So my little brother is in town from A&M and we have been chasing em hard every weekend. He and his buddies were trying to line up a little guided hunt together before they all had to go their separate ways next week. So he calls me and asks me if I think he should go. We talk about it and he decides he's going. Last night he calls me and tells me the guide went and checked out his Facebook and since he has some pictures of some solid hunts he can't join them because the guide is scared he will come back and hunt his spot (public I am assuming).

I have been duck hunting for 11 years and have never heard of this.

I know how secretive you have to be when hunting public water, I cut my teeth on public. But these days with google earth and every other barney having a mud boat there's really not any "secret spots" anymore. If you scout and find birds in a hole you better go hunt em because they won't be there long with all the pressure these lakes get. I guess these guys will only take extreme barneys and out of towners on public hunts?

To me this seems extremely unprofessional. What do you guys think? I know Cody Malone does quite a bit of guiding on public waters....what's your take Cody?

I've not been a guide or hunted public with a guide, but i'd say you're right, not normal or professional. Any client could go back to the spot you take them anytime you go public.

It's often recommended on here that newbies go with a guide simply to learn.

Amateur hour

I'd personally don't know why a guy would hire a guide that hunts public anyway...not counting the coast, that is a different animal all together.

I can see both sides of the deal. I do think if you're going to guide on public that is the risk you take.

Judd, I agree....when we were discussing it we didn't know it was public....

Would never pay to hunt public unless it was maybe at the coast. And then still probably not. Plenty of blinds to go around....

[quote=Judd]I'd personally don't know why a guy would hire a guide that hunts public anyway...not counting the coast, that is a different animal all together.

I can see both sides of the deal. I do think if you're going to guide on public that is the risk you take.[/quote

Some people may want to "learn" how to actually hunt water instead of just shooting birds on a pond. It is a good idea for someone new to the game to learn how and what to look for.

So did all the buddies get excluded too, or just your brother? It's weird but at least they didnt just take the money and take them to a bad spot they dont care about.

I would think he would be more likely to take your bro on a guided hunt because he obviously has good spots of his own. Why would he want to go back to the 'guides' hole when he seems to be doing just fine.

Or maybe the guide is scared his spots aren't as good as your brothers and doesn't want to dissappoint. I doubt that though

No, the "guide" told them based off Facebook there was 2 guys he wouldn't take. That's a good point though about them not taking them to a bad spot but still seems pretty bush league....

Yeah, cuz we all know how difficult scouting can be...drop the elitist how tough it is to kill ducks on public bs. It boils down to who has time and money to spend scouting...we both know that is 90% of the key to killing birds on public. I hunted public before I went private...it's the beating of a jackass being able to screw up your hunt and time on the road that was my enemies. Not worth the aggravation to me...if you are hunting private correctly you still have to scout (assuming you have more than one hole), work at planting stuff, build and maintain blinds. It is all work just different kind of work.

I like this side of you, Judd

Not knocking you Judd, nothing personal, but no matter how much money someone spends buying a new mud rig, expensive decoys, Benelli shotguns, Blackcloud/Blindside shells, barrel stickers, and black hoodies some of those guys still need help with the "how to" part of it.

I am sure you figured it all out in your time on the water but some people may not have and would want a guide on public water.

For those that guide on public water, how to you handle the topwater factor? Setup some buffer lanterns around ya? Meet sports at the ramp after you get the X and set it all up?

I have seen some in action and it looks like sometimes they go set up decoys and stuff and come back to the ramp to pick clients up, I will not name names but seen it happen.
I do not like it or think it is right to do what they do and have no idea how they keep people from coming back. I have seen a few lakes get ruined by guides but they have as much right to it as us I guess.

I usually hunt other lakes when I see them around.

I didn't take it personal...but I will say you always throw little jabs out to the private guys and implying (in a very condesending way I might add) that you aren't a "real duck hunter" if you're gunning on private.

I can't say I figured it all out on my own. I had help from guys who I now consider some of my closest friends and two of them still kill a crap load of birds on public but don't get on here and thump their chest about it and degrade those who choose not to do the same thing they do. It's the old democrat way of thinking...if you don't do it my way then it isn't the way to do it.

To take the Aggies post one step further...I don't think TPWD should allow guides to hunt on public fresh water lakes. Don't take that as a worry because I don't have the time nor energy to push some agenda like that in Austin. But it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they did it and might free up some of the public hunting in the more metro areas...you could pool your money with everyone you know and it couldn't get me to walk in a spot within 1.5 hours of DFW. Society has changed and not for the better...very few people give a crap about others. My blood pressure can't handle it and it's suppose to be fun.

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I agree 100% about the guide deal and society. This actual forum is also a big part of the problem in todays society. I have been were your at and gave up public for years for the same reasons but mostly because I needed to raise my kids which are now almost 14 and 18 so I have time to play the game again, and have been loving it, my girls included. There are not too many hunts without kids anymore for me.
This forum is a place to have fun, and if I got pissed every time my name came up I would stayed pissed but I could care less.
Enjoy the last few days of season, I am hooking the boat up in 30 minutes and heading out myself.[/color[/color]]

What's this guides name

Tic toc tic toc man answer the question already.

biting tongue.

Flyway Freaks out of Jefferson Texas

Did the name of the outfitter not make anyone in the group stop for a minute? Maybe one of yall had a moment where you told the other one "I don't know about this outfit as the name might suggest something"? No?

Old SLick, Dead eye and Scout!

I tried looking at their facebook page, but couldn't read any of it with all those dang pound signs everywhere.

Looks like they can pile the birds though. Maybe I should book a hunt so I can get some new public spots.

yeh the nicknames should have been the indicator!