Let’s face it, hiring a guide in not an inexpensive proposition, especially when a boat is involved. I’ve seen rates from $275 to $600 dollars a day in recent times, unless you are talking an off-shore charter and that’s a whole ballgame.

The good news is, when you find the right guide, the return on investment is superb.

I expect three things from a fishing guide:
1. Intimate knowledge of the waters to be fished; knowledge that’s current and correct;
2. The right equipment in good working order;
3. A person with good people skills; I don’t want to spend 8 hours with a stump.

In the same vein, there are some things a guide expects of me (and you):
1. Show up on time and ready to go (dressed, with drinks/lunch, sunscreen, etc.)
2. Follow advice given.
3. To make clear, up front, what my goals and expectations for the trip are.
4. To understand that certain things, like weather, are beyond control.

One of the best guides with which I have ever worked is Capt. Jim Willcox (305-393-1128) based out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida.

I’ve taken three in-shore trips with Jim to date, and after the last one (in which we landed numerous redfish, snook, goliath grouper and sharks), I realized there are two other traits that make the best guides so successful.

First, they are passionate about their sport. Willcox studies his craft and lives for the hookup, and his anglers feed on it. Secondly, like other guides (and tournament anglers) who successfully fish waters that are constantly changing (like rivers, reservoirs and saltwater), Willcox is amazingly versatile.

Willcox battles both tides and weather on a daily basis, and because he targets so many different species on a given week, he always has Plans B, C and D available in case Plan A doesn’t come together.

Knowing that makes it easy to follow his advice and the results consistently speak for themselves.

Steve