Why Booking Software Is the Secret Weapon for Busy Guides and Charter Captains – And Which Ones You Should Be Using
[Updated August 2025]
Running a fishing charter or guide service is a juggling act. Between managing trips, maintaining gear, playing phone tag with clients, the time actually fishing, and oh ya – remember family and anything that could be considered “free time”?? It’s easy to feel like you’re always one step behind. That’s where online booking software for fishing charters & guides comes in.
At The Click Hatch, we build websites, manage SEO efforts, and run Google Ads for fishing businesses that run the spectrum of guiding. Over the last couple of years we’ve continued to notice a strong shift in consumer behavior – and guides seem to agree. Using a booking software is becoming not just a convenience – but a necessity.
Here’s why I think they make sense for any fishing charter, guide, or lodge looking to scale their business or just stay more organized – including a review of some of the more popular fishing charter booking softwares out there.
Fewer Missed Calls = More Time on the Water
Think about it: as a fishing guide how often do you have your phone handy just ready and waiting to answer and talk business. If you’re a bad guide maybe a lot… But if you’re a good guide (and if you’re reading this I’d bet my favorite fly rod on you being a good guide) you’re most likely not answering the phone all throughout another client’s guided trip. You’re prepping or driving in the mornings, you’re busy throughout the day, you’re hungry after you finish a trip, your kids miss you when you get home – you get it.
Hoping a potential client’s call aligns with your busy schedule will leave you wondering why nobody is answering your return calls hours later. Potential clients are scrolling at work, in the evenings, on weekends, or late at night after the kids go to bed. If your only booking method is “call me,” you’re losing trips every time the phone goes unanswered.
With an online booking system, clients can book trips instantly—while they’re in the moment and excited. No waiting, no phone tag. At the very least, you’re giving them the ability to see what days are available and how much the trip will cost – which are typically two of the most commonly asked questions. If you’ve done a good job selling yourself on your website (read “Make Your Website A Workhorse With These 5 Fishing Charter Website Design Tips”) then you shouldn’t be afraid to let people dig into availability and pricing.
Easy Deposits & Payment Security
Chasing down payments is a headache no guide enjoys. With booking software, clients pay online with a card, you get deposits upfront, and everything is tracked. No more awkward pre-trip “so how are we settling up today?” conversations. Plus, payments are secure, automated, and deposited straight into your account.
Automatic Calendar Management
Double-bookings are every captain’s nightmare. The right booking software syncs with your personal calendar (or offers their own calendar tool), blocks off days you’re unavailable, and shows clients only the times you’re actually open.
There are a few fishing-specific booking softwares that I’m a big fan of (I’ll list them below). These newer tools are built with fishing businesses in mind – so managing multiple guides, or offering trips with tricky options or add-ons gets handled in just a few clicks. Each guide can sync their schedule, and the system auto-assigns trips without anyone guessing who’s free. If you’re anything like me – I’m a bigtime visual person. I’d go nuts without being able to see a visual calendar of trips and important dates.
Professionalism That Builds Trust
We all know anglers shopping for a trip will compare guides. It’s highly unlikely you’re the only guide someone looks at when trying to find a fishing charter or guide. I talk about “the first impression game” all the time with our Google Ads clients: in most cases you get one chance to win the first impression game with new people coming from Google. If one site says, “Call me for availability” and another shows live dates, pricing, and a simple book-now button… who do you think wins the booking?
Online booking software gives your fishing charter the same professional edge as bigger outfitters, without you needing a staff to answer phones and emails all day. Plus, most offer pre & post-trip emails where you can give people all the details they need before the trip and easily rack up Google reviews with an automated follow up thanking clients for fishing with you.
Fishing Charter Booking Software Reviews
When it comes to running fishing trips, booking software can either be your best friend or just another headache. I’ve done the demos and have clients currently using all of these platforms, and while some make life easier, others can end up costing you more than they’re worth. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: an easy way for clients to book trips, solid calendar management, and a fair system that doesn’t cut too deep into our hard-earned money. Here’s my take on a handful of the most popular fishing charter booking software options out there.
