Am I Crazy For Chasing My Dream?

I'll be 23 this yr. I've won numerous tournaments throughout my life. Won a little money here and there, but nothing big. I'm considering competing in crappie masters to get my name out there. Ever since I've moved to west tn I've had the dream to guide on reelfoot. It's my dream to fish for a living. No intentions of striking it rich, just survive on doing what I love. I can find fish when some can't, and I can hold my own without $30,000 boats. Am I crazy? Is it something not attainable? I'm sure there's a few guides on here who may be able to give me some advice. If so chime in, by all means. Ill never tap out, but it's nice to know my odds.

kewl dream man, hold on to your dreams no matter how far they seem away!! good luck whatever the decision,but I'd love to do the same thing!!

You are at the age to attack this dream and win. Find everyone you can that guides or tournament fishes. Pick their brains,take their advice, don't set expectations higher than you can reasonably obtain. Talk to some of the sponsors on this board. Find out what their expectations are for a guy they are willing to put their name and money behind. It's not going to be easy but sounds like you are at a good starting point. Good luck to you.

Sent you a PM

Most of the guides I know in this area have a second source of income. It may not seem so important now but later in life you may find the need for a better income. Family and the hopes of not having to work so hard when you are older is expensive.
All the sucessful tournament fishermen I know from around here either hold full time jobs, are land owners or already have family money.

Go for your dreams. If you want to guide on Reelfoot I would suggest trying to link up with Billy Blakely out of Blue Bank Resort and see if you could get your feet wet working for him, or with his crew. I have hunted and fished with Billy for several years and have had a ball. I went to college and got my BS in Fisheries and Wildlife and wanted to go to work for TWRA and then the USFWS but got side-tracked; never followed my dream and have always felt I messed up. Go for the gusto and Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Tennessee Trey

Most of the guides I know in this area have a second source of income. It may not seem so important now but later in life you may find the need for a better income. Family and the hopes of not having to work so hard when you are older is expensive.
All the sucessful tournament fishermen I know from around here either hold full time jobs, are land owners or already have family money.

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This.^^^^^

I've outfitted and guided for over 10 years for waterfowl (snow geese and ducks). I've also been asked by more than one fishing guide if I would consider working with/for him. Here's my take on it: You want to do what you love and that's honorable. Have you considered how you are going to feel about the sport you love when you barely have enough $$ in your pocket to pay for fuel for that day? How about when those clients, who have totally unrealistic expectations about catching limits of 3 pounders every day, tell you they could care less what the weather conditions are, they are paying you to take them fishing after you have told them going will be futile? How about those clients, who are also friends or family members, decide they don't need to send in a deposit then at the last minute call you to tell you something has come up, they can't come, and this knocks you out of a couple of days of $$? Too many folks think guiding, hunting or fishing for a living, would be the greatest job in the world and make you rich. They have zero idea of what is involved behind the scenes and how much time is spent in preparation. Many folks think that since they paid you to take them out yesterday, they have the right to waypoint all your spots then take everyone they know back to those same spots starting the next day. It happens every day.

I guide because I love meeting people and letting folks experience something they most likely would never do if they didn't go with me. Fishing is quite a bit different but the people are all the same. I have friends I have made years ago as clients who now are like family and some have hunted with me for as long as I have been in business. I also have had to cut hunts short because the folks chose to bring their own agendas and created safety issues for all involved. I make new friends each season, not just outdoor friends, but the kind of friends you spend time on the phone with, just BSing about life in general. I also have had clients who were not booked for future hunts because frankly, I didn't want to be around them any more. Not many but enough to be memorable.

Don't just look at the surface of what you think you want to do, peel the layers of the onion back and look at each one. It may bring tears to your eyes.

I make good money during my snow goose season but the window of opportunity is so short, I have to make the best of it.Have you considered the bream/crappie spawn being similar? Spending a month in a motel, getting 4-5 hours of sleep for weeks, being exposed to some of the worst weather conditions imaginable, eating meals in the truck, spending hours trying to contact landowners to get permission to set up a hunt, it all is part of my deal that others don't see or even care about. I find it worth the effort but my body won't take too many more years of it. I make good $$ but when the bottom line is tallied, my per hour rate is much less than what somebody with a so-so job is making.

Chase your dream but don't let it turn into a nightmare because you failed to consider everything that is involved. Good luck with your decision. One thing, I live 8 miles from KY Lake so I have plenty of places to go if one doesn't work out. I wouldn't limit myself to just Reelfoot. I would become good on several different lakes so I could move around need be. Reelfoot is small and one weather event could wipe your fishing out for days at a time.

One fact of life - it is expensive. Don't think so? If you are a guide and break an arm or leg, what then? Backup plan for when the boat motor needs to be fixed and it is going to take 2 days? Or the same but instead it's your tow vehicle? It reminds me of that old saying - Two can live as cheap as one, as long as one of you doesn't eat.
Don't mean to ruin your parade - go for it. But maybe weekends and holidays while you have another regular source of income.

I've thought about it myself and have guided a little duck hunting. I always thought that it might take the fun out of MY fishing and like fishingcrazy is saying health insurance is nice and a retirement fund will be nice later hopefully. Thank hard about it. good luck.

Do it while you are young. Cause, when you get old, you have to stop and pee a lot.