Tuesday
Feb142012
Want to turn your passion for fly fishing into a career?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 12:00AM 
A Fly Fishing Guides School is being offered by Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters amongst the Sierra Nevada Mountains April 30th – May 4th, 2012. Learn to guide on the Truckee River, Carson River and the East Walker River and take those skills anywear in the world!
LINK (Via: Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters)
Reader Comments (8)
I'll just print off the certificate, thanks.
Good luck to anyone dumb enough to believe that this school will help them become a guide. It'll teach you to be a better fisherman, but no one is going to hire someone as a guide just because you went to some "Guide School for Suckers".
Maineman, thanks so much for pointing that out. It's almost like you think people care about your "well thought out" view. You seriously thought it would be a good use of your time to point this out??
@MainMan I am curious about your skepticism of this course offering. I googled "Fly Fishing Guide Schools" and as far as I can tell, every offering is an outfitter, a shop or a fly fishing lodge. One of them even goes so far as to transparently indicate that you take their course and you may be offered a job "in paradise". I spent years in the white water biz and can attest that we did guide training the exact same way, i.e, the outfitters charged wanna-be guides to attend a week long course, hired the best and wished the rest good luck.
So for anyone who wants to advance their career, what do you recommend? How does one go about becoming a guide. Wonder what percentage of working guides went through some sort of guide school or concentrated training program.
Having gone to a guide school and worked in the industry, I have kind of a skewed view of guide schools. If you want to work in the lower 48, get a job in a shop with no expectations of guiding that season. Fish your brains out, learn how to row the shop boats, and don't be an asshole. Or, get a job at a "dude ranch" which generally will hire you if you know which end of the rod to hold. My old boss would not hire people from guide schools (with exception) because he felt anyone that went was lacking something. He felt the same way about FFF cert. casting instructors. He's kind of extreme though.
I would go to guide school if your goal is Alaska. You may have to work as a guide assistant (i.e. cleaning up camp everyday), but good guide schools will get you time on jet boats and an OUPV Six pack license, which is gold up there. Some lodges will hire you sight unseen as a guide in Alaska, but I would be suspicious of them. If you've never fished for Kings and Silvers, how the hell you gonna guide clients into them?
Anyways, guide school was a lot of fun, made a lot of good friends there, and all of them that actively looked for work got a job somewhere that season.
Seems that the "school" is offering the ability to guide the Truckee. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there were strict rules regarding the Truckee, Little Truckee, etc. with regards to who can and can't guide. Thought you had to be "invited" in.
Great guides are good with people first, and they are fishy second. No school will be able to teach you how to relate to people on their own level. No school can show you how to keep the mood light after a day without a bite, never mind a fish. The traits that the best guides all have in common cannot be taught, you come to the table with them already.
Give me a newbie who has little fishing or boating experience but has a great attitude and is good with people. I'll show him how to row the boat and cast. The fishing part can be taught, it's easy.
Then there's the other guy, you know the one. He's the one who has caught everything that swims, he's fished everywhere. He talks about himself a little too much, his ego comes through the door first. He gets grumpy when his clients are not catching, he gets on their case when they miss a fish that he puts them on. His days are judged by how many and how big. He's fishy, he has boating skills, knows knots, rods and everything else. He thinks he's a great guide, but he is nowhere near. This is someone who should find another job.
The best guides started at the bottom and worked their way up. Shop rat, lodge boy, call it what you will. If you want a job in the guiding industry come to the table with people skills and the ability to work hard. Learn all you can from other guides, ask questions, watch what they do. Fishing and boating skills are great to have, but a good guide they do not make.
The fishing part can be taught? You say that like your teaching him to pump gas.. Not sure I want to use your guide service... Don't get me wrong I don't want some asshoe like some alaska guides I've had in the pass... These guys were jaded to bone..., but they've been fishing their whole life. I don't want to pay for a guide to get a new best friend for a day... I want him to get me into the fish and maybe teach me someting I don't know...