You’re on vacation in the Northwoods and after that morning coffee, you get in your boat and spend the day on the water fishing. You are surrounded by tall pines and think, I could do this every day. While on the water that day, you see people fishing with a guide and think, that guide is getting $400 (MORE ON THAT LATER) or more for a full day to take people fishing, so being a fishing guide is one of the best jobs you can have. I know and have friends that are guides and let me tell you, IT’S NOT. Being a fishing guide can be one of the toughest jobs a person can have.

Sure, it seems awesome because their office could be on different lakes every day and they are fishing for a living, but fishing guides are on the water every possible day they can get out, for 3 reasons. 1) They truly love to fish. 2) They need to know where to locate fish, for clients. 3) That’s how they pay their bills. Think about this. A lot of folks hire a guide a month or even a year advance and when that day comes, you can’t predict what the weather will be on that day. It could be cold, hot, high sun, raining and most of the time, the guide will still have to take you out on those days.

We all know fishing can suck after a cold front, but if that happens on the date you hired him, it’s the guides job for you to catch fish. The old saying “WIND FROM THE EAST, FISHING THE LEAST” and on those days, a guide is still expected to put you on top of fish. Now, could you go fishing with people you never met before for 8 hours and feel comfortable?

Not only do guides have to do this, but they have to instruct some clients on where to cast, how to cast, how to jig, how deep to fish, when to set the hook, remove hooks from fish that swallowed the hook because the client wasn’t paying attention, retie lines and re-bait hooks, untangle lines and even backlashes. A guide must do all this while remaining patient with a smile. Then fillet the fish for the clients too.

Now about getting paid $400 or more a day. Seems like a lot of money just to take people fishing, doesn’t it? Think about the price of the fishing equipment you have. Well, the guides boat, motor, electronics, batteries, trolling motor, life vest, rods, reels, fishing line, nets, gas, oil, bait/lures, insurance all have to be paid for. So, the next time you see people fishing with a guide, do you really wish you could have their job?