HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR BASS-FISHING GUIDE

My Bass-Fishing Guide Produces

EDITOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, the best way to find and catch the most bass any day you fish is to hire a guide who’s on the water everyday and should know where the bass are holding.

To get the most from your bass-fishing guide, follow these do’s and don’ts to help you and your guide.

1) Don’t hire a guide and tell him where to fish, which baits to use and what strategies to employ. “When an angler tells me where to fish, I’ll take him where he wants to go on the lake,” Charlie Ingram, a guide with the Lake Eufaula Guide Service in Eufaula, Alabama, said. “After an hour or two of not catching fish, the angler usually will ask, ‘Have you got some places where we can catch fish’? I’ll say that I do have some spots where we can catch a lot of fish but that I want him to feel satisfied that he’s tried all his places first. Then once the client agrees to let me take him fishing, we’ll fish on the water I choose and take bass. When you hire a guide, you’ve employed a man whose job requires him to take you where you’ll find fish and show you how to catch them. To obtain the most for your fishing dollar, don’t guide your bass-fishing guide.

2) Do tell the guide you want to experience a good day of fishing. Make sure the guide has fun also. If the guide doesn’t, you won’t have fun either.

3) Don’t bet on the bass. Regardless of your guide’s credentials, bass won’t bite on some days. If you pick one of those days to fish and can’t catch any fish, ask the guide if he knows where you can take some catfish, crappie or bluegills. I hire a guide to catch fish, not to work miracles. Even God may have a difficult time unlocking the jaws of lockjawed bass. When bass won’t bite, don’t blame the guide. Change species and tactics, and catch another type of fish. You and the guide both will enjoy the day more.

4) Do treat your guide as you want him to treat you if you changed roles. If you know you’ll fish all day, bring some cold drinks and a lunch for your guide. If you entertain the guide as much as he does you, you both will have a fun-filled trip and make a new friend, regardless of whether the fish bite.

5) Don’t try to teach your guide a new tactic you’ve learned in Alabama last summer if you plan on fishing in New York during the fall. The guide already will know the most successful strategies for his area and for the fish you want to catch.

6) Do play the part of a student. Learn all you can from the guide. Each of these men will add another chapter in your book of bass fishing, giving you information that will enable you to catch more bass every time you fish on any lake. Each of us must learn and study to become a successful angler.

To learn more about Lake Eufaula Guide Service, contact Jackie Thompson 334-687-9595