Twenty years ago, Lisa Winbourne discovered a passion for fishing and soon turned it into a career. Her expertise made her an ideal choice to become one of the 10 assessors for the Tidal Angling Guide (TAG) certification program in British Columbia, which she heartily endorses for both veteran guides and newcomers to the sport fishing industry.
Her own introduction to sport fishing came from a somewhat unusual angle. “My professional career started in 1990 when I was working out of Victoria for the provincial tourism organization," says Winbourne, for whom guiding remains a seasonal occupation while she also runs a home-based communications business in Vancouver. "I was helping to market sport fishing in BC to the rest of the world, mostly to the U.S." Today, she is keen to see the TAG program embraced by those who work on the front lines of the sport fishing industry and make it a vital sector of tourism. "It's a formal and complete validation of a challenging profession that requires a wide range of knowledge and experience," she says. Clients will be assured that TAG-certified professionals "are set apart from keen anglers and boat owners, or from those who simply have not acquired the necessary certifications."
In the early '90s, after moving on to work for a small Lower Mainland boat-rental company, Winbourne was hired as a hostess at a lodge in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), and she soon moved into guiding there, mentored by experts on the job. “When you discover a passion for fishing, you will find others who are the same way.” She guided in Haida Gwaii every summer for many years, and over the past decade at various lodges on the West Coast of the mainland, near River’s Inlet, Milbanke Sound and Hakai Pass.
Her experience has taught her that there is much more to guiding than simply finding fish. “When you’re a guide, you are a front-line ambassador. That’s a big responsibility. You have to be conscientious. You have to get up at 'o’dark-thirty,' make sure your gear is tied, the boat is fuelled. When you’re spending up to 15 hours out on the water, you have to be entertaining as well as knowledgeable. You have to have people skills." Being a female guide has also been interesting, she adds. "This is a very male-dominated industry, and women are a kind of rarity. It's a challenge but a fun one. Just keep smiling and laughing."
She has also observed firsthand that the guiding community recognizes the need to be environmentally responsible. “They want to be green. There is a need to be responsible for your resource," she says. "That’s why I’m excited about the TAG program. It is so important that the industry gets professionalized. We also have people’s lives in our hands, not to mention that this is usually their once-a-year vacation." Thus far, she admits, there had been a lack of formal training. “There are a handful of government requirements, but you don’t even have to step onto a boat to get them." The TAG program addresses such issues as safety, conservation and customer service, she says, which can only be good for clients, their guides and the companies that hire them.
Whatever route newcomers take into the sport fishing industry, Winbourne suggests they set TAG certification as a definite goal. "It provides a previously unavailable indication of skill, attitude and experience. Entry level guides will be much better informed regarding the intricacies of guiding if they get properly qualified." In the meantime, she suggests: "Try to get work at a lodge that has good values. Find a good mentor. Get involved in your industry."
