While I speak only on behalf of our shop, I believe my observations and values align with many other guide services and outfitters. The guide business has changed a great deal, particularly over the past 5 to 7 years. Modern day guide trips place much more emphasis on teaching and less emphasis on putting big numbers of fish in the boat (and taking photos of people holding fish); and people don’t want to only learn how to catch fish. They want to learn about the watershed, the fish and wildlife in the ecosystem, potential threats to the fishery and ways they can join the conservation effort.
A client’s day on the river is measured as an overall experience. There are many factors that contribute to this experience: weather, equipment, interactions with other anglers on the river, instruction, fishing, and logistics. Some of these factors are within human control, others are not. The ironic thing is that the items that are within human control not only affect the client experience in our guide boat, but also the experience of ALL other anglers that we share the river with. We have NEVER put 10 boats on any section of any water and never will – as it ruins the experience for not just those in our boats, but others on the river, too. We try to give bank anglers and other boats plenty of room and maintain a friendly dialogue. When we see wildlife or something else that is noteworthy including the fishing, we share it with our clients and, often times, anyone else in the vicinity. We aren’t boisterous on the river, and are working towards placing less emphasis on the number of fish caught being the measure of a successful day on the water – especially for Steelhead.
With the above being said, I am not opposed to restrictions being placed on certain watersheds to preserve the experience and/or protect a declining fishery. I am, however, opposed to holding guides to a different standard than the fishing public – and vice versa. We have always supported the WDFW and always will. We provide comments when asked and understand that some things that may be a priority for us may not be for the majority, or simply not feasible given funding or enforcement. As many people have stated on here, responsible guides are stewards to the watershed and actually enhance the overall experience for many. I am also opposed to making critical decisions like this without a thorough understanding of FACTS. Evan, we have discussed this before and have maintained a respectful dialogue. The weekend you referenced on the Klickitat happened to be a weekend that a large fly club hosted an outing. The middle 3 weeks of October on the Klickitat is the equivalent of the Salmon fly hatch on any popular trout river. There were very few boats on the river on weekdays, and traffic lightened up significantly by November. Is it fair to base a general ruling on 3 Saturdays in a given month? I do not believe a wade fishing only restriction on the Klickitat would have the desired effect of reducing pressure that many of you think. I believe much of the water on this river can be reached with a switch rod (we saw MANY more of this year) or spinning rods – and Supermuddler brought up a great point on wading over redds.
Another thing I want to touch on is the days that guides go out and put up the huge numbers that many people hear about and some find offensive are often days that guides are actually “buddy” fishing. You hardcore guys on here, think about your best days of fishing – was one of your “guide buddies” along? I bring this up because these days are not necessarily the product of a commercial trip and would still happen even with restrictions in place. So speaking to FACTS, there is the traffic issue impacting the quality of experience – now how about the health of the fishery? By a large consensus, the Yakima River is fishing better today than it was 10 years ago. In speaking to our customers and our guides, numbers and average size of fish are up – and these are not moldy one eyed torpedoes – we’re talking fat healthy trout with sharp fins and sparkly eyes. I think a lot of this can be attributed to better C&R practices. We have graduated from the digital camera boom where every 14” trout that was caught had to be photographed. This is a great example of how educating the fishing public worked. Nearly every angler out there can recite the basic “Safe Catch and Release guidelines”. Awareness has been achieved and it was through joint efforts of fly shops, fly clubs, guides, government agencies, and conservation groups. The health of a fishery and negative impact due to pressure really takes on a different meaning when hatchery steelhead come into the equation. Again, we support the WDFW decisions and efforts and abide by the rules regarding hatchery fish and wild fish. The rules that are implemented were not made up, they are based on science/facts – and when the escapement numbers are met and harvest quotas are reached, the season opens and closes. If pressure is jeopardizing the survival of a fishery, then we would want to be first in line to restrict it – as would other guides and outfitters who are in this business because they love fishing and have the DEEPEST respect for the fish!
We try to give as much information as we can to bring people success in their fishing. Many are very grateful for that, others get upset because it’s sacred information that one should pay their dues to learn. This dilemma is no different than this internet site. What gets overlooked in these situations and issues is that our success, hence our clients’ enjoyment, is the result of a positive experience on the river, which is aligned with ALL OTHER anglers on the river. For all the right reasons, we bring young people into this business and try to impress upon them that the success of a fishing day is never based solely on the number of fish they catch, but on the outcome of the days’ total experience. I’m not saying we are perfect or better than anyone else. We have had our share of problems. Whenever we become aware of a negative interaction involving one of our guys, we try to gather as many facts as we can and turn it into an educational opportunity. We are very proud of our fly shop and guide team. They work their butts off in this business, certainly not because of the money; but because they love the sport and have a passion for sharing it. Our philosophy on fly fishing is the opposite of the traditional 1950’s Ted Trueblood photo of forty trout strung up between two trees and two smiling men decked out in camp flannel. We seek pictures of smiling people before and after the outing without the safari kill. Our clients leave with rich memories that transcend fishing and who are smarter about the environment and much better equipped to refuse to accept that tomorrow’s resource is inferior to today’s. And when our clients feel that way, every other angler who was on the river that day shared the experience. If you've got anything to add, please send a PM. We'd love to hear from you.
Steve J
Red's Fly Shop