Fly fishing vidios

[1wt]

I watch the fly fishing videos and I've seen a couple things that are common in almost all of them.

1- most idiots hold the rod up over their head and stand on their toes to try and put the rod higher. Obviously they are too stupid to reel some line in and hold the rod at chest level.

2- The guide, probably no college education and hopeful for a tip, will always say "nice fish" or "good cast" or "good job" and try to make himself feel important. "Hold your rod down, keep the rod to the left" "That's good, now cast over there behind that rock" Or the way they work up a sweat while rowing the boat so the paying client thinks he's getting his moneys worth. A electric trolling motor would be much better and catch more fish, but the client might want to buy one himself!

So funny to me!! What do you guys think?

I've never used a guide. I would rather give the money to a complete stranger so he could buy a nice outfit...... or maybe purchase another top shelf outfit for myself!

I hate to get ripped off!

 

[Fredrick]

So are you saying that people like me with no college are always hopeful for a tip ? :lol:

 

[afishinado]

1wt wrote:
I watch the fly fishing videos and I've seen a couple things that are common in almost all of them.

1- most idiots hold the rod up over their head and stand on their toes to try and put the rod higher. Obviously they are too stupid to reel some line in and hold the rod at chest level.

2- The guide, probably no college education and hopeful for a tip, will always say "nice fish" or "good cast" or "good job" and try to make himself feel important. "Hold your rod down, keep the rod to the left" "That's good, now cast over there behind that rock" Or the way they work up a sweat while rowing the boat so the paying client thinks he's getting his moneys worth. A electric trolling motor would be much better and catch more fish, but the client might want to buy one himself!

So funny to me!! What do you guys think?

[color=990000]I've never used a guide. I would rather give the money to a complete stranger so he could buy a nice outfit...... or maybe purchase another top shelf outfit for myself! [/color]

I hate to get ripped off!

When I travel out-west, I usually hire a guide to fish for a day or two during the trip. A few of these times I had my nephew or cousin with me, who were noobie FFers. A guide that's a good teacher can help them tremendously. Another reason for hiring a guide would simply be for the boat ride. Many places out-west are best fished with a drift boat. I've had some so so guides and some really good ones that really added to my enjoyment of the trip. Some guides are expert fishermen you can really learn by spending a day with them.

Generally my M.O. when on a trip is to hire a guide for the first day and at the end of the day (after I tipped him), I ask for places good to fish on my own. Most guides get out their maps and give you detailed directions on where and how to fish. More than once I've had guides tell me they were off, and fished with me the next day, as payment I bought them dinner and a couple of beers at the end of the day.

Hiring a guide, while not cheap, to me, usually adds something to the trip because of their knowledge of the water, the fish, and the area. Some of my best memories of my trips have been while fishing with guides.

One final thing, I do paint a rosy picture about guides. I've had some so so guides but a lot of good ones. I would talk to and check out the guide before you book. Some do suck, I agree. Caveat emptor!

 

[govtmule]

don't worry Fredrick.....1wt, I hope your college major wasn't english.

jeff

 

[MattBoyer]

Fredrick wrote:
So are you saying that people like me with no college are always hopeful for a tip ? :lol:

Fred, I don't believe you or I are qualified to answer this post, being part of the unwashed masses and all.......

Boyer

 

[DGC]

Some of the sharpest engineers I ever met never set foot in college. Eventually, they reluctantly wind up taking courses because that's the credential required to advance. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother, especially given the absurd cost of higher ed these days.

 

[PaulG]

Hell, I was lucky to get through Highschool! Im sure I didn't have to tell you people that!

PaulG

 

[pafisherman]

1wt
You asked for opinions so here goes.... Fly Fishing Videos some are good and some are not. As in another thread you called your self "self taught" so why are you bothering to watch them anyway.
As far as guides go there are some great guides out there who will spend more time on the water in 1 yr then most of us working guys will be able to in a dozen years. I have been fishing for pretty near 50 yrs now and have learned something from each and every guide I have fished with. A guide in upstate NY taught how to fight really large fish on a lite tippet and bring them in quick. A guide in Florida Bay taught me how to fight Tarpon. I am not sure if either of these guys had a college education. I even learned some pretty interesting things about fishing Clarks Creek while fishing with Paul G....
What I might suggest to someone who is "self taught" is to teach themselves how to learn something from others that may know more then you doing about a subject...
Bill A

 

[Bruno]

Guides have there place. I have hired a few and the knowledge you are paying for is worth the money IMO.

 

[jayL]

College is what you make of it. Most engineer types are there for the piece of paper that proves they know how to learn.

95% of my work-specific learning was on my own before and during school, and the rest was at work. Engineering jobs are usually incredibly specific, and the degree just proves that you know how to think and learn engineer concepts.

 

[MattBoyer]

I should add that I did get an A in the class where we learned to spell "video". :-D

Boyer

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:
College is what you make of it. Most engineer types are there for [color=990000]the piece of paper that proves they know how to learn.

95% of my work-specific learning was on my own before and during school, and the rest was at work. [/color] Engineering jobs are usually incredibly specific, and the degree just proves that you know how to think and learn engineer concepts.

True enough about college! Just like FF, book knowledge is one thing, you really learn the "real" stuff on the stream.

