“ Their Is More To It Then Catching Fish”

It was a busy weekend (9/20 through 9/22) full of Northeast wind which can make for some tough fishing. Luckily I’ve been on a great bite and the area I’ve been fishing has me tucked away from the wind. All 3 days we caught Snook, Redfish, Mackerel, Shark and Trout. Each day as I arrived to the boat ramp I was asked by some of the top guides, “how was your day”? Every time I was asked I replied “it was a tough bite”. I could tell they struggled and that’s why they asked so I gave them some relief because as a guide their is no worse feeling then not performing up to your own expectations. Another reason is you don’t ever want to look like a bragger or talk up your trip in front of another guides clients. I’ve seen less experienced guides do it and it’s never a good outcome. The best thing to do is act professional because the shoe could be on the other foot and I can guarantee you their is not a man or women on this earth that catches a boat load of fish every time they go out. Believe it or not their are a ton of captains that don’t know this unwritten rule. In this business their are to many Captains trying to become local celebrities instead of role models or respected men. Most of the newer guides come into the business with their chest up in the air and feel like they are the “God Of Fishing”.

Guides like that don’t understand what it really takes to make a successful fishing trip. These type of guides are only worried about looking like they are ”The Man”. They have no idea what customer service is or what it means to a client. I’ve heard terrible story’s from clients telling me they have been out on other Tampa Fishing Charters and wasn’t even allowed to cast their own fishing rod. They told me how the fishing guide would yell at them or get mad if they did not cast good. Well I guess the Captain forgot his main job is to teach fishing. Instead the captain was chasing a certain fish that may have been simply out of his clients league and should of went after an easier fish to catch. One thing I’ve learned is that a successful fishing trip isn’t always about catching a giant fish or a ton of fish. Sometimes the best and most successful trips are when the client walks away a better angler after he learns exactly how and what it took to catch the fish.

Picking a good guide isn’t very hard but it can become extremely tough if you don’t know where to start. First of all stay away from the social media guide. This is your guide that is all about himself and has no idea how to run a fishing charter business. He’s the guide that advertises 50 different sponsorships that nobody has ever heard of. Lol, The reason you have never heard of the sponsors is because no legitimate guide wants to be a part of that company or a company that supports guides like that. Second is do a google search and see where that guide pops up on Google Maps. Google maps will show how many reviews that Captain has and please read through the reviews very hard. Reviews can be fake and fake ones are usually easy to spot out. They are usually very short reviews and only talk about how great the guide is as a fisherman but nothing about customer service or in detail of the fishing trio itself. Third step is to go to the Website and read through it. Take a good look at the website layout and see if it looks professional. You can tell how serious a guide is about his business by how much money he spends on his business so a great looking website let’s you know he’s pretty serious about being professional.

After you have a few guides you are interested in after going through some of the steps above it’s time for the most important part. It’s time to call the guide but not just to get a price quote. The phone call should focus on what the guide has in mind for the Tampa Bay Fishing Charter and if his personality is the right fit for you. Ask your fishing guide what kind of boat he has, does he have another job and how long has he been guiding? Those questions are usually great conversation starters and from there you will be able to find out a lot about your guide. The rate should be around $500 to $550 for a half day Tampa Bay Fishing Charter. You will find guides that are cheaper if you look hard enough but why do you think they are cheaper? If you guessed you get what you pay for then you are absolutely right. If the guide himself doesn’t think he is worth average rate then why in the world would you? If you have read this post and you are looking for Fishing Charters in Tampa Bay, Florida then I hope you give me a call to see if I’m the right guide for you. Hope you enjoyed the read and learned something.

Captain Kevin Overstreet 813-770-7634 or slaythebayfishing.com