Tips for Hiring Your Walleye Fishing Guide
You may be just beginning or a very experienced angler, you will have to take the help of a fishing guide for you to be able to locate Walleye, and especially if you are in a place you are not very familiar with. You can find some tips here which will help you in the hiring procedure:
Know where to look
It may be a good idea to ask you friends who are into Walleye fishing and have taken help from a guide before, ask them for suggestions. You can take their reference based on the experience they have had. This will help you know what to expect from the guide.
If possible try to find a local guide and you can hire him to help you out in the area he knows about well or is based in. And then this will also be much more reasonable than to hire an American and take him across to the Canadian border to fish for Walleye, or the other way round.
Another option is to go online and join the fishing forums, this will help you talk to other fishing enthusiasts, or you can also talk to local fishing gear and bait shops, if they can provide you with any reference. Even the information on hiring a boat charter can be obtained here.
Ask the guide for his experience
It is very imperative that your fishing guide is knowledgeable about the region where you plan to fish for Walleye. It is always good if he has an experience of some years in doing this job. As you are going to catch Walleye, your guide should understand its activities and also the habitat. If not you will end the whole day sitting in the boat with your bait patiently dangling from the hook.
It is all the more important to have a guide who has some experience with children, if you plan to take your family with you. It may not sound very important but the proficiency level of your guide will matters a great deal if you want to have a successful and safe fishing trip.
Ask if your guide has a license
There are state rules which regulate and also protect Walleye fishing. By taking a licensed guide, it will help you fish within the given limits. On the other hand a guide without a license can put you in threat of violating legal and ethical limits. Just inquire if the guide has suitable permit to work in the location where you are planning to fish.
How much?
If you have more anglers in the group the cheaper the trip will come to for hiring a guide. A typical Walleye fishing guide will charge something like $150 for a group of 3 people. In case you want something cheaper than this you go for group fishing packages, that will cost you $30 for a boat plus a guide and 20 or more anglers to keep you company. Rates tend to change and vary so make enquiries before making a decision.