Art Berry? Good or Great?

[livecrawdad]

Hey all! Im not a total newbie here, cause im always reading the post but not as active as most. Anyway my questions is, has anyone ever used Art Berry Fishing Guide Services? I kind of want an honest opinion from someone who knows him or fished with him? Im by no means a good fisherman, but I do love it but sometimes feel like im not educated enough and thats holding me back from catching more fish... so I thought a day out with him might be a good idea?? considering hes always at Diamond Valley at thats one of my favorite places to fish. Oh and also my pockets arent full of cash so thats another reason why im asking.... Any help would be good. Even if its from Art Berry. haha Thanks Guys hopefully no one bashes me on this thread.

I attached a pic of my 6 1/4 lbr. from Saturday! I know I always like to see pictures so I thought Id Put one up myself
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Thanks Again
-Live Crawdad

[Pete Marino]

Having known and competed against Art for many years in Team AND pro tournaments, I can say that Art has a wealth of information that will be extremely beneficial to you. Your money will be well spent by hiring his services.... And this is coming from a fellow guide..

My word of advice to you is to have Art show you 2-3 techniques throughout the day so you can actually put time into those techniques, gain confidence in them, and absorb what Art says. As opposed to trying to learn 5-7 techniques because when you try to learn a bunch of techniques like that in one day you wont completely absorb all of them and that may do more harm then good when it comes time for you to go out the next time and have success. If you fully understand the ins and outs of 2-3 techniques you will find that you will have more success the next time out because you will fully understand and have confidence in those few techniques...

Good luck...

Pete :Cool:

[HuskerRod]

I couldn't agree with Pete more. Man, a good guide is way more then the fish you catch that particular day. They can teach you tips and tricks to use the rest of your life. Some of these tips specific lake and some you can use anywhere. If your new to the game I'd definately recommend it. I'd love to get out their with Art Barry. He seems to be the DVL master and I've heard nothing but great things about him.

[vanillagurilla]

honestly you cant learn it all from one man. art sounds like a great guy and even i would use him if i had the money. But every fisherman has his "prefered" fishing technique. theres worm guys, spinner bait guys, hard bait guys, you get my drift. to expand my knowledge i try to fish for a day or half a day with someone who knows ONE techniqe very well. so my advice to you is to ask Art what his favorite or "go to" technique is and try to absorb as much info as posible. id go as far as taking a note pad and jotting down color recomendations as far as cloudy and clear or sunny and stained, if he will allow that. good luck and hope fully Art is in my future as well as other guides because you cant learn it all on your own. im willing to bet K.V.D. even learned from people lol.

[snag]

I have hired Art seven times within the last year and without wanting to sound like someone who is attempting to exaggerate him up, I guarantee you will thank yourself for taking the time to get out there with him.

Art is not limited to one type of technique and/or style of fishing. Depending on the time of year, Art will explain what methods are going to produce fish for specific times and conditions. You will undoubtedly come away with a much better understanding of the ‘art’ of fishing swim baits, top water, finesse, power fishing, line choices, hooks, rod types, structure, etc…

Art prefers you jot down questions prior to going out with him. Once you are out on the water, you will forget to ask questions, as I always do.

Aside from being a great stick and fired up to catch fish, he is down to earth and ensures your time on the water is something you will always remember and can apply when you are out on your own.

Go get a couple friends together and do yourself a favor, join him out on the water.

You will not regret it.


Snag

[riverside_angler]

I hired Art at the beginning of this summer and it was great. I will be honest that we didn't catch as many fish as i was planning, but we had a great time and i learned alot. I have since gone back several times with the tips i learned from ART and had amazing days (amazing to me...30 fish). He is super cool and he really knows his stuff. It was the best time i've had on the water. A nice thing is that he is open to you calling him and asking him questions about anything once you have become a client of his.

i will definitely hire this guy again when i get the opportunity.

good luck. get some buddies to go with you to split the cost.

[basscatcher]

i met him a couple times and seems like a cool guy but every time i see him guide he is always fishing. in my opinion i dont want to pay all this money to learn how to fish and have this guy fish and catch all these fish. im not saying he does this all the time but everytime i see him at the lake with clients he is fishing as they are watching. If he asks to fish and the clients say yea then thats a different story. my 2 cents


God Bless


basscatcher

[ART HILL]

I will chime in with my thoughts on some of the things mentioned with this topic.

