It’s YOUR Vacation — Fish the Way You Want
On our frequent trips to Anglers Inn Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos, Hanna and I have met a group of Japanese anglers who show a remarkable dedication to their craft. To start with, the trip itself requires incredible stamina – the shortest itinerary I can find from Tokyo is just over 16 hours of travel time, including a layover in Dallas, LAX or Mexico city, but not including travel time to the airport or any other flights within Japan, nor does it include the drive from the Mazatlan airport to the lake.
Compounding their commitment, they fish exclusively with topwater lures that they make themselves, primarily under the Tsunami brand. They are some of the most intricate, outlandish and distinctive surface baits that I’ve seen anywhere.
It can be 1pm, blazing hot sun, not a cloud in the sky, with the best crankbait bite of your life ongoing, and they’ll be flinging their specialized topwaters.
Everyone else could be whacking both numbers and big fish on Senkos and lizards, and they’ll stick with their game plan. I doubt they bring any soft plastics, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they don’t own any.
They understand that they may not catch as many fish as some other guests. They don’t care. They’re in Mexico for a very particular purpose.
I’ve often looked at them and wondered how they can travel so far, to a premier bass fishery, and not give themselves every possible chance to adjust to their conditions. I couldn’t do it. I want to throw the lure or lures that’ll best give me a chance to catch a giant. Nevertheless, there’s an important lesson to be learned from their dedication: You paid the money, you took the time off work, this is YOUR VACATION. That doesn’t mean that you should not respect your guide or outfitter, but it does provide you with a certain amount of leeway.
So if you want to fly fish for billfish, or throw only dry flies for giant Alaskan rainbow trout, or exclusively use your hand-poured soft plastics to dropshot monster smallmouths, that’s your prerogative. You can go into the trip with that expectation and with that plan. Just don’t be a dick about it – after all, the whole point of the trip is to have fun and learn something and hopefully put some fish in the boat, but if you want to try different techniques and strategies, that’s fine.
Here are a few caveats before you do so:
Talk to your guide ahead of time
If your intention is to do something “outside the norm,” make sure it is cool with your guide ahead of time. His boat may not be set up properly to handle what you plan to do, or he may not have the expertise to get you the opportunities you need. A good guide will be able to take the advance warning and get his equipment ready to maximize success, or he may refer you to another professional who is more likely to help you have a great day on the water.
Recalibrate your expectations
If a guide is catching 100 Okeechobee bass a day on shiners, or 30 a day flipping soft plastics, it may be unfair to expect him to produce the same numbers on topwater, or on a fly rod. Remember, on any guided trip you are the customer, but the customer is not always right. You need to accept reality. In some circumstances you may end up having a better day than you would have with standard techniques, but if you’ve chosen a guide/outfitter properly, they tend to know what will produce best.
Bring your own equipment if necessary
If you want to use a fly rod or light tackle on a venue where that is not the norm, be sure that you have your own. I expect guides and outfitters to have top-notch gear in their areas of expertise, but it’s unfair to require them to have the best of the best in tackle that they may never use again.
Consider safety and conservation
Under limited circumstances, I’d expect a guide to tell you not to use your alternative gear or tactics. Obviously, if it’s illegal or unethical, they have the right to tell you not to use it, but there are also considerations related to safety and conservation. Many of us novice casters probably shouldn’t use a fly rod off of a charter boat with six people casting/jigging at the same time. Similarly, unless you are an extremely experienced light tackle angler, the idea of using 2- or 4-pound line for big tuna or redfish is likely going to end up harming a bunch of fish by leaving hooks in their mouths. Again, that’s why it’s so important to have a frank discussion at the time you book the trip.
Tip appropriately and generously
Every other client this month caught 50 fish a day, including a trophy or two, and you didn’t touch those numbers with your “alternative” tactics? Did you know what to expect? (see Instruction #2, above). If so, and the guide worked hard to make your dream scenario come to fruition, be sure to tip them adequately, if not exceptionally.
