The Importance of a Kayak Fishing Guide
| A good kayak fishing guide is one of the most valuable tools that an angler has at his or her disposal. Most professional fishing guides are in the business because they have a passion for the sport and have spent countless days over the course of many years on the water, learning their particular fishery. They know the conditions that are conducive for good fishing in certain areas at certain times, and those to avoid. It is all about being in the right spot at the right time, and nobody knows this better than the guide who is on the water, day in and day out. |
Jimbo and Nova Scotia Guide Tom MacDonald |
If you are new to kayak fishing, consider hiring a kayak fishing guide. In addition to learning where and how to fish, your guide will teach you the proper techniques needed to fish from a kayak with confidence, all in one package during your trip.
Most kayak fishing guides are a gold mine of information, for they know the best flies, lures, plugs or baits to use, and how to present them. If you are traveling to a new destination and are unfamiliar with the local fishery, you can waste most of the time you’d planned for fishing trying just to understand and locate the fish. A fishing guide with local fishing knowledge is worth his fee many times over.
Fishing out of a kayak adds a whole new dimension to fishing, and fishing with a kayak guide is more than just a “fishing trip.” A kayak fishing guide can show you areas that are off the beaten path and inaccessible to power boats. They are usually knowledgeable of the wildlife and marine life in the area. Your outing becomes an eco tour and fishing trip combined that allows you to slow down and observe Nature at her finest.
I recently experienced a good example of the importance of a guide, having just returned from a trip to Nova Scotia. I took a couple of kayaks with me. Tom MacDonald was nice enough to take me under his wing and show me some of his fishing locations. Tom is a fishing guide, lobster fisherman, woodcock and grouse guide…and an opera singer! He excels in all of his endeavors.
We caught some beautiful native sea run brook trout that were in the rivers, spawning. However, my real goal was to float some of the local rivers for Atlantic salmon. I did not know which rivers would be the most productive, or have the best conditions for fishing.
The salmon fisherman up there normally wear waders, and they walk in to fish either specific pools or runs in the rivers. We decided to go up the river, launch the kayaks and fish back down. It was unreal how well it worked. Not only was it a wonderful paddling experience, but we were able to fish areas that very seldom get fished because of their inaccessibility. Tom had fished the river many times. He knew the areas that held fish, and the areas that received the least amounts of fishing pressure.
After we had fished a number of pools unsuccessfully, Tom suggested that I change flies and gave me a General Practitioner fly. I tied it on. The first cast in the next pool produced a take. and after eight jumps and a great fight I landed a beautiful bright Atlantic salmon.
I thought of this great fish and the life that it had led. She was born in this river, lived a life in the open ocean and had probably traveled thousands of miles, possibly as far as Greenland, returning to her native river to spawn. As I released her, I remembered the famous phrase by Lee Wulff, “Salmon are much too valuable to be caught only once.” If I am not mistaken, that phrase was the birth of catch and release fishing.
I thanked Tom as we paddled down the river. I owe him another great fishing memory.
Jimbo's Cast Archive
Sept/Oct 2006- Jubilee
August 2006- Outfitting Your Kayak for Fishing
July 2006- Choosing a Fishing Kayak
June 2006 - "Why I Started Fishing from a Kayak"
May 2006 - "Jimbo Meador, Angler Philosopher"