Ky Lake

[jnickels]

From MO., hired 2 guide boats to take us fishing on KY Lake for crappies! One boat with Steve, one boat with Don ......, my buddy and I loaded our stuff in the boat we were in and the guy immediately says,"Everyone tells me these fish are not biting". ( Red Flag), by the way, the buddy and my equipment was 2 fold better stuff than anything I seen this guy use, spinning reel squeaked every revolution, (2nd Red Flag), the guy stated, "I've not been fishing on a month."(3rd Red Flag), now for this Don ...... this guy never caught a fish the whole trip, by the way my Dad and other buddy was with him, equipment not even close to ours, called his buddies like 3 times to discuss how the duck hunting was, drank beer, after telling me he was an ordained minister and was marrying folks on the water! I would say my Dad is a seasoned veteran when it comes to catching crappie, our home lake is Lake of the Ozarks where we always catch limits, year around, Dads been doing this for 30 years, this guy had no idea how to read his graph, my buddy had to show him how! I must say he had far better graphs than the guy i fished with, but had no idea how to use them, I'll say that they had us on brushpiles, just like we fish at home, but the graphs were not marking any fish, and I honestly feel that these 2 guys didn't have a clue if there was fish there or not, I must say my guide Steve was a super nice fella and for this Don, what a guy, we asked him what we owed, he says 225.00 per boat, I say, how bout 200.00 a boat since we didn't get on any fish, (8 fish, 2 boats), I caught 4, my buddies caught 4 total, Dad 0, this Don blows up immediately , and says, how bout u give me a #%^ 100 dollar bill and don't ever, %#^ call me for your services again, maybe I was in the wrong but this guy blew up fighting mad immediately! This is the same reason I do not guide on my home lake, no fish, I would feel bad, and darn sure would not charge full price, I completely understand paying for his gas, and services, he offered no services in my opinion, hence, cutting us a break on the price, so with all that, we payed the guy his money, headed back to MO, and caught 3 limits of fish, Fri/Sat, but I feel I got took! Just a fair warning, I would not recommend this guy to anyone! Have to say at least Steve was a super nice guy!

re-post from BBC

[olesilverside]

shucks bad trip, I guess my fee of $12 wouldn't be to bad then..... we hired a guide one time in flordia, and out of 4 of us I caught one 8 large mouth........ oh yeh he offered us to buy some 10# already froze up....... haven't hired a guide since 79 and never would again...... what they charge buys me a couple years of lead heads and tube bodies....... and then find my own fish......

[Joedog]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Sounds like you don't even need a guide, though?

[jnickels]

It was a good trip to be with family and friends but the services that were provided were not what worth what we paid by far.

[Speck]

I hired a guide for a bear hunt in Canada, since its the law if you're not a resident.
I asked for a list of successful and unsuccessful clients. He provided me both lists and I contacted folks from both. One guy was from Joplin, MO. All the people I called gave a good reference. When we got there, a cold front moved in and we didn't see a bear hardly all week. The last day, the guide offered us a free hunt if we came back in the fall. It wasn't his fault about the weather. As it turned out, I killed a bear my last day there. There are some shady folks guiding. It pays to do your homework.

[G.Gordon]

I rarely hear any good reports from people that use guide services. That goes ten fold for friends that have used off shore guides. Seems to be a bunch of expensive boat riding, IMO.

[keeferfish]

I agree with Speck….Do Your Homework!!! I have used guides several times both fresh and saltwater. They have all been enjoyable and some the fishing was good and some not so good. None have been spectacular; maybe my expectations were too high. The price, time on the water, equipment, boat, bait and many other items are always discussed upfront with references more than once! I’ve even gone on another state board and researched guides before, if anyone will tell you the truth it’s another CDC member…unless you’re a lurker! As for asking to pay less, that could rub anyone the wrong way (no need for the profanity though); a tip is what a good guide should receive.

[kazualobzerver]

To say "rarely" is a bit harsh seems to me, there are good experiences aplenty. Most trips booked through Bucksaw Marina have good feedback. I realize there are stinkers in all walks of life, it pays to ask for references and "buyer beware" as anyone can claim to do about anything. Well I've even heard speak of some catching multiple two pounders on our pond in the same day.

[Jigging15]

I have never heard a bad word about Richard at Bucksaw. But a good guide such as Richard can turn a poor day of fishing into an enjoyable experience. I have guided 10-15 times a year for the last few years. No matter how much you try you are going to have a bad day on the water at some point. I have offered several times to not be paid or to take them out again. Every time I was paid in full and got a nice tip out of a few of them. They were spring trips which can be tough with fronts moving in. One of those trips we caught 14 fish which was bad from what I had been catching rigging but they thought it was great and were more there for learning the technique than they were to catch fish. One of my best days on the lake ever for numbers and big fish was a guide trip spider rigging two years ago and that was the only trip I had someone say they were not happy about the quality of fish we caught. Not sure he could have been pleased by any guide on any lake in Missouri.

[Slab]

I'm thinking this thread needs to be deleted:
"Do not post any potentially slanderous or attacking comments about any Public or Private Companies, Organizations, Corporations or Individuals."

That's part of our rules here.

And also for obvious use of curse word.

I may simply edit it.