What is your best outfitter experence?

[88man]

First guided hunt in late 90's outfitter was great guy but our guide was a knuckle head> he got lost in the dark, crashed a horse off a switchback after he beat it until he was out of breath, didn't know the regs or the unit boundaries.
Second Guided hunt same thing outfitter/rancher great guy & person but his 18 year old nephew guide had a lot to learn about hunting/people & guiding.
Third guided hunt> Five start hunt for bighorn sheep with outfitter who guided me totally awesome hunt/adventure and great time with him.
Lots of offshore Tuna trips but I have had the time and experience doing it and connections to pick some as$ hole captains who are great fisherman. Just joking a bit but seriously, $900 to $1200 for a 30hour trip its easy to spend the time with a jerk whos only goal is to brag he caught them and his buddies didn't and my goal is the sunrise and sunset 100 plus miles off and bringing home the yellow fin and bigeye.

Did fish a shark tournament where the captain broke the law and did something not just illegal totally unethical. Highgrading
Went on a tuna trip as a fill in with a friend once and the captain and mate smoked pot all after noon in the tuna tower & boat was a famous boat on nat geo show.

Looking back on that first trip in the 90's my buddy and I talk about the guy all the time as he gave us a bunch of stories we will never forgot so crazy you couldn't of expected them or they can't be made up.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Lots of offshore Tuna trips but I have had the time and experience doing it and connections to pick some as$ hole captains who are great fisherman. Just joking a bit but seriously, $900 to $1200 for a 30hour trip its easy to spend the time with a jerk whos only goal is to brag he caught them and his buddies didn't and my goal is the sunrise and sunset 100 plus miles off and bringing home the yellow fin and bigeye.

Talking fishing guides in Alaska...

If anyone is interested in fishing for halibut, I met an awesome guy in Wyoming, Will Gentry, who runs a fishing outfit out of Seward, AK.

Home - J-Dock Fishing Co: Charters & Market - Seward, AK

J-Dock Fishing Co. offers award wining fishing charters & a wild fish market in Seward, Alaska! View specials or get the trip of your dreams. Book online now!

www.jdockcompany.com

I was so surprised how helpful he was to us and another couple guys we ran into who were all on our diy hunts, sharing tips on where to find cow elk in the area. Cool thing was that after being so open to help, the first year he was an official Alaska resident vs. Wyoming, he drew one of the hardest tags in WY in the random draw as a non-resident. Good karma coming back to him was great to see.



On top of that, they do catch some monster halibut. Think this is the one last year that got him into USA today, though the second photo with the fisherman gives a more realistic perspective of its 327lbs size.



Cheers

 

[Otto Matic]

Talking fishing guides in Alaska...

If anyone is interested in fishing for halibut, I met an awesome guy in Wyoming, Will Gentry, who runs a fishing outfit out of Seward, AK.

Home - J-Dock Fishing Co: Charters & Market - Seward, AK

J-Dock Fishing Co. offers award wining fishing charters & a wild fish market in Seward, Alaska! View specials or get the trip of your dreams. Book online now!

www.jdockcompany.com

I was so surprised how helpful he was to us and another couple guys we ran into who were all on our diy hunts, sharing tips on where to find cow elk in the area. Cool thing was that after being so open to help, the first year he was an official Alaska resident vs. Wyoming, he drew one of the hardest tags in WY in the random draw as a non-resident. Good karma coming back to him was great to see.

View attachment 182566

On top of that, they do catch some monster halibut. Think this is the one last year that got him into USA today, though the second photo with the fisherman gives a more realistic perspective of its 327lbs size.

View attachment 182567

Cheers

That's a great fish!
I've been on three trips to Kodiak Island, but never hooked one THAT size!
The boat record was 396 pounds!
There is a photo of a group of Eskimo salmon fishermen who drug in a halibut that was estimated at 600+ pounds!
At the time (1910/20), there wasn't a scale on Kodiak that would weigh it.

The long liners have done a lot if damage to the halibut fishery around Kodiak.
Halibut of 50 pounds or more are normally (?) "hen" fish. Though our boat captain/guide had no problem boating halibut over 50 pounds, he encouraged pictures and release of bigger fish. The smaller fish are better table fare anyway.

Great photos!

 

[MaddH]

Went two years ago with Ivory Tip outfitters in Craig Co for antelope. I had an arm injury which limited me on what I could do. The owner guided me and he was a very good guide and person. Had great accommodations and his wife cooked up some good food . After I filled my tag he showed me around some great country. Super pleasant experiance

 

[Rhinocesaurus]

I worked for Mills Wilderness Adventures out of Augusta, MT for a season in the Bob and can’t say enough good things about the Mills family and their operation. It is a true wilderness experience so not for the faint of heart, but they take great care of their clients, employees, stock, land, and wildlife. At the time I wanted to be an outfitter and had I continued that pursuit, I would’ve used them as the model to aspire to.