at the Table Rock Rock Quarries on Hwy 265. He is the same man that trains all of the Ride the Duck Captains every year. Well worth the time and money!

Next big items for me to survive was not the learning how to fish I'm doing that everyday, but getting the clients and resorts, corporate companies and a good solid support group (Guides in the Business) to give me pointers and share good information on fishing and if all is well even some trips they may need help on. These guides down here are a very nice and professional group of guys, if you take care of them they will be more than happy to help you.

Good Advertising is a MUST! A Professional Web Site is a MUST HAVE, a very large chunk of my business comes right off my web site. Next beating on doors, I went to just about every resort and major hotel I could find in the Branson Tri-Lake area, handing out business cards, flyer's anything that could get me business. Get ready for alot of NO GO AWAY! But a few YES come on in let's talk. I have pickup 6 smaller and large resorts around Table Rock Lake this year and a few Maybe for Taneycomo, if each will give me 15 half day trips per during the summer months which is very possible, 6 resorts = 15 trips x (250.00 H/D Rate) = 3,750.00 x 6 = 22,500.00 just for those resorts, that does not include web site traffic trips, trips from other guides, repeat clients, Gift certs, Sponsor trips, add maybe another 30k to that. You can make a living doing it, but don't go buy a Bentley! There is alot of expenses that come with that, gas, gas, did I say GAS at 3.39 per gallon for the boat and truck, boat insurance and commercial insurance, boat payments and up keep, tackle lots of tackle, gear, rain suites, electronics so on and so on... You gotta love to fish, or remember what is was like to work in a cube. I can do both..

Now the real hard part for me is trying to make it through the Winter Time when there is no business. I run a small computer repair company that kinda helps and I also travel all over the US to Sport and Boat Shows for Sponsors for pay and product which I hope here in the next year or so I can really cut down on those and kinda relax during the winter and work on finding trout trips on Taneycomo in the winter time. That is were you need some money set aside to live on for that 4 - 6 months of down time and then some first year or two just to keep things going. Believe me I did it the hard way... Went for over two years make very basic funds at times my gas and boat expenses were more than I was bring home by the month. On good weeks I would take anything I could, which means (3) 4 hour trips per day just to make up for what I missed from the days before. Long hard days in the Cold and Dead Heat with well the good old general public. When I first started I was working 10 - 15 days per month in the good season May - Aug. The rest was March - April and maybe some October and November maybe 5- 10 days per month. It was hard but worth every penny I did not make. Now I'm out on my own now and I'm on track to work 185 days which is my goal for this first year. May make it, may not, might just crush it, but you gotta have some goals set.

That comes down to the last item that is a VERY BIG MUST! You must work well with all types of people or be a people person. You can really get challenged out there by some of these folks, you have to keep your cool and try to make it right for everyone or just take them back to the dock and cut the loss walk away. Only had one like that in the 4 years I have been doing it. Most of the groups that I take out our very nice people and just want to learn and catch fish, relax and enjoy the outdoors, just plan go out and have fun. . Then there are the hard ones, not too many but ones that get really drunk and then throw your new rod in the lake and not tell you until it is too late to try to get it back, and get even madder when you charge them for that new rod.. Or full time arm chair fisherman, who best 5 Bass came from a XBOX Game, questioning everything thing you do when on the water because if it was him he would do this..... You get to meet them all..

But if it is something you want go for it, there is room down here for more guides not too many but a few more.. Ha! Ha! It is all up to you, it's just like any other business the harder you work the more it will pay, in money and gratification of owning your own business..

If there is anything else I can explain please just let me know.. I not a Bill Babler or Bill Beck, Buster Loving, Pete Winners or Mike Webb just to name a few of the really top guides down here, but I'm working very hard to be up there someday.

Good Luck, Hope I did not scare you away from a dream.

Capt. Don House

[Trav]

Doug

I think you will find a few threads here on OAF about this subject.

Be sure to find some of those. They will be good reads.

[Bill P]

Doug, I think I'm one of the newest on the block so maybe I can tell you what it has been like for me and what you need in order... First of All get your USCG 6 pack License! This is a really big pain, you can do it yourself buy getting documentation to study from the Coast Guard or go to a class. Personally I went to the Class by a really good teacher here in Branson his name is Slim and works at the Table Rock Rock Quarries on Hwy 265. He is the same man that trains all of the Ride the Duck Captains every year. Well worth the time and money!

Next big items for me to survive was not the learning how to fish I'm doing that everyday, but getting the clients and resorts, corporate companies and a good solid support group (Guides in the Business) to give me pointers and share good information on fishing and if all is well even some trips they may need help on. These guides down here are a very nice and professional group of guys, if you take care of them they will be more than happy to help you.

Good Advertising is a MUST! A Professional Web Site is a MUST HAVE, a very large chunk of my business comes right off my web site. Next beating on doors, I went to just about every resort and major hotel I could find in the Branson Tri-Lake area, handing out business cards, flyer's anything that could get me business. Get ready for alot of NO GO AWAY! But a few YES come on in let's talk. I have pickup 6 smaller and large resorts around Table Rock Lake this year and a few Maybe for Taneycomo, if each will give me 15 half day trips per during the summer months which is very possible, 6 resorts = 15 trips x (250.00 H/D Rate) = 3,750.00 x 6 = 22,500.00 just for those resorts, that does not include web site traffic trips, trips from other guides, repeat clients, Gift certs, Sponsor trips, add maybe another 30k to that. You can make a living doing it, but don't go buy a Bentley! There is alot of expenses that come with that, gas, gas, did I say GAS at 3.39 per gallon for the boat and truck, boat insurance and commercial insurance, boat payments and up keep, tackle lots of tackle, gear, rain suites, electronics so on and so on... You gotta love to fish, or remember what is was like to work in a cube. I can do both..

