TOM ROWLAND PODCAST

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“Personal referrals and reviews are King when it comes to finding quality guides.”

-Hunter Leavine

PODCAST SYNOPSIS

I received a question recently about how to book a guide for a fishing trip, so I called up my friend Hunter Leavine to have him come talk about some tips for booking guides. Hunter runs a podcast called Captains Collective and he collects interviews from guides all the time so he has some awesome insights in this podcast.

One of the first things Hunter brings up is not being fooled by the smoke and mirrors of social media and websites. Often the best guides are fishing so often that they struggle to put together a strong website or social presence. The best way to check the quality of a guide is through referrals and reviews.

Places like Yelp and Trip Advisor are great because you read reviews about the guides that are raw. Social Media and websites are the guides saying “this is what I say about myself” but Yelp allows you to hear what other people are saying about them.

Another point that Hunter made was to be realistic. Knowing what you want your trip to look like and knowing what your capabilities are when it comes to fishing. Communication is super important in this case (See How To Communicate With Your Guide).

Check out some highlights from this podcast:

0:00 - Hunter is helping me answer “How to best book a guide for a fishing trip”

1:01 - Don’t be fooled by the smoke and mirrors

2:05 - Best guides didn’t always have the best websites

2:57 - Personal experience and referrals are KING

3:33 - Some of the best guides are people you’ve never heard of

3:50 - Try to book in advance as much as you can. Most of the best guides are book well in advance. If you find a guide and they are booked, ask them for a referral

4:38 - Look at sites (Trip Advisor and Yelp) to look at reviews

5:17 - Social media is “here what I am saying about me” and review sites like Yelp are “here’s what others are saying about them”

5:54 - You want to have reasonable expectations of your own skills and what you want to do

6:55 - Communication is KING

8:04 - Guides may have the best reputation and really good at what they do might not be the best fit for you for that particular trip or day

9:36 - Do your homework when you are asking your friends and be sure you tell people what kind of trip you are wanting

10:45 - Book a trip so you get the trip that you want

12:36 - Guides can get frustrated when someone isn’t realistic about their skills

14:06 - Check out Hunter’s podcast “Captains Collective”

14:35 - If you have suggestions email me podcast@saltwaterexperience.com

People, organizations and terms mentioned in this podcast:

David Mangum, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Tom Rowland, Hunter Leavine, Captains Collective