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How I Became a Professional Fishing Guide

Writer's picture: Everton PiresEverton Pires
Como me tornei guia de pesca profissional

Here in this space I'm going to tell you about a classic question that I get asked very often when I'm fishing with a wide variety of clients: How did I become a fishing guide?


Ever since I was a little boy, I always admired and thought it would be great if a person could work as a fishing guide or fishing tour guide. Back then, this category of professional was more commonly known as "piloteiro" (boat pilot) or "pirangueiros".


Because of my lack of knowledge, I thought it was impossible for me to become one of those guys I saw on television or in fishing magazines. This was because, in my naivety, for a person to be able to lead other people to fish in a particular region, they had to have been born there or at the very least have spent most of their life in the area, ensuring that they knew the area well.


I, who was born in a metropolitan area of the state of São Paulo, was not from any of the riverside regions with significant fishing attractions, and considered myself incapable and completely distant from performing such a function.


At times, I imagined that I would have liked to have been born as a river dweller, in the simplicity of somewhere in the middle of the Amazon, able to play a good role in guiding people who were interested in fishing and getting to know the Brazilian Amazon.


As I didn't see any possibility of becoming one of those heroes from the fishing magazines and programs, this “unattainable” desire remained dormant in my memory for many, many years.


The Kickoff to Become a Fishing Guide


I think the kick-start for this professionalization was my decision to move to Recife to “do what I love”, studying fisheries engineering.


Of course, it provides a good technical and scientific basis, but I don't think that the Fisheries Engineering course was largely responsible for building my professional career as a Fishing Guide, because that's not the focus of the course and there was very little talk of this activity during the course. However, it's undeniable that the move to “detach” myself from family members and take this course was the precursor to many doors opening later on.


That's why I say that one thing led to another. If I hadn't decided to do this course, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to do an exchange in Ireland and I would certainly have been less prepared to face new challenges.


Working in Atlantic salmon farming in Ireland


Trabalhando no cultivo de salmão do Atlântico na Irlanda

In 2014 I was approved by the Science Without Borders Program, which allowed a one-year sandwich degree in a foreign country, which could be extended for another three months to carry out a supervised internship in the field of study.


I studied Agriculture for two semesters in Waterford, a county in Ireland. My main goal with this exchange was to improve my English and become fluent in the language. After a year, I applied for a scholarship to work as an intern at the Marine Institute of Ireland. I was successful in the selection and managed to extend my visa in the country for another 3 months.


I worked in Ireland farming Atlantic salmon. In addition to the routine salmon farming activities, one of my tasks as a trainee was to prepare the boats and equipment so that the guides could take their clients fishing, as the salmon farm also functioned as a sport fishing operation. This activity certainly served as a preparatory stage for what was to follow.


My First Season as a Fishing Guide


At the beginning of 2016, fresh from my exchange experience, I saw an ad on Facebook looking for a person with knowledge of FlyFishing and who could speak English fluently to work as a Fly Fishing Guide. I already had a good deal of experience, having been a fan of the sport since I was 13 years old and with English still “at the tip of my tongue”, so I rushed to apply for the job.


“See you next season,” I was told at the end of the interview. And so, in August 2016, the doors opened definitively to my professional career as a Sport Fishing Guide specializing in Fly Fishing. My first experience was guiding on the Marié River, the River of Giants, through the company Untamed Angling.

A primeira temporada como guia de pesca pela operação Untamed Angling

I spent five months on the Marié River, guiding and consolidating my professional base in remote areas of the Amazon, taking foreigners fishing in a reserve area within indigenous lands in the Upper Rio Negro region.


My first season as a professional sport fishing guide also served, among many other things, to deconstruct some of the beliefs I had in the past. Little by little, I realized that to become a professional fishing guide it was no longer necessary to be a river dweller or to have been born in the region of operation.


I learned that in this field of activity, knowledge of the location and technical experience in the sport are very important, but they are not essential. I then came to understand that dealing with clients is paramount to providing a good service in this category.


