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View AllApril Vokey, Anchored
April Vokey is a fly fishing writer, fly-tyer, speaker, and host of the podcast, Anchored. After guiding in British Columbia for ten years, she now splits her year between camp in northern BC and Australia. She is an FFF certified casting instructor, forager, bowhunter, and new mother.
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Freshwater
So, You Want to be a Fishing Guide? Part Five: Responsibility to the Resource
April Vokey, Anchored
Feb 21, 2019
This is the final installment in a five-part series outlining the experiences of working fishing guides and what it takes to survive a dream job. Here’s where you can find part one, two, three and four.
In my last article, I covered the reasons guides don’t fish with their clients. Guides play a supporting role to the main act—pulling strings from the catwalk and taking a backseat to the accolades. But there could be no performance without a...
In my last article, I covered the reasons guides don’t fish with their clients. Guides play a supporting role to the main act—pulling strings from the catwalk and taking a backseat to the accolades. But there could be no performance without a...
Freshwater
So, You Want to be a Fishing Guide? Part Four: Guiding Isn’t Fishing
April Vokey, Anchored
Feb 20, 2019
This is the fourth installment in a five-part series outlining the experiences of working fishing guides and what it takes to survive a dream job. Here’s where you can find part one, two and three.
Some of the best “fishing bums” I know are the worst guides. They’re superstars with a rod in their own hands, but guides don’t hold rods—they hold tillers, push poles, oar grips or nets. The measure of a good guide isn’t if she can catch fish, it’s...
Some of the best “fishing bums” I know are the worst guides. They’re superstars with a rod in their own hands, but guides don’t hold rods—they hold tillers, push poles, oar grips or nets. The measure of a good guide isn’t if she can catch fish, it’s...
Freshwater
So, You Want to be a Fishing Guide? Part Three: Qualities of a Good Guide
April Vokey, Anchored
Feb 15, 2019
This is the third installment in a five-part series outlining the experiences of working fishing guides and what it takes to survive a dream job. Here’s where you can find part one and two.
Guiding takes more than passion and skill for fishing. A talented angler understands fish. A talented guide understands fish and people. The latter tends to be more complicated than the former. Most clients expect to catch fish, or at least have...
Guiding takes more than passion and skill for fishing. A talented angler understands fish. A talented guide understands fish and people. The latter tends to be more complicated than the former. Most clients expect to catch fish, or at least have...
Saltwater
So, You Want to be a Fishing Guide? Part Two: Financial Realities
April Vokey, Anchored
Feb 13, 2019
This is the second installment in a five-part series outlining the experiences of working fishing guides and what it takes to survive a dream job. If you missed part one, you can read that here.
It’s easy to assume that fishing guides make more money than they actually do. Multiplying an outfitter’s $500 per day rate by a vague estimate of “guidable days” each year can lead aspiring guides to imagine themselves getting rich by taking people...
It’s easy to assume that fishing guides make more money than they actually do. Multiplying an outfitter’s $500 per day rate by a vague estimate of “guidable days” each year can lead aspiring guides to imagine themselves getting rich by taking people...
Trout
So, You Want to be a Fishing Guide? Part One: April’s Origins
April Vokey, Anchored
Feb 11, 2019
This is the first installment in a five-part series outlining the experiences of working fishing guides and what it takes to survive a dream job.
In my early 20s, I worked part-time at a tackle shop in Abbotsford, British Columbia. I wasn’t there for the paycheque, rather for the hefty discount on expensive gear and fly-tying materials. I ran a tab with the shop owner and paid back my debt on weekend shifts, selling Bouncing Betties to salmon...
In my early 20s, I worked part-time at a tackle shop in Abbotsford, British Columbia. I wasn’t there for the paycheque, rather for the hefty discount on expensive gear and fly-tying materials. I ran a tab with the shop owner and paid back my debt on weekend shifts, selling Bouncing Betties to salmon...
Freshwater
Fish Facial Recognition: Technology to Help Fish Stocks
April Vokey, Anchored
Dec 7, 2018
Over the last few years there have been some exciting new technological developments that may help improve fish stocks. Facial recognition software programs that compare photographs to images stored in databases can provide valuable information to be used for a multitude of applications, both for recreational anglers and fisheries biologists. Most facial recognition programs are illegal to use on humans, but the technology could be invaluable to...