Tipping a guide

Guys-

I have a friend heading out with a guide on Mille Lacs for a half day. what is the standard tipping % that you recommend? obvisouly if the guy is working crazy hard you tip more.

I tried searching and didn’t find any responses.

Thanks,
Dan

There are a lot of factors that aren’t known here like how many people are going and as you mentioned how hard he works at it. I would say around 10-20% would be where I would start. I really don’t like the tipping society, I wish people would just charge what they need for the job and that’s it, especially restraunts. This is an interesting question, curious what others think/have done.

I wouldn’t have thought to tip a guide. I tip bartenders and waitstaff, that is about it. That’s because I know their employer pays them less because and the waitstaff and bartenders banks on tips to make up the difference. A guide is the owner. His tip is built in IMHO.

But that’s me. I am not saying people shouldn’t tip guides.

FWIW…I think you have the right frame of mind on this. I make sure I know what my client(s)desires are…Eaters? Looking for the PB for the wall? Multi species? maybe a break from the Eyes to try for some big Smallies?

A tip to me, is for exceptional effort, but also for helping you a step up on the learning curve, for that body of water or species…not so much for how big the catch was… If you happen to get a PB, well that definitely is worth a perk to your guide.

My rate for a 1/2 day is $175…Tips have varied from $25 up

having been a guide, i always appreciated the tips. the competition keeps prices way down to just over profitable, so a tip was cream.

myself, i have each guy on the trip tip 10%, 15-20% if we’ve really cleaned up. If the guys refuse to tip, that’s their last invite…

I say the more the better.

Seriously…

Although I’m in the wrong species, I know of one guide that never seems to have an open date for return customers if they didn’t tip $100.00 the last time out. Supply and demand, I guess.

I had one fella that had a unique approach. He told me what his tip would be on the size of fish he caught ahead of time. Sure gave me an incentive.

As a guide, I get that question from time to time.

If you feel the guide has done all that you would expect to put you on fish, teach you some things in the process and answers all questions as best he can, then I would say 10 – 15% is more than fair in most instances.

Having said that, there is no way I would ever complain if a client decides not to leave me a tip. Some people tip and others don’t and that’s just the way it is.

I’ve never used a guide, but my decision would be based on the below.

1. How hard did this person work to make sure I learned something/had a good time?
2. How far did we have to run the boat to get to these spots (if we drove 300 yards in the boat, I’m not going to give as much to reimburse gas as I would if we went 10 miles each way).
3. Did I receive the experience I wanted (no, I don’t mean did I catch the exact fish I wanted. Did I learn the technique I wanted to learn, or did he just hand me a rod when there was a fish on it?)

If I were spending $250 for a guide trip and had a good time and learned some new techniques etc.. I could see $25-$50 tip without an issue. Maybe more if it was a great trip.

The one thing I can say for sure is, I wouldn’t tip if the guide was an A-hole and treated me like crap. If that should ever happen, make sure you tell them and that you’ll be telling everybody you know who fishes. 98% of the guides out there will do everything they can to make sure you enjoy yourself. That other 2% are the ones who ruin it for everybody.

When you hire someone to take you fishing, my expectation is they will have scouted and found some fish, that they will have some good jokes and be personable, that they will have a clean boat, and that they will put forth effort to please me by moving as much as necessary to find a bite should it be an off day. 10 percent is a low tip 20 is high. I would never go over 20 unless it was the best freaking trip I’ve ever been on.

A lot of it depends on what you get out of it and what are our expectations. Decide what is important to you in your outing. If he delivers what you want then what is it worth to you.

Now if you are out with a locally well known Flathead guide I think if he would shower once in a while his tips would get better!

Shower?
Clean Boat?

I know a guide that turns down tips… unless it is an agreed to amount over an original fee for extra time, or added adventure… say a unplanned, but requested trip way up river to sightsee or something, then it really isn’t a tip, but an adjustment of a predetermined fee. His thought, my fee is the cost, I don’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable about having to tip, at any time during or after the trip, and I make it known right up front at the time we start any trip. His request… come see me again, or send someone you know. A referral is the tip he says is the greatest compliment, and after all, that is what the tip is sort of about anyway. He says works much better in his opinion.

The uncomfortable is a reason to not have a guide. I would rather know the price upfront. I sometimes have felt a high % was expected. A few times I have tipped well and still felt uncomfortable. Personally I think it hurts the guide profession. I am normally a decent and frequent tipper for other services.

I have always tipped my Guide, with the cost of Gas always going up its hard to plan for, then you have bait, and tackle it just helps them out a little.

Someone mentioned tipping of wait staff and bartenders and this probably doesn’t translate but I was told by a bar owner when I tried to tip him that you should not tip the owner of an establishment, just employees. Even though most guides are self employed I would think tipping is expected but would be on a sliding scale depending on the experience. I think most people know down deep what an appropriate tip should be.

i’ve fished with many guides. Even after I purchased my boat 10 years ago. a shorter learning curve on a new body of water and just the fact that I can just fish and not worry about all the other stuff is very attractive. i can honestly say I have never hired a bad one but i am sure they exist. every one i have fished with has really busted their hump trying to get on fish. in the real world, sometimes they just don’t bite. not the guide’s fault. 10% normally and up to 20% if the day was exceptional. i fished with a muskie guide in Hayward about 8 years ago and I caught 6 fish over 40″ in less than 6 hours. exceptional day and my tip was was higher than normal. those guys really work their butts off. crappy weather, cranky clients, occasional equipment malfunctions. I don’t beleive any of them are getting rich but you can tell they really love the job. I could not do it, that’s for sure.
Two of the guides I have hired I am proud to call friends. never would have met them with out hiring them first. been a great experience for me

After reading the responses, I might actually carry some cash with in case the fishing was incredible or I caught a giant. I wouldn’t present it as a tip, but I would say something like your next case of beer is on me.

