Fly Fishing Guide School

[Kayser]

I was somewhat interested in becoming a fly-fishing guide last winter, but that idea got lost in all of the confusion that is exams. Before I go off to college, my parents have told me to go to one, because I will regret it if I don't.

So, does anyone here have any recommendations as to which school would be a good choice? Looking for something between here and 75 miles on the other side of the continental divide(Baisically nothing in CA, WA, OR, AK), that is a GUIDE school for fishermen, not a FISHING school for beginners.

Thanks in advance,

Rob

[Project Healing Waters]

This one is about as good as they get in terms of getting you into the business with the right knowledge and credentials. But remember...you CANNOT learn in 1 week what you will need to know to be a competent professional fly fishing guide. These schools just give you a push in the right direction. If you want to learn to be a good guide, you will also have to work in the field for a top notch outfitter for AT LEAST two seasons. Even then, you will only be truly competent to guide on the waters you worked on. After that, if you want to guide somewhere else, you put the time in fishing the water (100 days/year or so for 2-3 years) you want to guide on BEFORE you start taking people's money and calling yourself an expert.

Finally, part of the reason I have recommended FFO is the Orvis Endorsement. No matter what people tell you, an Orvis Endorsed guide with a good recommendation from an Orvis Endorsed Outfitter can get a job with almost any fly fishing outfitter in the world...all other things being equal. So, even if you choose another school, make sure they're an Orvis Endorsed Outfitter if you have any desire to actually work as a guide.

http://flyfishingoutfitters.net/index.php?...5&Itemid=39

[Project Healing Waters]

These folks probably do the BEST training if you want to run drift boats in the Rockies. Their school is WAY more expensive, but it is worth it if you are serious about working in ID, WY, or MT.

http://www.worldcastanglers.com/school.dates.shtml

[Brian Wise]

These folks probably do the BEST training if you want to run drift boats in the Rockies. Their school is WAY more expensive, but it is worth it if you are serious about working in ID, WY, or MT.

Good point, if you do for sure go to a school I would make sure they at least got you started rowing. Basically anywhere you are going to be a fulltime guide out west you will be guiding out of a drift boat.

Brian

[Gavin]

Assuming your a competant fly fisher, good caster, teacher, and an entertaining fellow...your going to need to learn how to row. A lot of the guides that I've fished with out west have some WW raft experience...Might take a ww rafting guide course to give you a leg up on the rowing aspect, then follow the guide school angle. Good luck.

[Steve Dally]

try Zach Matthews at www.itinerantangler.com hedid a piece on guide schools for American Angler.

I think he went to sweetwater not sure tho.

Best thing about most of them is try to use their connection to get some work asap. Credentials on the ground doing the job at a reputable outfit will be better than any school.

Alaska can be a great place to start, lots of work, and I mean work. Most places won't tell you about all the extra work you need to do before/after the days guiding to keep the lodge running.

But you will learn heaps guiding everyday. Mostly its not about fishing skills its people skills, how to keep them entertained, keep them safe, keep their spirits/confidence up.

It maybe just another day on the water to you but its a very special expensive and valuable part of their time.

Have fun and enjoy it

Cheers

Steve

[motroutbum]

It would be a waste of money to go to a guide school. Im glad that I was just handed a job as a guide and didnt spend the money on having someone give me a piece of paper saying that I completed their "guide school."

I learned to row on class 3 and 4 water. Most guide schools will teach you how to row on class 1 and 2. Rowing a boat is deffinitely not easy.To be a guide in Colorado you have to be white water certified which means that you have to spend 50 hours under the supervision of a certified instructor. A certified instructor has to log 1500 river miles floated. You have to keep a log of your trips, who the party leader was, where you floated, the date(s) of the trip, and all the contact info for the people in the party, and also river miles traveled and hours loged. Trust me it is not worth losing your license because you didnt keep good records. The water patrol does do checks. All of the guys I worked with in Durango got checked at the begining of every year.

Guiding is not all the glory that most people think it is. You WILL have bad days where you cant catch any fish. You will have the client(s) from hell. You'll get the guy who tells you he has fished everywhere and caught all these exotic fish and cant cast past the oars. Learning to clean and rig the boat, quickly rig and re rig flies leaders and tippets. Guides are professional knot untangle-ers. You'll get the people that think that they are on a the green river in utah, when they are on the yampa and think that since their guide on the green did something that you should be the exact same way, or that you should have 50 fish days everyday on a river that on a good day gives up 5 fish. Tying flies every night to make up for what your clients lost the previous trip. spending money on tippets and leaders. You may guide on a river that you may never have fished yourself and put your clientson fish.

Im deffinitely not trying to discourage you from becoming a guide im just exposing the stuff that gets looked over by all of the glamour. If you have any questions, stop by and talk to me at backcountry outfitters, id be glad to talk rowing and guiding.

[Trav]

I was a guide for eight years and I have to agree with MoTrout. You cant beat the "School of Hard Knocks". I never was a guide for flyfishermen and was very fortunate to guide on waters where catching fish everyday was the norm. I never supplied tackle, only expertise on locations and techniques.

I got out of the trade because of the people. Most were grateful but there were those that just got greedy. For lack of a better word. Fifty fish wasnt ever enough unless you can give them that world record or that trophy mount.

You, as a guide, have to be friendly and even charming to assure the clients have a good day. They, afterall, want to have a good time. As I got older I found myself disliking my work and quit before I eventually detested the sport.

Maintaining my zeal for the sport was more important than selling its benefits to ametuars for money.

Its not glamorous at all. Its a service job. Like all jobs it can turn into a grind.

Im a firm believer that a man should change careers at least 3 times in his lifespan to be a well rounded individual. I really enjoyed my time as a guide. It was a blast for it to be my first career. I am sure you will love it too, if you make it. Just walk in with your eyes wide open and dont let your desire to work in the sport fishing industry stain the fact that your doing it because you love it.

[Steve Dally]

all of the glamour.

If there is glamour, somehow it misses my boat LOL

I didn't want to put the young fella off but yeh I reckon you can either pay money to go to school or get a job and get someone to teach you. Kinda makes up my mind.

Ive heard some decent things on these schools but none of the comments have been actually from working guides, and Ive never met a single guide who did one.

Everyone I know has come the other way, just doing the job, which is ultimately what your employer will be looking for.

Then again some lodge owners, particularly alaska, just want a "warm body" Ive been offered those jobs in the past LOL

The other thing on guiding out West per say, do the majority of guides own their own boat (everyone I met, got rowed by did) or do a lot of outfitters own boats, guides use. Something else for Kayser to ponder.

Cheers

Steve

[Brian Wise]

I went to the "School of hard knocks" as well. To be dead honest with you too, pretty much like everyone has said here...when you are a good guide you are a butler that is good with a boat, knows the water like the back of his hand, can make friends with fence post if they could talk, and probably above all a good instructor. I am not talking CCI Instructor, I am talking a REAL instructor from teaching everything from knots to how to get the flies "un-hung" off of a rock(seriously ). Honestly, the happiest fisherman I have had either caught VERY few fish, or none. When things slow down during the day I teach them something that they never knew. If you can get yourself to where you can teach anyone from beginners to total experts something, then your fisherman will be a lot happier on the slow days. The instructor part you can work on now, join a club and help on the days where they have casting lessons, or better yet teach as many kids as you can, that'll get you started

Like everyone always says "It's not as glamorous as you think it is".....but dude, there is no denying that it is awesome.

It maybe just another day on the water to you but its a very special expensive and valuable part of their time.

Mr. Dally could not have said it better.

Brian