Been checking up on the competition and I notice there are a lot of people with many* years of experience on the water these days. My question about experience is does it start when you open your charter business or when your father or grandfather took you fishing when you were 5 years old? Thanks for the responses.
Charleston City Papers Best Guide of 2014
The former if you have years of experience, and the latter if you have none!
spec
1980 Skandia 21 w/ '93 JohnRude 150 gas drinker
Experience starts when you start i would think. At 8 years old i had a 10ft wood boat named CATFISH with a 3 horse motor and fished nearly every weekend, so that is when mine started. If you fished once or twice a year it would be hard to say you had all those years experience in my opinion.So that being said, I don’t know. Reading what i just wrote my experience ended several years ago. HUH
‘87 Pacemaker 31’ SF
‘04 Renegade 29’ 2 225’s
‘97 Maycraft 17’ 40 hp
I would hope they are claiming how long they have been a guide. If not, I could claim 35 years experience, and I’m only 36. Also I wonder where some of these guides with all this experience get it from. If you were a catfish guide on Santee for 20 years, it doesn’t get to count if you’re now giving inshore charters.
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
So, since I elect not to be a guide but have managed a business devoted to the industry for over 16yrs, do I have experience?? lol just messing guys
I would say the former, to answer Fritz’s question!
If you are for hire you should only claim your years experience being for hire… kind of like truck drivers.
-Albemarle 248xf “Chella”
-Dolphin 18BC Pro
-Miscellaneous boats
Fritz,when you first became a guide how did you list your experience? I think I would break it down to let people know I have fished here my entire life. Saying I have been fishing these water X amount of years and have been a professional guide for X amount of years, but for many that would require changing their website on a regular basis, so it is probably just easier to say how long you have been fishing here. In the end it is all marketing and selling your business, if you are a good guide your business with survive and thrive. I would think that you don’t have to worry too much about the competition being that you have been in it so long and probably have a regular clientele at this point.
I have zero experience and proud of it.
Luke 8:22-25
Good answer from Mr. Pickett. My answer too.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Well if it was me, I would list it as I have a lifetime of fishing experience and explain (from 3-10 I mastered neighborhood ponds) (From 10-24 I honed the skills of a inshore angler) so I could say I have 21 years of fishing and water experience and not be lying. But If I started captaining or guiding I would admit to all my 21 years of experience are being AMATEUR and list that my guiding and captaining experience as a professional is 0 years. I no plenty of non-professional fishers that are supremely skilled and never guided or captained but they could. As Apickett said you are a business and it is a service and if your service is superior to your competitors than really you have no competition. I’ve had better days fishing with certain guides but at the end of it all I still called the other guy back over them because of service. If a hr out of 4 of the charter trip is catching bait then I should be informed in advance, the guide should always hide his attitude if not good even if it is deserving. Someones bad day should not be mine especially if I pay close to 100 an hr. A good personality and a little bit of people skill goes a long way. I’ve went on guided trips and caught next to nothing but understand that’s fishing and even the best get beat, but had a great time. I’ve went and the guide fished the entire time with me because they were biting that good and it was the best day I have had on a charter and really was like fishing with a friend. I was his third charter ever, he listed his experience as 20 years of fishing the area and 1st year as a guide. Based on my experience I would credit him with 20 years of experience and he was definitely under 30. But the real factor is not all fishing is the same and some peoples experience isn’t equivalent to others even if it was longer.
As a fishing guide, your people skills are more important than your fishing skills. The best sometimes get skunked too, but the best will still have happy clients at the end of the day, even if they don’t catch a fish.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
It starts as soon as you open your internet browser.
quote:
Originally posted by PhinI have zero experience and proud of it.
http://www.sustainablefishing.org/
www.joinrfa.com
Luke 8:22-25
You’ve mistaken the word experience with the word couth…
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
quote:
Originally posted by bigmclargehugeIt starts as soon as you open your internet browser.
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker LarryAs a fishing guide, your people skills are more important than your fishing skills. The best sometimes get skunked too, but the best will still have happy clients at the end of the day, even if they don’t catch a fish.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Truer words were never spoken. Running the kayak guide service I quickly realized I was in the entertainment industry, not the fishing industry.
Boat drinks, Waitress I need 2 more boat drinks!
what’s your best entertainment trick TB?
“Enough hijacking, this is a major thread”
quote:
Originally posted by PeaPodwhat’s your best entertainment trick TB?
“Enough hijacking, this is a major thread”
I heard TB entertains clients by showing them pictures of you…
Laughs for hours…
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
Your true experience starts the day you pick up your first rod. Your business experience starts the day you serve your first client. The bottom line is if you are good at what you do and it shows through your results and the clients are happy the actual numbers don’t matter !
Excuses satisfy only those who make them. 23 Maycraft 175 Oceanrunner
Weak 23. you can do better
CaptFritz, how do you have time to check on these young bucks this particular time of year?
“Enough hijacking, this is a major thread”
You gotta pass the time taking a dump somehow.
Charleston City Papers Best Guide of 2014