Dan Carns
Like most guides I’ve spent a lifetime fishing and over the course of my life I’ve developed a style and a mantra that I follow. It didn’t happen overnight and I certainly didn’t search it out, but sure enough it’s there. I’m a teacher at heart and I’ve been told, a generous and patient one at that. I have warned more than one friend and acquaintance that if you have a favorite fishing hole that you don’t want anyone to know about do not take me there as I share everything and everyplace I fish! Some of you are cringing right now thinking that this as a breach of the fishing code but that is where I diverge from the group. I genuinely believe and want other anglers to have the same kinds of experiences that I have so I make sure that folks have the knowledge and locations that get that result. Of course, I’m a kayaker, we’re more laid back than most boaters and guides. We also have a tendency toward helping other kayakers with gear and equipment. Attend almost any kayak tournament and you get the feeling that you’re amongst friends and not just competitors.
Here at Gulf Coast Kayak we have all sorts of guides, some are eco-tour specialists, some are Kayak and Stand Up Paddleboard instructors and some are kayak fishing guides and instructors. Regardless of which of these sports you want to try, we want everyone to have the best and most fulfilling experience possible so sharing fishing information is critical and part of our “service”. Our kayak fishing guides spend a tremendous amount of time in the water with clients, but also are so into fishing that they go out when they have the time to fish on their own, gaining even more intimate knowledge regarding fish locations and fish behavior. Unlike many kayak fishing outfits, we are located on one of the most productive fisheries in all of S.W. Florida, the Matlacha Aquatic Preserve, so if you have used our guide service you have the added benefit of parking at our location at a later date and can launch right back out into the same spots that we’ve shown you. Many of us have been conditioned not to ask for advice from other anglers for fear of either looking foolish or being ridiculed for trying to get information that may be private, but rest assured that if you ask, we will talk!
Over time we have had so many former clients use our launch that those individuals have formed friendships and fishing alliances with other clients as they meet and gear up at our location. It’s my opinion that due to our openness and willingness to share that we’ve created a community of anglers that is beginning to shift away from that secretive mantra the so many anglers adopt regarding fishing. If nothing else at least in our little piece of paradise we all stand a chance of catching the big one!