So you want to be a fishing guide. A guide’s office looks pretty attractive …

Some of the starter ingredients to being a fishing guide include a real passion for fishing, a love of the rivers, good knowledge of a variety of types of rivers and streams, lots of fishing experience, great eyes, and good technique. Sounds like most competent anglers — but as a guide, you don’t get to do much fishing! However, what you do get to do is share your passion, and you get the opportunity to introduce people to New Zealand’s unique fishing, which is often life-changing.

Poronui Fishing Guide Dave often says that as a guide, instead of using a rod to catch the fish, he is using the guest as his tool to catch the fish, and, therefore, he works out the best approach with the skill set available.

This is where confidence and the ability to instruct comes into play. There may be heaps to learn, but it can’t all be taught or learned in one day.

Anyone can catch a fish when the fishing is easy. For a guide, the ability to adapt to difficult fishing situations and the skill set of the angler is a true test. It’s all about versatility. As Poronui Fishing Guide Sean says, you are constantly weighing up the odds. The gamble of instructing the client to take one more step — will that be the fatal step that spooks the fish and game over?

Guiding, however, is not all about fishing. There are other things a guide needs to bring to the table. This is where the intangibles come into play — the ability to relate, developing rapport with clients, having fun, becoming a friend. It goes without saying that different personalities appeal to different people, but developing a connection will entice the client to return and the guide/client relationship to continue.

So, if the guide’s office still looks attractive, perhaps you should shoulder the guide pack.