Fishing trip: How to prepare for your trip with peace of mind?

That's it ! You finally have in your possession the sum necessary to make one of your biggest dreams come true: going on a fishing trip! If your destination is no longer in doubt, you are still wondering about the guide or organization you will choose during your fishing trip or about the appropriate equipment to take with you.

To help you prepare for your trip with peace of mind, here are a few points that are important to remember and that will ensure that your fishing trip meets your expectations. 

Have a clear view of your ideal fishing trip

It may seem obvious, but be clear in mind what will make your fishing trip a success for you.

Do you want to target only fly fishing? Be sure to target this technique professionals in the desired area. You want to fish for trevally with popping but also for dogtooth tuna in jigging and for fly bonefish, make sure that your organization plans a trip accordingly.The vast majority of fishing guides are specialists and not generalists . So keep this in mind if you want to do multi-technique or multi-species. Do you want a minimum of comfort? Also add this item to your search criteria.

You will be surprised at the price variations that are offered on the market. Adjusting these elements could allow you to revise your budget, sometimes even upwards. It is therefore not negligible. 

Be honest with yourself, but also with your guide

In Rodmaps, we very often observe that fishermen overestimate their level with their guide. This involves errors in judgment which could threaten the smooth running of your stay. So be honest with yourself and your guide about your fishing level and skills. Fishing is a sport that requires practice and experience. Whatever techniques you choose during your typical fishing trip, if you are completely new to it and you don't know it beforehand, you risk having a long, a very long day ...

Also, do not expect your sea bass fishing sessions to serve you effectively against a yellowfin tuna or a 50 kg GT. Or that your level of fly fishing for trout is necessarily sufficient to find a bonefish or a tarpon with this same technique. Don't over-sell your skills to the guide. You will only waste time and also your credibility. 

Any experienced guide is there to adapt to your level and to help you progress as quickly as possible to meet the goals you have set for yourself. Have confidence in their professionalism and inform them of your level, so that your stay is not synonymous with frustration.

Better than word of mouth, Youtube

Before your trip, spend some time on YouTube and watch videos about your future fishing destination. Countless videos are available from Youtube, regardless of the destination. In addition to making you impatient, you will generally learn a lot about the fish, the techniques, the lures that work and the animations to use!

We've also found that just knowing what to expect on your fishing trip to target an X species using the Y pattern can really help build and maintain an increased level of confidence. The musky peach is a perfect example. The locals say of him that he is the “fish with 1000 throws”. If you expect to catch hundreds of Muskies before your stay, then you might be disappointed. … Having these data in mind can therefore be crucial in planning your trip.

Anticipate all your expenses

Pay attention to what is included in the price of your trip! The guides will be clear on certain elements related to fishing (shuttle, equipment, sleeping arrangements, etc.), but they are most often evasive concerning other subjects which may seem trivial to you.

A good example is lunch. For some reason, we've noted that lunch is hardly ever provided to you by guides at sea. Anyone who has ever fished while on a river or lake trip abroad will tell you that lunch is a sacred ritual. which is always included in the service. Be sure to check what will be made available to you by the guide and what will not in order to avoid any disappointment.

Change your habits on your equipment

For reasons of quality and sensitivity, many of us prefer to use single-stranded casting or spinning rods in our daily fishing. However, in the case of fishing trips, taking your favorite solid rods can quickly turn into a money pit.

Of course, these rods require transport crates (rodcase) of fairly large sizes to be transported safely. From a customs point of view, this implies a double, or even a triple check as oversized baggage. And this is where the bottom hurts… If you're lucky you can slip through the cracks and walk away with 0 fees. This is for example what happened to us on our last trip to Seychelles last April. But don't count on it too much. In 95% cases, the airlines will be happy to charge you.

The problem is, you don't know in advance how much you're going to pay in most cases. One of our friends had to pay the sum of € 200 for the outward journey and € 650 for the return, just for transport. The trip is expensive ...

Don't forget to call each company upstream in order to get a better idea of the cost of transporting your rods. 

The solution: go multi-strand

an effective way to completely avoid the problem of transporting your casting or spinning rods and to switch to 2 or more sections. Some people still think that multi-stranded rods are very fragile. If this was the case in the past, developments in materials and engineering now prove the opposite. Some multi-strand rods now compete with the best single-stranded rods on the market and today allow any type of fish to be released: from Quebec musky to GT from Madagascar, including Peacock-bass from Amazonia and Barramundi from Asia. .

For economic reasons as well as practical, we advise you to use multi-strand rods. As a rule, you can even take them with you in the cabin. Even if you lose all your clothes, you will at least have what matters most!

As you will have understood, a fishing trip can be prepared, from a logistical, financial, mental or even physical point of view for certain fishing trips. Leave nothing to chance and be prepared! Your fishing guide will use all of their energy, experience and technique to ensure that your fishing trip is a success. The best way to respond to this investment is therefore to invest so much yourself.

Useful links :

Learn to fish with a guide

Which rod to choose according to the lure used?