5 Ways That Turn Your Passion for Fishing Into a Job - This is Tourism

Love to fish? It could be your job.

Fishing lodges staff their business based on unique needs, with some having designated roles for certain tasks while others rely on versatile workers who can tackle a wide variety of responsibilities. In fact, the number and types of employment opportunities you can find at a fishing lodge in Manitoba may surprise you.

Here are five jobs that can help you jump start your lodge life career.

1. Guide

Many lodges, especially fly-in lodges, offer trip packages that include a guided angling experience. At these lodges, guides are critical to the guest experience, as every guest will spend six to eight hours a day with their guide. Guides are often people who enjoy the company of others and helping them experience the outdoors. Renowned anglers, content creators, and business owners like Aaron Wiebe, Jay Siemens and Clayton Schick got their start as fishing guides. Learn how to become a fishing guide here.

2. Dockhand

Dockhands wear several hats and their primary responsibilities are to prepare boats before and after fishing excursions, manage the dock, help guides with their boats and ensure guests departing and arriving from the dock have a smooth, safe and curated experience.

During the day, dockhands often help with various tasks such as boat repair, yard maintenance, etc around the lodge and property. This position is a common stepping stone for aspiring guides, with many spending their first season at a lodge as a dockhand before getting out on the water as an official guide.

According to Pit Turenne, owner of Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge, “Some of our best guides started as labourers, learned how to fish at Aikens and became awesome guides thanks to this early experience.”

One of those individuals is Pat Trudel, Turenne’s business partner, demonstrating the potential for growth from entry-level roles. Pat is on his 25th season at Aiken’s and when I asked him where he started relative to where he is now, he responded, “I have been fortunate to have tried my hand at numerous jobs here at the lodge. From my uninitiated and uninformed beginnings on the dock in my first season, to spending some of my most memorable summers learning the guiding craft, to hosting groups at our luxury outposts (with my fantastic wife!), to learning the in’s and out’s of camp maintenance and operations, add to that trying my hand at sales and marketing, I have been blessed to have worn many hats during this time.” Dockhands are ideal for young or slightly inexperienced anglers who need a year to gain experience before stepping into a full-time guiding position.

3. Server, Bartender and Housekeeper

Positions that are sometimes overlooked include serving and housekeeping roles. However, many lodge owners have received feedback that the guest experience is one of the most significant parts of the trip. A large part of delivering on this is the quality of service provided by the lodge staff. These roles typically involve serving breakfast and supper, tending bar and, while guests are out fishing, cleaning cabins and preparing the lodge for guests to return.

These positions are often held by people who aren’t necessarily anglers but they want to work in a hospitality role in a non-traditional environment. If you love the outdoors and want to work as a server or bartender, why not in a setting where you’re surrounded by beautiful landscapes, mere steps from the beach and can watch the sunset over a lake each night? Another huge benefit is the tips from guests, often given in U.S. dollars.

4. Chef

Lodges that offer packaged experiences will often have a private chef who prepares every meal for the guests. With tips often in U.S. dollars, flexibility with the menu and downtime spent fishing or enjoying lodge life, this position offers unique benefits for people who love to cook and prepare meals for others.

5. Maintenance Crew

Presentation of the camp and lodge is also very important, so a well-staffed and resourceful maintenance crew is needed to maintain the property to ensure it looks its best and everything works as it should, which is crucial every single day when guests go out on the water and return to camp.

Having a variety of skills can massively increase one's value around a lodge. Emily Head, a fishing guide of over seven years, notes, “It’s not just fishing. Having experience with property maintenance, a little bit of boat maintenance and mechanics, and general customer service will help you massively in dealing with guests and helping with shore duties.” Whether it’s an oil change on an outboard engine, changing a lightbulb in a cabin or splitting wood for a fire, the maintenance crew oversees these tasks, ensuring they are completed as needed. These positions are perfect for people who want to live the lodge life but don’t necessarily want to be a guide.

Finding Employment

Regardless of the type of employment you might be interested in, the best way to start is to contact the lodge and ask if they’re hiring. Lodges don’t always have job postings or obvious routes to apply, so connecting with staff directly is often how you find out what positions are available.

Hunt Fish Manitoba’s Lodges and Outfitters Page is an excellent resource for learning about the different lodges in Manitoba, including ways to contact staff. You can also check out our blog on becoming a fishing guide in Manitoba to find out more about working at a lodge.