On Becoming A Professional Guide

When you think of a “fly fishing guide school,” you might think about anglers sitting around a coffee urn or a fridge of adult brews sharing stories about fishing productive streams and hitting the great Caddis hatch with a new client a few years back. While some of that may be true, The Fly Fishing Guide School at Angler’s Covey offers a 7-day course that helps participants transition from being avid anglers to becoming professional guides.

Neil Luehring, lead instructor, says that the goal of the Guide School is “to put a person out there who is professional and strives for customer service. Our mission states that ‘everyday is an adventure for a client’ and guides need to enter each trip with that frame of mind.”

One of the unique qualities of the Guide School is that it offers a classroom learning format along with a hands-on experiential day to wrap up the school.  And the seven days promise to change the way the participants view guiding as a profession.

On Becoming a Professional

After they completed the course, last year’s “graduating class” shared some of their thoughts on becoming a professional guide.  One of the biggest take-aways for many of them was the logistics and details that are in the background of every trip.  Lee Wilson echoed the sentiments of many of them: “It’s not just getting the fishing gear ready. It’s the little things you might take for granted: bringing extra sunscreen, packing extra socks, figuring out lunch if it’s a full-day trip.” Several of the graduates said they knew the guides worked hard to create a great trip, but the work behind the scenes to make that trip so great was an eye-opener, for sure.

The presentations about the business side of the guiding world sharpened their focus on the professionalism:  Being an independent contractor. Setting up social media accounts. The grind of an entrepreneur.  “That whole aspect sort of blew my mind.”

But these folks didn’t pursue guiding because of the logistics and details of trip prep.

On Becoming a Teacher

The passion for fly fishing drives the desire to become a professional guide.  The Class of 2021 reflected on how the guide school shifted their definition of “being a guide.” They thought about “the why,” the purpose underlying their desire to become a guide.

John Quintana said that the sharp focus on teaching others really hit him. “They teach you how to teach people. How to give and receive feedback. I learned a lot from the role playing scenarios and when we talked about different approaches to teach anglers techniques.”

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Part of the design of the course is to intentionally offer a range of perspectives from a variety of guides. John said that hearing from “guys who have guided from three years to thirty-five years just gave me a lot to consider. So valuable to hear those different insights.”

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I found these multiple perspectives valuable, too. Each presenter offered their take on guiding, in general, and also shared specific demands of the guide’s life. We learned the demands of building a relationship with somebody you just met, creating a positive dynamic between guide and client, the challenge to learn entomology, and teaching and coaching on the river. We even discussed the beauty of providing a streamside lunch on the full-day trips. The seven days of the Guide School peeled back the curtain to reveal the complexity of guiding as a profession. 

On Becoming a Steward

Jesse Wittry expresses one of the guiding principles, so to speak, each time he guides and when he teaches the 201 classes:  “we are stewards of the resource. We need to protect it.” Lee echoes the sentiment. “We’re teaching people to fish on a finite resource, we’re not getting more water, and we need to impart good stewardship.” 

That stewardship takes on many different looks: from fish handling, to photographs, to not dropping the tag end of tippet onto the bank or into the river. To hear the consistent comments from these future guides made me aware of a shift happening.. Fly fishing is an avenue into enjoying the beauty and power of the natural world. As guides, we have a responsibility to orient the new person to the etiquette and ethics in each fly fishing adventure. If not us, those who make a living in this endeavor, then who?

More Than The Fish

The other major theme that seemingly all the 2021 Graduating Class walked away with focused on the client.  Several of them said something along the lines of, “It’s not about the fish, necessarily.  It’s about creating an experience for them in the Colorado outdoors. It’s about making the trip to the river the best part of their Colorado vacation. Or if they have fished before, to make this day a memorable one.”

I think one sentiment conveyed by the Class of 2022 was expressed a few years ago by Bob Taylor, Class of 2015: “I can’t say enough about this experience. I was confident in my skills as a fly fisher, but, man, what this course did for my confidence in working with people. It truly prepared me to be a guide.”

The Camaraderie

The Fly Fishing Guide School at Angler’s Covey builds a camaraderie between participants. It focuses on building relationships between guide and client.  And as for Neil, “The guide school is the most gratifying teaching experience I have had over all of these years. The people who have gone through our classes are motivated to learn. It’s very gratifying to help them take a few steps down the path to becoming a professional guide.”

The 2022 Fly Fishing Guide School at Angler’s Covey runs from April 4 – April 10.  During the week, the class meets at Angler’s Covey from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.  Saturday and Sunday, participants are in the field from 8:00 pm to around 4:00 pm. Sunday is a special day where potential future guides get some hands-on experience to bring it all together. For more information and to register, please click here.