Upper Delaware River, Wayne County PA 5/27/2026
- Thread starter MarkC
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GANGGREEN
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I freely admit that I've only been on a handful of guided trips in my life because I've never really had that kind of money and because (to a large degree) I typically feel that trout fishing isn't rocket science and I can figure it out by myself. Of the few guided trips that I've been on (less than 5), I haven't yet been blown away by the knowledge or the free flow of information from the guide and don't feel that I went away having been better off for spending the money than had I gone it alone on any of them. I'm sure that there are some VERY good guides out there and I definitely don't assume that I know everything there is to know, but I can FULLY understand those who simply refuse to pay $500, $600 or $800 for a day trip.
To put it another way, in every single one of the instances where I paid for a guided trip (or tagged along as someone else's guest), had you offered me the same experience or said, "you can do it alone and at the end of the day buy yourself an Orvis Recon" (or something else that cost $500-800), I would have kept the money, done the trip myself and bought a new rod, new reel with line and backing, new fly tying set up or something else EVERY SINGLE TIME. There hasn't been even one of those trips where I would have said, "Hell yeah, the experience was worth a lot more to me than that new fly rod or new tying set up". Maybe I've been unlucky and just haven't had the right guide, but I know quite a few guys who do guide fly fisherman and frankly, can't imagine too many of them blowing me away because they knew WAY MORE than I did about flies, techniques, etc.. Obviously, there would certainly be times where they knew more about their own local waters than I did (assuming I had never been there and never seen it), but I still think fly fishing for trout is fly fishing for trout and with some minimal information about what the trout in that stream feed on, I just can't see it.
And I'm not faulting anyone who has more money to spend than I do or who has a lower comfort threshold on new water. I'm glad that there are guys who can make a living by guiding and glad that everyone has that option. I was just making a point about what people are suggesting a guide might make for a day on the water on this thread. You should probably try to make as much money as your skills allow and I don't begrudge anyone for doing so, I just can't justify that kind of expense given what I'd probably expect them to provide.
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SBecker
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Your last sentence says it all.
wildtrout2
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Do you tip your butcher, or your surgeon for what they know? 😉
I took down trees over multi-million dollar homes with the homeowner expecting me to not to send a large section of tree through their roof. That's because I was an expert in that line of work, which they paid dearly for. I never expected a tip for doing what my company already paid me top dollar to do. If I got a tip from the customer, great, if not, I didn't cry or complain about it.
I was just happy to have the job I had, and enjoyed doing it.
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I'm just guessing. I have no real knowledge. It's a hard life & they work all day & have to provide a lunch & pay for a shuttle. They probably don't get home until after 10 if they stay to dark. In 60 years I've never used a guide on the system. I learned where to find fish years before I saw my first guide or drift boat. I was fortunate to be able to buy my Hyde in 1999 for $5200.
nd1001
Well-known member
Where I really see the value in a guide is to put me on fish in a situation where I’m not confident I could have success DIY. Typically this is when I have some “sunk costs” for travel and lodging, and it wouldn’t be convenient or cheap to come back and try again, so I really don’t want to strike out.
Also, if targeting a new species or style of fishing, a guide can really accelerate the learning curve.
Case in point; a buddy and I had a guide in NY for steelhead fishing this spring on our first day of a 3 day trip. I had never targeted steelhead before, and it was super helpful to learn some switch rod techniques, plus to get insight on leader setup, presentation, fly selection, and where the fish were holding.
After the guided trip, we were much more confident in knowing which areas of water the fish would be in. Big water can be overwhelming for me, and I don’t doubt that without the first guided day, I could have been skunked for the weekend. For a fishery that is dependent on a “run” progressing, it’s super valuable having the insight of someone who is on the river every day.
Also, if targeting a new species or style of fishing, a guide can really accelerate the learning curve.
Case in point; a buddy and I had a guide in NY for steelhead fishing this spring on our first day of a 3 day trip. I had never targeted steelhead before, and it was super helpful to learn some switch rod techniques, plus to get insight on leader setup, presentation, fly selection, and where the fish were holding.
After the guided trip, we were much more confident in knowing which areas of water the fish would be in. Big water can be overwhelming for me, and I don’t doubt that without the first guided day, I could have been skunked for the weekend. For a fishery that is dependent on a “run” progressing, it’s super valuable having the insight of someone who is on the river every day.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
That makes perfect sense.