Now the real hard part for me is trying to make it through the Winter Time when there is no business. I run a small computer repair company that kinda helps and I also travel all over the US to Sport and Boat Shows for Sponsors for pay and product which I hope here in the next year or so I can really cut down on those and kinda relax during the winter and work on finding trout trips on Taneycomo in the winter time. That is were you need some money set aside to live on for that 4 - 6 months of down time and then some first year or two just to keep things going. Believe me I did it the hard way... Went for over two years make very basic funds at times my gas and boat expenses were more than I was bring home by the month. On good weeks I would take anything I could, which means (3) 4 hour trips per day just to make up for what I missed from the days before. Long hard days in the Cold and Dead Heat with well the good old general public. When I first started I was working 10 - 15 days per month in the good season May - Aug. The rest was March - April and maybe some October and November maybe 5- 10 days per month. It was hard but worth every penny I did not make. Now I'm out on my own now and I'm on track to work 185 days which is my goal for this first year. May make it, may not, might just crush it, but you gotta have some goals set.

That comes down to the last item that is a VERY BIG MUST! You must work well with all types of people or be a people person. You can really get challenged out there by some of these folks, you have to keep your cool and try to make it right for everyone or just take them back to the dock and cut the loss walk away. Only had one like that in the 4 years I have been doing it. Most of the groups that I take out our very nice people and just want to learn and catch fish, relax and enjoy the outdoors, just plan go out and have fun. . Then there are the hard ones, not too many but ones that get really drunk and then throw your new rod in the lake and not tell you until it is too late to try to get it back, and get even madder when you charge them for that new rod.. Or full time arm chair fisherman, who best 5 Bass came from a XBOX Game, questioning everything thing you do when on the water because if it was him he would do this..... You get to meet them all..

But if it is something you want go for it, there is room down here for more guides not too many but a few more.. Ha! Ha! It is all up to you, it's just like any other business the harder you work the more it will pay, in money and gratification of owning your own business..

If there is anything else I can explain please just let me know.. I not a Bill Babler or Bill Beck, Buster Loving, Pete Winners or Mike Webb just to name a few of the really top guides down here, but I'm working very hard to be up there someday.

Good Luck, Hope I did not scare you away from a dream.

Capt. Don House

Don, you have shown how guiding is a business,and that means work......lots of it.

[Phil Lilley]

I'm studying for my Captain's lisc. Have to take it next month cause my app will expire in June. Jumping thru all the hoops isn't fun... but that's gov't for ya.

The test really scares me. I ordered a deal from National Captain's Institute on the net- a syllabus with hundreds of test questions that has really helped me. Also bought Chapman's Piloting, best book on the market for boating. With those tools and google, you can find about everything you need to know... alot more than you'll ever need in guiding for sure.

[Danoinark]

I'm studying for my Captain's lisc. Have to take it next month cause my app will expire in June. Jumping thru all the hoops isn't fun... but that's gov't for ya.

The test really scares me. I ordered a deal from National Captain's Institute on the net- a syllabus with hundreds of test questions that has really helped me. Also bought Chapman's Piloting, best book on the market for boating. With those tools and google, you can find about everything you need to know... alot more than you'll ever need in guiding for sure.

Is the Captain's test for just the lakes, is it state specific, or once you have it, its good anywhere? Does it allow you to guide in the salt or offshore or is that an extra endorsement or license?

Just curious.

Dano

[Trav]

I got my Captains Lisc in 1991 through Rodman Naval Base in Panama. It states date of issue, License #, and on the back it lists all the vessel types I am qualified to Captain.

No Place on it does it have an expiration date.

Are we talking about the same type of Lisc? Mine was issued by the Navy. It was required so that I may Navigate within the Canal Zone. I was told it was valid worldwide and that it was a lifetime Lisc.

What is it yours required for?

I have a cousin that is in the USCG as a vessel inspector on the Mississippi and he said that my Lisc is more indepth than a CG issue because all I need is to be aboard an American flagged vessel(and hold a US Passport) and I can charter internationally. The fact is, I dont recall the testing being that intense. A six week course with a written and vessel qualification(sailing) and I had it minus the 120 bucks for the lot. Of course that was 1991.

Is a Navy Issue Lisc that much different than a USCG? I guess the expiration aspect has me confused.

[focused fishing]

Trav,

The USCG license expires every 5 years unless you renew. If you allow your license to expire you are required to re-take the test. I think Phill is talking about his application expiring, once you apply you have a give period to take the test or you have to re-apply. The application can take up to 3 months to complete.

Clear as mud.......

EP

[Phil Lilley]

Yea - I've never gotten my lisc simply because I've never really guided "officially". I've taken a few paid trips of out necessity.

I know of at least one guy who let his expire and he had to go thru the process again.

[Bill Babler]

Trav, Your's might be valid, but I doubt it. You have to have a physical and eye test each 5 year period. Our lic. are issued by the USCG. Would be interesting to know. You may be grandfathered in.