This means, for example, that there would be no point in knowing “inside out” all the channels and sandbanks for navigating a river if I didn't know how to treat my clients well, able to talk to them and understand their real needs in the fishing routine. This is much more evident on days when fishing is difficult and fish are not very active, and I need to pay extra attention to keep my clients motivated in adverse conditions.


Fifteen days before I actually started guiding on the Marié River, I was already there to take part in scouting. This field activity consisted of fishing every day as much as I could in order to get to know all the lakes and fishing spots in the area, as well as their navigability.


This practice was done with local indigenous fishermen who also acted as fishing guides in the region. The novice guides therefore received direct training from those who knew the area well.


After fifteen days of intense fishing, it was already possible to have a good understanding of the river and its navigability, as well as a good understanding of the fish's behavior and the most effective baits and techniques at any given time, thus acting as a preview for the season and being able to recommend what clients should or shouldn't use, based on empiricism.


In short, navigation and local knowledge are learned, as are fishing techniques. On the other hand, the “feeling” and dealing with clients is acquired over time, in the daily dealings with the public on board. It is the combination of these 3 main factors that shape a good fishing guide.


Perhaps “feeling” is a more important attribute for a guide than necessarily being born in a particular region. I've noticed that there are people in the business who are remarkably knowledgeable about the area and the techniques, but they often lack a good feeling and a good approach to understanding the real needs of their clients and satisfying them in the most professional way possible.


However, this is a subject that we can delve into in another more opportune post, but here I'll highlight a little of the process of changing my beliefs as I've evolved in the sport fishing industry and the possibility of becoming a fishing guide even without having been born in the place where the work is carried out.


Being a Fishing Guide in Recife


When I arrived in Recife in 2011, I realized that sport fishing in the area was lagging far behind. In all my fishing trips and prospecting, I saw such potential for it and yet, at the time, there was still no one exploring the sector in the region, no fishing guide.


The period from 2011 to 2016 was then a solid and fundamental phase for understanding the behavior of the fish in the region, especially with the influence of the tides, learning how to navigate the rivers, exploring new spots and destinations and improving my Tarpon fishing techniques.


I fished for several days in a row, often after college classes. There I was in a kayak, investing most of my free time in learning to fish for Tarpon, without even knowing that all this would serve as the basis for my services as a fishing guide in the region.

Pescando tarpons de caiaqi no Rio Capibaribe no Recife

As a university student with few resources, the possibility of pioneering a tarpon fishing operation in Pernambuco didn't cross my mind.


After returning from the Marié River in 2016, with some beliefs deconstructed and already with some money in my pocket and a lot of disposition, I didn't think twice about buying a boat and starting to promote Tarpon sport fishing in the city of Recife, in the state of Pernambuco.


So, in December 2016 I founded Recife Tarpon, with the main aim of promoting and providing Brazilians with practical, affordable and efficient urban tarpon fishing, since previously Brazilians had to shell out a good number of dollars to fish for tarpon in other countries.

Um dos primeiros clientes do Recife Tarpon pesca guiada

First Recognition Because of the Work


At the end of my first season on the Marié River, the owner of the company called me to congratulate me on my performance in my first experience as a fishing guide. As a token of his gratitude and according to the need for a new guide, he invited me to work in Kendjam, on the condition that I also continued on the Marié River next year.


My expression of delight was clear, as I hadn't expected to be invited so quickly to guide in a place where there was a need for much more experienced and trained guides, given the complexity of the place itself and the fishing system practiced.


And of course, without hesitation, I accepted the offer. There I was, in 2017, guiding for the first time on the Kendjam, Iriri River, located in the south of the state of Pará, also an indigenous reserve area.

Guianda pela primeira vez no Kendjam, Sul do Pará

I spent two months guiding in the Kendjam and at the end of the season I went straight to the Marié River, totaling more than six months guiding every day in remote Amazonian territory, with no contact with cities, just a precarious internet connection to communicate with friends and relatives.

Pesca guiada de trairão no Kendjam

At the end of the Marié season, some Argentine guides had to return home and I had to stay on as Headguide for another three weeks until the end of the season.


