Fly fishing guides are a fantastic way to learn about a river and quickly increase your knowledge of fly fishing for steelhead.  At $3-700 a day, you pay for that quick learning curve.  That is why it is essential to find out about them before you send you deposit.

A good steelhead fly fishing guide will be a great caster, experienced on the river you are fishing, successful at providing a comfortable experience, focused on you and your fishing partners and only available to guide fly fishing.  Getting a referral from a friend, booking through your local fly shop (or local internet fly shop) is the best way to eliminate the guess work, because you know that someone else you trust has already had a good experience.

Here is the short list of action items for getting a good steelhead fly fishing guide.

Interview them.  Ask questions find out the 5-w’s, (who what why where when).

Research them.  Google them, review their web site and look for pictures of happy clients.

References.  If you feel the need, ask for some phone numbers of happy clients and call them.