As a guide myself, I always leave it up to my clients on if they would like me to fish. This is offered as a way for them to see what i am doing, and for them to learn. I am sure this is the same for Art and his clients.

In most cases, clients ask me to fish, so they can watch me. Once they are dialed in, I usually drop the rod. If the bite is wide open, and they insist on me fishing, I will. But usually I am way to busy netting fish. When kids are in the boat, I do not fish. Not any more that is.

Art is not out there to impress his clients on how well he can fish. They already know this, and that's why they hired him in the first place. His job is to teach, and he does this very well.

Secondly, is Art Berry worth the money. ABSOLUTELY YES! Art Berry is the only person with as much time on DVL as me. No one has more time on the water than Art, since the October closure to boaters.

Art is the most informative guide I know. As a guide, I am proud to admit this. I will tell you first hand that Art is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. You will go away a much better fisherman for having hired him.

I will also tell you that I have fished with clients that have also hired Art Berry, and every single one of them had nothing but the highest praise for him. As a guide, this is what you strive to acheive.

So in closing, my advice to you is this, hire him, take your note pad, and have a great time. You won't be sorry.

Respectfully,

Art Hill

[trollmiester]

EVERY time i have been catfishing at dvl i see art berry in a pontoon boat with clients.II NOTICE ONE THING EVERYBODY ON BOARD IS SMILING AND LAUGHING.THEY ARE ALL EXCITED AND CATCHING FISH RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.HE MOVES AROUND AND FINDS THE FISH AT MANY DIFFRENT PLCES. I AM NOT A BASS FISHERMAN ,,just a catfisherman waiting for that one bite. lolol

[addict2fishing]

I am not knocking the guy but my trip with him we did not catch but 3 fish for 8 hours of fishing. It might have been the conditions or the time of year, but that kind of money was pretty tough when he holds his hand out at the end of a bad day. I think that knowledge of the lake is very important and the habits of the fish is very important to obtain but for 400 dollars you could rent the little bass boat 5 times and start seeing what is working for you.
Personally I think they all charge to much, they are not swinging a pick or digging ditch, thay are doing what they love and we are paying them for information, they are not using their own boats which I think would justify 50 dollars an hour but until the ramp gets modified that is the way it is.
I also went with Greg Silks when the lake opened and was full, and that was worth it's weight in gold, but he had his boat and alot of money in his fish finder.
It all boils down to if you want to spend the money, knowing what I know now I would rent the bass boat a couple of times and mark the fish with a hand held GPS, but that will change if they keep letting water out of the lake.
Good Luck!!

[Lunker1979]

I'll show you people how to catch fish for $200.00 bucks!!! HEHEHEH!

[jrfrmhbg]

I'll just echo the sentiment of the majority who has already posted here... you can't beat a trip with Art Berry. I've learned so much from Art over the last 2 years. I've heard nothing but the best about all the guides who use FNN. I really like Art because of the EDUCATION that is gained w/ a day on the water with him and even after the trip. He returns phone calls and is helpful with advice well after your trip. I run into him all most every time I'm at DVL and he is always helpful. You can't beat the INVESTMENT. My opinion. Good luck to all.

[Bassassinator]

I've hired Art, it was awesome, and worth every cent. Plan on being a return customer before the end of the year.

[redfish]

The fishing education you get when you hire a guide is money well spent in my opinion.having the oppurnity to learn from some great fishermen. Learning little tricks that will put fish in your boat when others can not. I can't spend over 200 days on the water as these guides do. So when i get the chance to fish i want a unfair advantage. Art berry has given me that unfair advantage to make the most of my limited time on the water. My trips with pete marino have also given me the "unfair advantage". Try both guides they will show you different ways to put big fish in your boat. I fish to catch fish not just wet a line so do yourself a favor and hire either one of these great guides stewart

[livecrawdad]

Hey All,

Thanks for the help! You guys answered more questions than I thought I had! I appreciate the honesty from all! I definitely want to improve my skills so this sounds like something I should do, even if its picking up one good technique and perfecting it. and honestly I have been skunked at DVL so if I went out and caught 3 fish in 8 hours and learned a few tricks, that wouldnt be my worst day on the lake. :ROFL: Thanks for all the help again!


-Live Crawdad

[artberryfishing@yahoo.com]

Just wanted to say thankyou to all my friends and fellow fisherman for taking the time to express their views on what a day on the water is like with Art Berry.