Fishing Guides - Are They Worth The Money

I would answer that question a resounding YES. Earlier this week I spent the day fishing near St. Petersburg, Florida. I decided I would hire a guide to take me and my son out for a half day. We wanted to fish in inland waterways not in the Gulf.

After a quick search on the internet I found Capt. Doug Hemmer, an experienced guide in the area. He met us at a convenient location on a canal, and we were off. It took about 15 minutes to get to our first stop to fish. On his third cast my son pulled in his first sea trout. We fished about 8 or 9 different locations, each being fruitful. The rule was if each of us went 3 casts in a row without catching a fish, we moved.

All in all, we caught about 70 or 80 fish in 4 hours, mostly trout but also a Spanish mackerel, several lady fish, and a 3 ft. shark. Capt. Doug knew how to read the bottom conditions to find fish. I could have never come close to that experience on my own. It was worth every penny.