Cancellations, weather, and rain checks

Booking and confirmation

Sending the trip request form does not hold a date. Nothing is booked until I write back and confirm it in writing. I take a maximum of 2 anglers per trip, so popular dates do go — if a date matters, ask early.

Once a date is confirmed I will send you the release of liability to sign and the list of what to bring. The release has to be signed before we launch.

Paying

Payment is due on the day, at the launch, before we get on the water. Cash, Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App. There is no deposit, no card on file, and no online checkout.

Prices are per person. A second angler pays the same rate as the first — there is no group discount, because a second angler is more work, not less.

If you need to cancel or move

Give me at least 48 hours' notice and there is no problem at all and nothing to pay. Text or email is fine.

Inside 48 hours, still tell me as soon as you know. Since I hold no deposit, a late cancellation costs you nothing in money — but that date was held for you and turned away from someone else, so I do ask that you treat it as a real commitment.

Repeat late cancellations are the one thing that will get you a polite no next time.

No-shows and late arrivals

If you do not turn up and have not messaged me, that is a no-show, and I am unlikely to take a future booking from you.

If you are running late, message me. I will wait where I sensibly can, but tides do not. Beyond about 20 minutes the fishable window may have moved, and we may end up with a shorter trip than planned or a different plan altogether. The price does not change if the delay is at your end.

When I cancel for weather

This call is mine and it is final. If I judge conditions unsafe or genuinely unfishable, the trip does not go. You owe nothing, and you choose between rescheduling to any date that suits you or simply walking away.

I will call a trip off for:

• Lightning anywhere near the water, or forecast to be — this one is not negotiable
• Small craft advisories, or wind strong enough to make a loaded kayak unmanageable
• Fog thick enough that a boat under power would not see us
• Dangerous surf or current at the launch
• Severe weather warnings, or a named storm anywhere in the forecast window

I would far rather disappoint you the night before than put you somewhere neither of us should be. If I have called a trip off, take it seriously — I am not being cautious for the sake of it.

Rain is not a cancellation

Plain rain, without lightning or wind, is fishing weather. Fish frequently feed better in it. If the forecast is wet but safe, the trip goes ahead — bring a change of clothes and expect a good day.

If you would rather not fish in the rain, that is completely fair, but it is your cancellation rather than mine, and the 48-hour notice above applies.

Rain checks and rescheduling

A rain check is open-ended. If I call a trip off for weather, you keep the booking and we find another date whenever suits you — there is no expiry and no fee. If nothing works, you have lost nothing, because nothing was paid.

If we are already on the water and the weather turns, I will bring us in. If we have fished less than half the booked time, treat it as a rain check and we go again for free. Past half, the trip counts as taken — though in practice I would rather have you back out than argue over an hour, so talk to me.

Ending a trip early

I may end a trip at any point for safety, weather, or conduct. If I end it for weather or safety, the rain check terms above apply. If I end it because someone is impaired, ignoring safety instructions, or removing their life jacket, the trip is over and the full price stands.

Fish are not guaranteed

You are paying for a guided day, my time, my gear, and what I know about this water — not for a fish. Anyone promising you a catch is selling you something they cannot deliver.

What I do guarantee is that you will be put in a genuine position to catch fish, and that you will understand why we were where we were. Most trips catch. Some do not. That is fishing, and pretending otherwise would make me a worse guide.

Changing your group size

Going from one angler to two means a second kayak and a second set of gear, so tell me as early as you can — I cannot always accommodate it on the day. Dropping from two to one is easy; just let me know, and the price adjusts to the single rate.

Photos

I take photos on most trips and I am happy to send you anything I get. Whether I may use them to promote the business is a separate, optional tick box on the release form. Leaving it unticked changes nothing about your trip, and I will not ask twice.

Questions about any of this

Ask before you book. bookings@vilanokayakfishing.com, or use the trip request form and put the question in the notes.