I have had 3-day trips where I’ve cleaned a limit of walleye, pike and white bass for 3 guys and not been tipped. I have also had days where we do everything just to scratch out a limit in 8 hours, and been tipped excellent. Its up to the customer to decide. If the trip is worth it enough for you to give a little extra, leave a tip.

To those guides who expect a tip I would ask………whats the trip discount if we don’t find fish?

Here is my opinion. If I’m out with a guide and I brought a kid or somebody who really needed help I would most likely tip the person if we have a good time.

If I’m alone then I most likely would feel that what I paid would be good enough.

One reason for that is I book trips far in advance and I pay up front. So the guide has the use of my money for many months or weeks in advance.

Also, I have been charged for the trip, baits lost and fuel. When we came into the dock he filled the boat and charged that amount in addition to his daily rate. I think many guides do it that way these days.

I think tipping is mandatory, unless there is a real problem with the day you had. 10-20% range is appropriate. $100 strikes me as a generous tip on a $300-$400 day, but certainly not too much!

I once had a guide turn a tip down because the fishing was poor. He worked his butt off for us. Frankly, I was mildly offended that he wouldn’t accept it even though I know he meant well. I think he would have been smart to graciously accept the 20% tip and offer me 10% off the next trip if he felt bad about our results.

I don’t tip based on fish caught. Unless I’m taking a client out or something I don’t hire a guide to catch fish; I hire a guide to learn a body of water and/or new tactics. Some of the best guided trips I’ve had were tough fishing days, because it forces the guide to reach deep into the bag of tricks — so I learn a lot. After all, anybody can catch fish when they’re jumping in the boat.

If a guide is knowledgeable and works hard to meet the client’s expectations, he should expect a decent tip. The guide shouldn’t be upset if a tip isn’t offered, but if I were that client I wouldn’t expect priority booking (or any extra effort) next time.

I may have made a confusing post above…again.

When a client pays, I never look at the amount. It goes directly into my pocket and I thank them.

Tips should not be expected in any line of work…IMHO.

Yep. Its funny but the trips where we catch a lot of fish are the easy trips and usually end up with a good tip. Its the days that the fish dont want to bite that I have to work my but off and many times get very little in tips.

Isnt the standard that you tip any time you get personal service? Maybe thats a old school train of thought. Wait staff, bar tenders are a given for tips. The barber gets a tip. Room service or cabin service people get tips. Launch captain gets a tip. Service people that work on my home get a tip. Some times they even get fed if working on larger projects. My vehicle mechanic has been known to get a tip every now and then.

If you get good service they should get a tip. A common guide tip for me is $20 to $40 a person. Not every one tips but it is appreciated when they do.

I personally feel that a tip should be added in the cost of the trip. I for one would not be confertable giving a tip because I would know how much. How much is a guide trip these days?

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I personally feel that a tip should be added in the cost of the trip. I for one would not be confertable giving a tip because I would know how much. How much is a guide trip these days?

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Yep, good question.

If a guy pays $400 for a 8 hour trip thats $50 a hour. Which is much different then if you pay $200 or $25 a hour.

Tips are just a personal thing for most people. I think everybody has their own opinion on what percentage if any needs to be given.

Interesting discussion for sure.

I never expected to get tipped from any client. But on occasion I did receive tips and it was very much appreciated. I also have given some money back or offered a cut rate on an other trip if the fishing was horrible bad. Most of the time I was given the money back. I guess I can count that as a tip also. 99 percent of the time I do tip someone that gives me personal service. Just my two cents.

A tip is the gravy. I don’t ever expect one, but it is great when I get one. It really probably depends on what you expect out of the trip. If you feel you got what you expected, and then some, a tip is in order. I don’t think there really is any set scale you can apply because every trip is different. The guide may have spent 2 days prior to your trip patterning fish and had a good bite going, but the day you fish was the day of a big weather change and and the bite is really tough. If you feel he tried hard and you had fun, give him a tip. If he was a jerk and you didn’t enjoy yourself, don’t give a tip. In my opinion, you should never expect a tip, and as an angler that books a guide, you should never feel you are obligated to give the guide a tip.

I would go into a guided trip expecting to give a tip, if the experience was woth it, the tip is deserved. Catching/keeping fish is a bonus, I look at the whole experience.

that makes sense BK. I have never seen a guide leaf thru bills to count. if you never expect a tip and get one it would be a great lift. if someone always expects a tip i think that would set them up for disappointment more times than not.

So I said to the llama How about a little something for the effort.

going out to eat with my sister & her husband, they always under tip or don’t tip at all, we don’t go out to eat with them anymore..cheap