 

[Fishidiot]

1WT,
I would generally disagree with your take on fishing videos and fishing guides. While never a fishing guide, I've spent some time in various teaching capacities and can attest that positive encouragement works. This is, of course, esp true when your "students" are new to a particular activity or subject and their confidence is shaky. Simple human nature. Constructive criticism, while highly important for a new student, needs to be doled out carefully and with a keen eye and ear for how that student will respond. Some folks are sensitive or have larger than justified egos and any form of criticism might be poorly received. I certainly know this to be true when dealing with teenagers in a conventional classroom. Again, simple human nature. A good fishing guide, like any good teacher, is cognizant of this.
As for the education part: I don't think it's relevant to the guide's methods or financial situation. Whether they're "degreed" or not, I suspect fishing guides don't get rich and appreciate a gratuity for a job well done. I will say that, like many of you, I've had mixed results with fishing guides but overall more positive than not. Many fishing guides I've been out with were clearly educated and articulate men whether they held degrees or not. Some fishing guides come from professions requiring a lot of education and now guide in retirement or on the side in their free time. Consider me a bit old school in believing that being educated isn't necessarily synonomous with holding degrees. There was a time in the past (sadly long gone) when the concept of a "self educated man" was a respected description and our nation's history is full of examples (just to name some Presidents: Washington, Lincoln, Truman).

 

[pcray1231]

I've never hired a guide either. I enjoy doing the research aspect myself and exploring. I spend weeks planning trips to unknown places, which is as much fun as actually fishing them.

That said, the equation changes when a boat is needed to effectively fish a stream, and many places out west fit this description. I could see where a good guide can speed up the learning curve for beginners. And if I was travelling and unexpectedly got a chance to fish an unknown area, with not enough time to research and perhaps not having my gear along, I may consider hiring a guide.

 

[afishinado]

Fishidiot wrote:
...Some fishing guides come from professions requiring a lot of education and now guide in retirement or on the side in their free time.,..

I few years ago I was on vacation with my wife in Maine. We decided to take one day out for fishing and hired a guide to fish on a drift boat trip on the Penobscot River for smallies. The guide taught my wife to FF, we caught a bunch of nice fish and had a great time.

BTW, the guide was a professor with a Phd in entomology from the U of Maine that spent his summers guiding. He wrote a book guide book on fishing in Maine and provided a wealth of info about bugs, Maine and a hundred other subjects. The next night, my wife and I had dinner with him and his wife. He also has in-laws in Central Pa and has invited me to fish with him when he visits. I couldn't get get away last year when he was there, but hope to sometime this spring or summer.

 

[1wt]

[color=0000FF]So are you saying that people like me with no college are always hopeful for a tip ?[/color]

No, not at all Fredrick! I didn't know that you were a guide and if we ever fish together, don't worry I won't give you a tip! LOL And if you want to give me a tip, I won't feel bad at all. In the pix that you posted, I thought that you might be a book worm! No big deal either way.

If I was in a strange area and I wanted info of where to fish, I would rather give the Benjamins to a local fly shop. That's just me. The guides I see rub me the wrong way.

 

[bikerfish]

I've gone out with some in florida, not fly fishing, just general saltwater stuff. they are always polite guys, fun to be with. fishing with a good guide should feel like you are fishing with a friend, not like your being waited on at a restaurant, at least that's my opinion. I've never had a guide on a trout stream, but if I had limited time on strange water, a guide might make sense. alot of these guys are working thier way THROUGH college.
and no, I never finished college, and I don't regret it, I've had a damn fine life so far!
I do agree with you about the guys that hold the rod WAY up in the air, very funny. I've never seen a video of myself fishing, I hope I don't do that!

 

[mungerfish]

Been to college and grad school and didn't learn a darn thing about fishing at either one, so I'm more than willing to occasionally pay someone that's put in an equivalent amount of time on the water, especially in a new place

Also, in my experience, it never does you a lot of good to assume someone has nothing to teach you...

 

[flybop]

Wow, this is an interesting thread for me. I will not get into the whole guide thing; many of you covered it very well. As for holding the rod up high, over your head: 1wt, have you ever had a big fish get out into very fast water and strip a bunch of line out? If so, what happens to a good deal of the line that is in the water?

Ok, I'll just answer it now. Very often all that line in the water gets caught in the current and you get a huge bow in your line, creating a heck of a lot of drag, which only then tries to pull more line out, creating more drag... All of that line out does a few things. One, it places more stress on the knots, the hook and it also begins to pull on the fly at undesirable angles. Many big fish are lost when this happens.

What can you then do to reduce all this unwanted line and drag? You can hold your rod up as high as you can in order to reduce the amount of line in the water. You can even stand on your tippy toes. I have even been known to climb onto rocks in an effort to get as much line off and out of the water as possible.

And no, I did not learn this while getting my mechanical engineering degree. But, you can send me that tip anyway...

 

[jmh159]

When my dad and I were somewhat new to fly fishing, I started doing alot of research on PA fly fishing and realized that alot of famous limestoners were very close by. We had never seen a limestone spring creek before and it sounded intriguing. So we went to Falling Spring and tried our luck. We fished on a section of stream that I later found out was posted and we really had absolutely no clue what we were doing or even where to fish. We just kinda looked at each other and said "this place is weird". So for my birthday, my dad purchased a half day with Mike Heck to guide us on Falling Spring. He was great (thanks Mike!). He not only helped us where we were lacking skill wise, he showed us every possible parking area and where we can fish. We actually spent a good bit of time without our rods while he showed us different parts of the stream and explained some of the stream improvements he had been part of. Not once did he try to "sell" us anything. He only mentioned his book for reference a few times, but never tried to push it on us. I would do it again, and hope to actually. My money (or dad's money) was worth his knowledge. Since that day, I have been obsessed with limestone spring creeks and without his help, I wouldn't have even known where to start. Also, I think if I ever go out west, I feel I would almost have to hire a guide to be at all as successful as I would hope. I don't know, that is just my take. I think as long as the guide is knowledgeable and is not trying to "sell" you his secret fly etc., it is worth it.