Campman Outdoor Gear & Apparel

We love the outdoors.  That's why we're in this business.  When you combine a trip to a new location and some kind of adventure experience then you can either hit the jackpot for life experiences or make a hugely frustrating and potentially expensive mistake.  New places can offer excitement, new cultures, and life long memories.  They can also be tough to navigate which can be scary to some and make other anxious.  This is where a guide can be handy.  You pay someone who has the knowledge and experience to maximize your experience.  Guides are frequently hired for hunting, fishing, rafting, safaris, and navigating cities.  In the hands of an expert guide, you'll most likely learn and experience far more than you would if you attempted it yourself.  

I was lucky enough to have a dad that loves new adventures in new places.  He imparted love on me and we've had amazing experiences all over the globe.  This is especially true for fly fishing.  We've fly fished on 5 continents for all kind of species of fish.  I've also used guides to get a crash course on an exotic city when my time is short and I don't have the days to spend exploring on my own.  So over the years we've had good ones and bad ones.  The great guides open up a world I never would have known and seem like a long time friend over the course of a day or week.  They are fun to be around and amplify the fun factor.  Bad guides can leave a horrible taste in your mouth and ruin a trip.  Recently on back to back trips I got to experience both.

We'll start with the bad guide first.  The Campman crew flew to South Carolina to go chase Red fish on the fly.  I had little experience in the area and no boat so we had to get a guide.  I always try and find a referral or I'll book with a reputable company.  A friend was going to meet us from Charlotte and had fished with a guide in Charleston before.  We also had a vendor in Charleston who recommended a guide.  There was a significant price difference and the locals suggested a guide who was cheaper.  We went with the cheaper guide suggested from the locals.  9 out of 10 times I would say this is a pretty safe bet.  However in this situation I was dead wrong.  I should have gone with the sure thing.

I'll go through the quick crash course of what happened.  The weather didn't really cooperate and the guide suggested we not go the first day.  I believed him so we decided to tour the city which we had wanted to anyways.  The second day we went out even though it wasn't ideal conditions.  Fishing was tough be we had enough action to make us happy.  About half way through the day, the guide took a phone call.  A little odd but not a big deal.  He then turns to me and asks if I want a half day (4 hours) or 6 hours of fishing.  I was a little shocked.  A full day is 8 hours so I was taken aback when I was only offered 4 or 6.  Needless to say, the guide booked another client for the evening so he was cutting us short.  To top the trip off, the last day he called in sick.  We were forced to change our plans and go deep sea fishing which we really didn't want to do.  There is much more to the story but this is quick version.  At the end of it all the guide tried to charge us full price for the one day he guided despite us not going out a full day.  So at the end of the trip, I was mad, felt ripped off by the guide, and felt like I had wasted my money on the flights and hotel.

The following week we went up to Montana to go fishing.  It was a guide I had used before and felt confident my experience wouldn't end the same way.  I'll plug his business as he is worth the money if you are in the area.

  Montana's Last Best Outfitters

We showed up and all the rivers were blown out due to high water.  Luckily our guide was prepared and had some private lakes lined up so we weren't out of luck.  We caught some nice fish and had a blast just hanging out together.  Despite not having ideal conditions our guide made the best of the situation and worked hard to make our experience as good as possible.  This is when a guide is really important.  When you need that extra knowledge and experience for when things aren't the ideal conditions.  It can really salvage your trip versus ruining it.

When ended up boating a few nice fish despite the rough conditions.  The whole time the guide was up front about what to expect but kept us in a positive mindset.  

Now that my rant is over here are some tips on finding the right guide before you leave on your trip.

1. Get a referral from someone who has used a guide in the area.  Referrals almost always are the best option especially first hand referrals from friends.

2. Use a well established company.  Usually well established companies can be researched online and have reviews from customers.  They might be more expensive but sometimes you get what you pay for.  Depending on the trip you can ask the company to give you a former customer to speak with as a referral.

3. When using a company's guides, ask them who they think is their best guide ahead of time and see if you can reserve them.  Every company has various levels of guides and some can be way better than others.  

4. Good companies typically have itineraries and let you know what to expect.  If you don't establish what is expected then you might not get what you expect.  This was a red flag in our poorly guided trip.  Times and locations weren't established prior to the trip and could have alerted us to choose a different guide.

5. Make sure you know what you need for the trip.  We always ask for a gear list before we go.  It would suck to show up for a fly fishing trip thinking they had rods, reels and flies and then not have them.  Again, if they don't have something like this then they might not be as professional and experienced as you want.

6.  Educate as much as you can before you go so you have questions or wants from the guide.  What do you want out of the trip.  What do you expect to do or learn from the trip.  You'll find you get more out of a trip if you're actively engaged.  We always learn more about techniques when we're fishing in new locales.

7.  Be ready for the good and bad.  The saying goes, "I'm a guide, not God."  A good guide will work hard despite adversity.  Tempering your expectations in face of adversity can allow you to still enjoy yourself.