As a guide in both fresh and saltwater, Tom Rowland discusses the questions you should ask your guide to make sure you get exactly the trip you are looking for.
1. Be Direct - Talk to the guide about what you would really like. Do you want to catch a lot of fish and don't really care which species? Is there one fish you particularly want? Are you looking for a particular size fish? Do you have a kid that wants the rod bent all day?
2. Be honest - Give your guide an accurate assessment of your skill level. Are you an expert? Novice? Brand New? Talk to the guide and let them know where you stand so they can suggest the best time to come or offer other alternatives.
3. Be Open - Be flexible and open to other times of year, other locations or other guides. Once you talk about what you want, the guide can either take you himself or offer a suggestion for what you have stated that you wanted.
4. Make Sure You Understand What is Required From What You Are Asking. - Talk to the guide and understand what goes into the request you made. Did you want to catch a permit on fly? Do you understand that catching 1 is excellent and many anglers only catch one per season or one in a lifetime? Just make sure you understand that you may be going all day without catching something if that is the kind of fishing you want to do.
I hope these tips help you to book the trip you want. I know that asking these type of questions helped me to have very happy customers and that is the key to a very successful fishing guide. You can use these same type of questions as an angler to get the trip you want.