It's maybe not the thing that you want to hear from your guide, but if you let me break it down to you itll will make more sense you.

I'm nervous before every trip. I think the root of this for me is not an insecurity or feeling a lack of experience or ability. I think it far more has to deal with wanting the guest to have fun and enjoy their day. As guides, we are thrown a bunch of unknowns. It's our job to sort through the puzzle and come up with an incredible experience. It's so easy to go down the negative rabbit hole with your thoughts because of this. "If I can't get into X spot, then I'll try for Y, but what if someone walked into that one, then I need to go all the way to z." Some days you lose some control due to any number of unknowns, but therein lies the challenge. In a way a fishing guide is a bit of a problem solver. In our case, it's where the fish are and how to get them. 

In ways, I wish this wasn't the case. . . . . being a little nervous before a trip. I've tried to spin it into a positive over the years and it works for me. I have a saying, "there are three things on a guided trip you can control" this helps me right out of the gate each day by starting on a positive note and highlighting the things that I can control. 

1. Be on time. This one is a gimme but very important. Some people think a couple of minutes here or there isn't a big deal . . . It is. Everyone is watching and if they are waiting for you, they have noticed. The thought of being late makes me a little nervous. nonetheless, easy fix. . . . .come early.

1. Have a good lunch. Once again, another gimme. I can easily control this. It's not as black and white as being punctual as some people's ideas of what good food can be different. You get to do it ahead of time, put thought into it and make it to the best of your ability. When the fishing is good, you can feed people bread crumbs off the floor and they wouldn't notice, but if the fishing is a little tough and your lunch was shit, you've given up a great opportunity to give a small bump of positivity for an afternoon push. 

1. Be kind to the guests. This seems easy doesn't it . . . . . Sounds easy, but this is the tougher of the three. Kindness during a day of guiding can sometimes be directly related to Patience. I think if you have even dabble in guiding with some success, you're likely a kind enough person. You like to have fun, See others have fun, and obviously love fishing. Sometimes when the fishing is tough, Patience and positivity need to be used to keep the day going in the right direction. Lack of Patience may come off as angry, or you seem like a prick. Who wants their guide mad at them? It can come off as unkind. Maybe your tone has changed, or you're getting upset about mistakes that are being made. Lack of Patience can also have you come off like you are blaming. Blame the water level, blame the pressure, blame the blob, blame Trudeau, blame the pelicans, blame trump, blame global warming, blame the sun, blame the wind, blame the stars. The worst one of all is when you start to blame the ANGLERS (very bad but is sometimes the case.) Our job as a guide is to help my guests fish to their potential and challenge them with new skills that they can build upon towards future successes and the most important of all, make it fun. The moral of this one is to use Patience.

I've come to terms with my morning nervousness and these are three of the tools that I use at least. Its been over a decade of sustaining a living at flyfishing in one form or another. In the end, I think I've spun it into a positive part of my program. It reminds me that I care and if that's what I'm known for, I'll take it gladly.