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

That's it ! You finally have the money you need to make one of your biggest dreams come true: going on a fishing trip! If your destination is no longer in doubt, you still have questions about the guide or the 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 lives up to 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. Adapting these elements could allow you to review your budget, sometimes even upwards. It is therefore not negligible. 

Be honest with yourself, but also with your guide

At Rodmaps, we very often find that anglers overestimate their level with their guide. This can lead to errors of judgement that could jeopardise your trip. So be honest with yourself and with your guide about your level of fishing and your skills. Fishing is a sport that requires practice and experience. Whatever techniques you choose for your typical fishing trip, if you're a total novice and don't let them know beforehand, you risk spending a long, 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 help you progress as quickly as possible to meet the objectives you have set for yourself. Trust 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 arousing impatience in you, you will generally learn a lot about the fish, the techniques, the lures that work and the animations to use!

We have also found that simply knowing what to expect on your fishing trip to target Species X using Pattern Y can really help create and maintain an increased level of confidence. Musky fishing is a perfect example. The locals say of him that he is the "fish with 1,000 throws". If you're expecting to catch hundreds of Muskies before your trip, then you might be disappointed. … Having this 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 banal to you.

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

Change your habits on your equipment

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

Of course, these rods require transport boxes (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 that's 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 the Seychelles last April. But don't count on it too much. In 95% cases, the airlines will gladly charge you.

The problem is that you don't know in advance how much you will pay in most cases. One of our friends had to pay the sum of 200€ to go and 650€ to return, just for transport. Travel is expensive...

Don't forget to call each company upstream in order to have a better idea of the transport costs of 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 stranded rods are very fragile. If this was the case in the past, developments in materials and engineering now prove the opposite. Some multi-section rods now compete with the best single-section rods on the market and now allow you to catch any type of fish: from Quebec musky to Madagascar GT, including Amazonian Peacock-bass and Asian Barramundi. .

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

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