Guided trips getting too $$$?

[Dave E.]

Without naming names, the prices are INSANE. One shop is quoting $425 for four hours of guiding on Silver Creek, so no boat needed.

I came across a half day walk and wade trip on the American priced @ $450.00.

Somethings out of whack.

[Bkane]

In free market capitalism, prices regulate themselves.

[Ralph]

In free market capitalism, prices regulate themselves.

The cure to high prices is high prices. In this market though, I don't think we've hit the ceiling.

[lake flyer]

We are headed to MT in September and at over $800 including tip means we are going one day with a guide and the other 20 some days on our own. I think guides hit the ceiling long ago and high guide prices are the reason so many flyfishers have bought their own boats to fish out of. Of course the result is crowding at the rivers and guides and everyone else complaining about the proliferation of private boats.

[Woodman]

Depends on where you go to some degree and what the market will bear at the location. I have two days booked (with two different guides) in August on a well known river in Oregon. Both guides come highly recommended. They are $500 and $475 daily rate. Under $600 with a decent tip. Still a chunk of money, but not $800.

[aaron]

In Victor, I would personally recommend Teton Valley Lodge or, as a backup, Worldcast. They have all-inclusive pricing and will not nickel and dime you like some of the outfitters in Island Park or the other "big name" shop in the Valley. Yes, prices are high. TVL will run you about $875-900 for a day including the tip. It is what it is out here, unfortunately. As stated up thread, virtually everything is now just too expensive since the Fed fell so far behind the curve on inflation and didn't catch it before the wage/price spiral kicked in.

If you are a rower, you can also rent a drift boat from the place in Ashton and pay Yellow Sally to run shuttle for you. The total cost would be about 40% of a guided trip, but obviously this would not allow you to fish Bear Gulch to Warm River if that was one of your goals.

Even at those prices WorldCast had a 300 person wait list for a trip 2 summers ago. It's mellowed a bit but the demand is still sky high. Also, guiding is much more tightly regulated in ID/MT/WY than CA. Guides are working under outfitters who work under super strict permits regulating boats per day on stretches etc. Permits are crazy expensive, the last South Fork permit to change hands was around 1.8 million dollars. At 6 boats a day and operating expenses, guides cuts etc it takes a long time to even pay off the permit, let alone turn a profit.

$425 for a half day on Silver Creek is money well spent IMO.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Half-day trips in the fresh water and salt water can be a good idea.

When I was 20, 1965, learning to be a fly fisher there were not very many guides in America for anything.

I only went with guides, for free, because I had a fly shop.

I have recommended going with top guides, especially for the fast learning cure, so it has a double value.


Most of us do not have the economics to go with a guide today for $500 to $1,000/day.

Partnering up with someone can be helpful.





The other way to learn and become a better angler is to join a fly fishing club, become active and go on their outings.


Example: Tuesday evening, August 8, at 6:00 pm at the old Backcountry Fly Fishing Club in Melbourne, Florida, a top local fly fisher

is putting on a special presentation on fly fishing at the beach for Snook and other species. This is good during the summer when the

wind is very low and the ocean can be like a lake. Mid-day with no clouds they are sight casting to gamefish that are very close to the

shore. Steve Potter and I will be attending. I will give a good report on this presentation.

[Bob Loblaw]

Even at those prices WorldCast had a 300 person wait list for a trip 2 summers ago. It's mellowed a bit but the demand is still sky high. Also, guiding is much more tightly regulated in ID/MT/WY than CA. Guides are working under outfitters who work under super strict permits regulating boats per day on stretches etc. Permits are crazy expensive, the last South Fork permit to change hands was around 1.8 million dollars. At 6 boats a day and operating expenses, guides cuts etc it takes a long time to even pay off the permit, let alone turn a profit.

$425 for a half day on Silver Creek is money well spent IMO.

We fished Silver Creek this morning and if there's a more perfect trout stream on planet earth I haven't seen it. We fished the Nature Conservancy for 3 hours and had 3 small fish each. I had a momma Moose and calf crash through the brush just below me and jump in the creek. After 3 days of fishing in Grizzly country they scared the crap out of me! Spotted some big cruising browns but couldn't get one to rise. I have never seen a mayfly hatch like the ones coming off this creek. Clouds of them!

[Bob Loblaw]

Just got home last night after a 14 hour drive from Ketchum...would have been 11 but we hit Truckee at 4pm as everyone was leaving and it was stop and go all the way down the hill! My daughter and I fished some amazing waters. We booked a guide out of Teton Valley Lodge and drifted the lower section of the Henry's Fork, from just below Harrimans to Upper Mesa Falls. Really three rivers in one, first the classic slow spring creek Henry's Fork with big spooky fish, then a faster freestone section where the fish were a bit more ready to eat a fly, then the last section was a class 2 white water ride where we were rapid firing and slapping flies behind every rock as we flew downstream. We had some very nice fish, a couple at 22 inches. I hooked one while we were at anchor as the guide was swapping out my daughters bugs and it took off downstream like a rocket into some pretty fast water, the reel was screaming for mercy! then it did a 180 and charged straight back at the boat, I never stripped line so fast in my life. Against the odds we got it in the raft. A fat 18 inch rainbow. We fished hoppers all day which was a blast! The next evening I fished the evening hatch on the Teton River outside Driggs and it was pretty good! 4 nice fish in just an hour all eating dries. After 4 days in the Teton Valley we left for Ketchum. You can read all the books and watch all the videos, but nothing really prepares you for how beautiful Silver Creek really is. We stopped in the store in Picabo picked up some bugs and swag, and fished the morning hatch. By about 9 am it was difficult to see the mayfly hatch was so thick. I have never seen anything like it on any river anywhere! it was unreal. Getting low holed by a Moose family was a first! We caught a bunch of little 6 inch fish but nothing of any size. We went back the next day, same time, and the hatch was even thicker but an hour later. The weather was a little cooler and cloudier. This time the hatch came off about 11am and was just as thick only after about 15 minutes it suddenly stopped and they all dropped to the surface at once. The whole creek was blanketed with spinners and the fish went nuts! boils everywhere but it was impossible to get them to eat an artificial with so many naturals on the water. We found out later that day that there had been a vegetation die off in that section over the winter and all the big fish had moved downstream to the float tube section and beyond. Didn't care much, bucket list rivers checked! The highlight of the trip was on the drive home. My wife complained the whole time that she hadn't seen a Moose. She paddleboarded the Snake River in the Park, she hiked to Jenny Lake, she walked up and down Silver Creek while we were fishing and missed the Moose we saw....then in the middle of the Nevada desert about 50 miles west of Elko we saw what we thought was a wild mule standing at the side of I-80 but as we slowed down and got closer we realized it was a Moose! it trotted alongside the car for about 30 yards as we were fumbling for a camera and then stopped and turned back before we could get a shot. But she saw her Moose up close and that capped the trip. (there are 12,500 moose in Idaho, 50-100 in Nevada!)

[cutthroat22]

Thanks for the report. Congrats on a great trip and some good fishing too!