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Choosing
the right guide can lead to limits or in some cases,
lead to disappointment and empty wallets. Over the years
I’ve fished with the very best guides and occasionally
with the absolute worst. These experiences, especially
the bad ones, have helped me learn how to avoid fishing
with guides who’d be better suited selling used cars.
My hard-learned lessons have cost me money, time and
more importantly, success. Last summer I became my own
victim of not asking enough questions and researching a
charter operation. Hopefully last summer’s experience
will help you avoid the piscatorial pitfalls that cursed
me and my fishing group.
In hopes of
experiencing some top-notch Alaska fishing action on the
ocean, I set out to find a charter captain that could
offer something a bit different from the usual day trip
to the small fish hole. I wanted bigger fish, as most
anglers do, and I wanted to fish much farther from port.
After weeks of research just three charter operators
from the area I was researching appeared to offer
something different. First I called the charter captain,
asking him the usual questions. How many years have you
been in business? How big is your boat? How many people
do you take per trip? What size of fish should I expect?
How far from port will we go? What methods to you use to
catch fish? Can we keep fish and how do you package
them? I asked these questions and a few more to gauge
his competence. He answered every question and seemed to
be a very competent charter captain. His answers suited
the needs of my group. The captain also had answers to
more technical questions involving where to look for the
best numbers of fish based on currents, bottom
structure, weather and other factors.
The charter
captain’s credentials and knowledge still wasn’t
enough for me. Two phone calls to his competitors,
asking them point blank if he was a good captain,
completed the process. They both gave high praise. I set
my dates and booked the entire boat. Four of us would
enjoy some of Alaska’s best ocean fishing. We booked
our flights to Anchorage, arranged transportation to the
port in question and arrived on time with gear ready to
conquer fish big enough to make anyone drool with
desire. When we met our captain, he seemed normal by
Alaskan standards. He stood tall, with a hair style to
rival Dennis the Menace’s on a truly bad hair day. His
shirt contained several small holes – reminders that
hooks like shirts and other clothes. His shoes had oil
stains, a sign that he most likely changed his own oil
in his car and boat. His scruffy beard was laced with
grey – the obvious sign of experience – rounded out
his look. Upon reflection, this guy looked exactly like
an experienced Alaskan “Salty Dog” captain.
As four pairs
of eyes scanned the dock for his vessel, my eyes spotted
it first. Having seen several pictures of the vessel
already, the sight of his vessel struck me like a swift
kick to the crotch. Oh god, I silently thought, are we
going to survive four days on this boat? How old was
that picture I screamed in the privacy of my own
panicked thoughts. But looks can be deceiving, and this
boat had credentials and a reputation for catching big
fish. I’d seen the pictures and talked to other
captains about this boat. We continued to load our gear
and shoved off toward the glory hole. Closer inspection
of the vessel revealed too many broken or poorly
maintained items to remember or mention. But for some
reason the Gilligan’s Island theme song kept playing
in my mind. We arrived at our first destination of the
multi-day trip within a few hours of departing the dock.
Don’t judge a
book by its cover is an over-used expression to say the
least. However, this book, or boat as the captain called
it, also had insides that revealed much. For instance,
the vessel’s electronics were of the most basic
design. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an electronics
snob, but I firmly believe a boat large enough to house
six should have a depth finder suitable for the purpose
of navigation and fish finding. This vessel had the most
basic Hummingbird unit that you might find on a 12-foot
aluminum boat. A great unit for a small boat, but
certainly not powerful enough for accuracy and
definition in deep water. An older GPS plotter was the
only saving grace at the helm. A full length crack
across the helm’s windshield didn’t look to
appealing either.
Our first
destination of the trip yielded nothing and resulted in
a move to calmer waters because a storm had moved in.
Spot two also yielded nothing. Spot three the same. Day
two produced less than normal catches of very small
fish. Throughout the trip the captain kept his
enthusiasm and optimism high. But when the captain and
mate crowded onto the back deck, which really only had
room for two or three anglers, it forced two of us to
quit fishing. His theory was simple. The more anglers
fishing the more we’d catch. Our logic seemed simple
too. Four anglers fishing in a hard current would be too
crowded.
To say this
trip was a bad trip would be an understatement. After
four days of mediocre fishing we did come away with
enough fish for all of us to have something for our
efforts. But we also walked away with a sense of failure
because we didn’t accomplish the goals we hoped to
achieve. My research and planning had failed us. Or was
it simply a matter of bad luck. If fishing had been
better this column might have been completely different,
but I doubt it.
No matter how
good or bad the fishing is we should expect a level of
professionalism and standards for the captain and his
vessel. And as anglers we must also realize our catching
expectations might not be met, whether the guide was the
best or worst. Sometimes the fish just won’t bite. But
next time I book a trip with a charter boat I’ll be
sure to ask about the boat’s electronics. A couple of
phone calls to past clients will also be on my check
list. If I ever hear the theme song to Gilligan’s
Island playing during my conversation with a guide or
his past clients I’ll know to start looking for
another captain. And I might also ask for pictures of
the boat with the captain standing in the foreground
with today’s newspaper – kind of like a kidnapping
ransom note. Maybe this will help me avoid being held
captive by any more charter captains from hell.
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John L. Beath http://www.halibut.net
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