How to Become a Fly Fishing Guide

For every fly fisherman, the dream of becoming a fly fishing guide and actually getting paid to do what they love seems out of reach. It is actually not that hard to become a fly fishing guide in most states and if you have access to quality water and strong desire you too can make money as a flu fishing guide. Below is a list of things can do to become a fly fishing guide..

Things You'll Need

  • Fly Rod & Reel
  • Waders
  • Transportation
  • Fly Fishing Website
  • Access to Rivers
  • Fishing License
  • Guiding License (some states)
  • Medical/CPR Cards (some states)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find a Guide Mentor: The first thing you will want to do is find a local fly fishing guide and ask him if he would be willing to hire you for minimal pay or for free. This is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the business and see how to be a great guide. You can ask to "shadow" him or her when he has a guided trip and maybe even fill in as a guide when he or she has a large group. Typically the client to guide ratio is 3 to 1. (One guide for every three fisherman.) If your mentor guide gets a large group and he needs extra guides, hopefully he will hire you once you have some experience.

    • 2

      Start Your Own Guide Service: These days most folks turn to the internet to find a fly fishing guide. If you build a website be sure and use the keywords in the domain that will get you a higher SEO ranking. In other words if you are a Denver fly fishing guide, you might reserve the domain denverflyguide.com. Make the website attractive with many fishing photos and up to date information on river and weather conditions. You can list current hatches and you may even get a following of fisherman who are checking you site to see current conditions.

    • 3

      Get Insured: Many states require you to get a medical or CPR card to be a fly fishing guide. It is also a good idea to get some general liability insurance - you don't want a guest falling in a river and suing you for damages.