Being Invited to be Headguide


Once again, the performance of my work was recognized and I was invited to return to Rio Marié in 2018 to be Headguide for the entire season.


The Headguide of a sport fishing operation is in addition to guiding clients, responsible for drawing up the entire weekly fishing route, welcoming clients, coordinating the team of professional guides and river guides, aligning the navigation and positioning of the hotel boat with the boat's captain, etc...

 

It wasn't possible to do the Kendjam season in 2018 because I had to finish my semester at university, the dates of which conflicted with Kendjam's operational dates.


The Invitation To The First Exploratory Season


In 2019, yet another accolade and baggage was added to my professional work as a fishing guide.


I was invited to carry out the first exploratory season of the Xingu operation, located on the Xingu River, also on indigenous land and made possible by the same company, Untamed Angling.

Pesca guiada de cachorras no Rio Xingu

This exploratory season consisted of a short 4-week stint, welcoming clients who were opinion formers in the fishing world, so that together we could discover the potential, techniques and fishing spots of the Xingu River, focusing more specifically on pupa fly fishing.


It was hard work, which required a lot of effort, since very little was known about the place, the techniques that could be used and, in addition, the structure of the lodge was still being built, so it was up to us to participate in the whole process of evolution and construction of a fishing lodge.


In 2019 I worked on all three operations; Kendjam, Xingu and Marié, once again holding the position of Headguide on the Marié River, which lasted until January 2020. This time it was a long 8 months in the Amazon jungle, the longest time I've ever spent guiding in remote areas.


Amazonic Seasons x Tarpons in Recife


Since 2016 when I started guiding in remote areas in the Amazon and also founded the Recife Tarpon operation, the tarpon seasons have continued to be held year after year in parallel with the Amazon seasons.


In this way, we expanded and got new guides to work with us guiding tarpon in Recife. That's how we had Rafael Monteiro, Rubinho, Rafael Marques, Guido and Sergio Macedo supporting the guides and maintaining our guided fishing services during my seasons in the Amazon.


It's worth noting that at the end of the Amazon seasons I always continued my guided Tarpon fishing services in Recife, working as a professional guide all year round.


Collaborations with other fishing lodges


With a background as a professional guide, experience in international fishing operations in the Amazon and experience in important positions such as Headguide, management and administrator of fishing operations, I was invited to provide services for the Amazon Roosevelt fishing lodge.


On my first visit, I was on a prospecting trip, helping to explore and evaluate the fishing potential of the Guariba River, which would become an extension of the Pousada Amazon Roosevelt, founding the Guariba Lodge.


On my second visit, I went to the Amazon Roosevelt lodge to teach a course I had developed called “Professional Training for Fishing Tourism Drivers Applied to Fly Fishing”.

Ministrando o curso Capacitação Profissional de Condutores de Turismo de Pesca aplicado à Pesca com Mosca – Fly Fishing

At the time, the pousada was looking to increase the number of foreign fly-fishing clients, so it had to improve the quality of its fishing guides, who were not used to the sport.


We were at the inn for a few days, bringing theoretical and mainly practical concepts to train the inn's guides to familiarize themselves with fly fishing and understand the real needs and attention that should be paid to a fly fishing client, ensuring that the guides themselves were also able to handle this type of equipment, knowing a little about the types of rods, reels, lines, flies and types of knots, among others.


Current Situation as a Fishing Guide


Given the expansion of our destinations, improvements in the quality of our services and the increase in demand for guided Tarpon fishing trips, I am currently focusing more on my own venture, Recife Tarpon.


What's more, I'm now married and it's no longer possible to spend so much time away in remote areas. So I'm currently opting to spend three months in the Amazon season.


The choice to guide in Kendjam in 2024 suited my planning very well, since the Kendjam season covers the months of June to September, when it's winter in Recife and there's little demand from clients.


By returning to Recife in September, it's possible that I'll be there at the beginning, peak and end of the tarpon season, which runs from September to May, which guarantees that I'll be guiding all year round, combining the two fishing operations.

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