You may never have the money to go on an expedition like the ill-fated OceanGate Titan submarine voyage. Even if you have the means you might never have the desire. Nevertheless, if you’re into fishing travel – or any travel at all, for that matter – there’s always a certain element of risk involved.

For many adventure travelers, the risk is the appeal, and just like with the stock market you have to know that greater thrills may lend themselves to greater downsides.

While I don’t mean to downplay, diminish or make fun of the plight of the would-be Titanic viewers (in fact, I admittedly don’t know enough about it to meaningfully opine on the situation), it was a reminder that there’s smart risk and there’s dumb risk – and the definition of both may vary depending on your personal situation. No two people are situated exactly the same. Even the most banal journeys have some potential problems, and fishing trips are no exception. Here are some reminders from this tragic situation:

Check the Excursion’s History – Remember, “Pioneers take the arrows.” From an angler’s perspective, there’s no dream more enticing than casting on a virgin world-class fishery. Even if a fishery is fantastic, there’s slightly less cache in fishing a place that 800 of your best friends have already visited. However, if you’re going to an altogether new place, there are likely to be hiccups – in terms of travel, amenities, fishing knowledge and most of all safety. If there’s any fishing history, take a deep dive into it, or at least learn more about the region and its terrain.
Check the Regs – Bungee jumping in a highly-regulated country like the US is likely a far safer proposition than doing it at a roadside stand in a third world country. The same often holds true for fishing outfitters, charters and guides. What safety equipment and training are they required to have? Are they going to put you in an overloaded boat and a minimally-maintained float plane? The best outfitters will keep you safe in unregulated situations, but you often get what you pay for. A cut rate operation where they’re not required to be safe may cut corners.
Be Responsible – Remember John Krakauer’s “Into the Wild,” about the demise of Chris McCandless in Alaska? Many dreamers celebrated McCandless for his free spirit, anti-materialism and sense of adventure. However, there’s also a school of thought that he didn’t prepare for his trip and was in fact reckless and irresponsible. Not only might he have survived if he’s been a little bit more prepared, but he wouldn’t have inspired others to take such hefty risks. Similarly, while the OceanGate clients may have had the means to go on the trip, and might have fully assessed the risks to themselves, their oversights (or those of the company) resulted in the expenditure of millions of dollars out of the public coffers and many hours of manpower that could have been put to better use.
Investigate Your Group Leader or Outfitter – The fishing industry is full of really ethical, really responsible outfitters, and it has at least as many fly-by-night charlatans. Ideally, they’ll have a track record on a particular body of water, with a list of reviews and testimonials to back it up. Even if it’s an “exploratory” trip, confirm that they have other experiences preparing for and conquering new waters. If you have a bad feeling, trust your instincts and back out.
Read Up Ahead of Time – There’s more literature and information available about fishing trips and the world in general than at any other time in our history. If you’re not a reader, go to YouTube for some info and to get a sense of what you’ll be experiencing. Yes, you want a certain element of surprise on every trip, but not when it comes to safety.
Talk to Fellow Travelers – With social media, it’s easy to find people who have been to your desired destination, ideally with the same outfitter, lodge or guide. If you can’t, then at least ask the person leading the trip for referrals. Find out what they liked, what they didn’t, what they wish they had known. Again, risk assessment and risk tolerance is a deeply personal matter, but making that assessment depends on full information. Often we don’t know what we don’t know.
Don’t take dumb risks – Again, “dumb” is a subjective term, but use your damn brain. If there are no guardrails in place, you’re not prepared for it, you can’t find any meaningful information about it, and it’s underpriced (or you’re sending money to a random bank account with no protections), it’s probably dumb or at least too good to be true.
Be Physically Ready – A trip to the top of Everest has risks for everyone who tries it, but they’re a lot more formidable for someone who’s out of shape with the wrong gear than a gym rat with a targeted training plan. Know your abilities and your limitations. There are clients we take to El Salto who we wouldn’t take for a flyout trip with hiking in Alaska, or who wouldn’t do well popping for tuna in Panama. Pushing yourself is important, but don’t put yourself in situations where you’re almost certain to fail, fall or otherwise suffer. Furthermore, particularly when going to remote areas see your doctor for advice on medications, vaccines and so on.
Prepare for the worst – A good attitude is critical. Things go wrong – luggage gets lost, fish escape, flights get canceled. Nevertheless, the higher the risk, the more you should think about what will happen if the bottom falls out of your plan. Consider trip protection. Check on what your own health insurance provides. Make sure that your life insurance is adequate for your needs. It’s a grim process, but if tragedy should happen, don’t make it any worse for those you leave behind.

While Hanna and I don’t consider ourselves huge risk-takers, there’s an element of it every time we hit the water, even if it’s just in our bass boat around home. We’ve fished among the bears at Katmai (and we plan to do it again in the coming weeks) and in hippo-infested waters on the Zambezi (would do that again in a heartbeat). We once got back onto a float plane that we believed might have mechanical issues — probably wouldn’t do that one twice. Your risk tolerance is up to you. Just take the proper steps given that assessment to ensure that you maximize your chances of fishing success and personal safety.