Vally
If you’re sick of booking platforms chipping away at your earnings, Vally keeps things simple AND it’s specifically built to support fishing guides. There aren’t any contracts, surprise fees, or commissions—you actually keep what you make on each trip. Their booking fee is already lower than most (quite a bit in my opinion), and you can decide whether to pass it on to your customers or just build it into your trip price. Setup doesn’t cost anything, and their crew is super fishy and good about helping you get started without making it a headache. The software can be as simple or as complicated as you need it to be, and from what I hear from some of my clients, they’ve been loving this as their fishing charter booking software of choice.
GoGuide
GoGuide is another fishing charter booking software that I have a ton of faith in. But they actually go beyond that – they also offer resources to help scale your marketing, resources for financial reporting and preparing for tax time, and they’re also building out their GoGuide Trip Club – which is like a guide marketplace on steroids. Members who are serious about booking quality outdoor experiences pay to join Trip Club and instead of charging you 15-35% like COUGH FISHINGBOOKER COUGH they ask outfitters to give their members 10% off. It’s free for outfitters to get listed on Trip Club, and it’s something I’ve been encouraging my clients to sign up for. Can’t beat free exposure like that.
FareHarbor
FareHarbor has been around a long time, and you’ll see a lot of outfitters using it. It’s a solid platform that spans the full tourism market with plenty of features, but sometimes it feels like you’re paying for more than you’ll actually use as a fishing guide or charter. The software is powerful, no doubt, and their calendar management works well, but the pricing can start to stack up with commissions and fees. If you’re a bigger operation that needs lots of bells and whistles, FareHarbor can be worth a look—but for smaller guide services, it can feel like a bit of overkill. My opinion? FareHarbor makes tracking actual bookings with real revenue data super easy. BUT – I’ve heard lots of guides complain about the price and the lack of caring support.
PeekPro
PeekPro is geared toward all outfitters and guiding services, so it feels a little more dialed into what fishing businesses actually need, but still nowhere close to what an actual fishing charter booking software gives you. Their booking system is clean and easy to use, and clients seem to have no problem navigating it. Support is solid, and they’ve done a good job building tools that help with calendar management and customer communication. The downside is you’re still looking at fees and commission structures that can add up over time, which means you’re not always keeping as much of your hard-earned trip revenue as you’d like.
The Flybook
The Flybook has a reputation in the fly fishing world, and it’s designed with guides and lodges in mind (not fishing specific, but they cover lots of rafting and adventure guide style outfitters). The system is flexible—good for multi-day trips, lodging add-ons, and anything that goes beyond just a half-day charter. It can handle a lot if you’ve got a more complex operation, though it does take some time to learn your way around all the features so if you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy you may struggle a bit here. Pricing isn’t the cheapest out there, but for outfitters that need a platform built with fishing in mind, The Flybook is worth checking out. The only real complaint I’ve heard here is that monthly fees and higher service fees can add up, and that the software can feel a bit antiquated for what fishing businesses really need to use it for.
FishingBooker
Now, let’s talk about FishingBooker. I’ll be honest—I’m not a fan. FishingBooker is less of a booking tool and more of a marketplace, and the way it works is they push the trips from the captains who give them the biggest cut. That means if you’re not willing to hand over a huge percentage of each booking, you’re buried at the bottom of the list. It might look like they’re getting you more exposure, but in reality, you’re competing in a pay-to-play system where you lose a big chunk of every trip to their commission. For most captains and guides, that’s money better kept in your own pocket instead of padding FishingBooker’s bottom line. In the same breath, I should probably thank them – because every year I have more clients come to me wanting to try a new approach to generating trips where they aren’t losing such a big %.
The Bottom Line
My last words about these booking softwares – do your homework and take advantage of the free demos that all of these offer. You’ll not only get a feel for the software, but you’ll get a feel for the people behind the software. I hear it all the time from my clients, but I know outfitters value trust over most everything else. You should feel like you can trust your point of contacts and I’d encourage you to move towards a fishing-specific booking software.
At the end of the day, online booking software isn’t about technology – it’s about freeing you up to do what you do best: guiding, catching fish, and giving clients the trip of a lifetime. Your business runs smoother, your clients book easier, and your calendar stays full. That’s a win all around. Don’t leave home without it!
I’m here to help if you have any questions.
Dan at The Click Hatch
