Tipping a fishing guide

Hey Everyone,

With the number of guides that frequent this board, I hope that someone can help me.

Last spring, my family purchased a guided fishing trip for me for my birthday. They paid the guide the normal price and I then scheduled the trip for this coming weekend. The cost was $400 for the all day trip. I have never been on a guided fish trip, so, my question is, How much do I tip at the end of the day? Does the tip change depending on how successful we were?

Thanks in advance.

Does the tip change depending on how successful we were? I would think so. Not just on how successful but how much fun the trip was.

If a number of guys are going maybe $20 to $50 a guy. $50 to $100 total. Here again I would base it on how much fun the trip was. Ive had some very fun fishing trips where the guide worked his ass off and we still didnt catch many fish. Learned a lot on those trips. When the fish are biting anyone can be a fishing guide.

I figure a 40-60 dollar tip is pretty standard. More if there are more than 2 people or if the trip was great

For guide trips I’ve been on, I think we’ve always had about 4 people in the boat, we’ve just done $20 per person.

Similar to a restaurant experience, I’d say 10-20% or $40-$80 based on the quality of the trip and experience.

Thanks everyone. This is very helpful.

It will just be me in the boat with the guide, but I plan on picking his brain. This is in an area that I fish a lot, so will be looking for some added insight and perhaps learn a new technique or two.

From the sounds of it, it seems like $60 if it meets my expectations, and add or subtract $20 depending on service/experience.

That sound fair. I went on a guided marlin trip in Hawaii. IT was just myself Captain and 2 helpers. We did not get any marlin but they tried everything and stayed out an extra hour. I learned alot and really felt they were trying. So I tipped them 20% of the charter fee. I saw pilot whales dolphins and a couple marlin that did not want to play.

Mwal

I can’t obviously speak for everyone that guides, and this is just my feelings on it.
You tip on what you feel is right, and what you can afford. I love tips, and they are very much appreciated – BUT, I don’t expect them. By nature, I generally go well above and beyond for customer satisfaction. That level of customer sats is what fills the calender a year in advance with repeat customers. Lets face it, a guide can NOT force fish to bite. All he/she can do is put you into the most favorable position to catch fish.

I look at what I expect someone to do if I was a guest in their boat and trying to teach me new techniques. Did I convey techniques well? Did I make them feel welcome? Did I keep them engaged and active? Did I keep them involved with any changes I was making? Did I treat them with absolute respect and project a professional image of our industry? Did I give them an experience that they could go out and duplicate or want to come back again? Did I exceed their expectations?
If Yes to all, we had an outstanding a very fun day, even if the fishing sucked. If I failed in any of these, then I need to look at what I did wrong and not duplicate that again.
And for the few guides that I have hired, I ask the same questions – Did they…
Not all guides work the same way or have the same level of enthusiasm for teaching – That is where YOU – as the consumer – need to ask questions and develop a reasonable set of expectations with selecting your guide.

I suggest speaking with your guide in advance, and let them know what you’d like to get out of the trip. Everybody hires a guide for different reasons. I’ve seen trips where guys just want to catch as many fish as possible, trips where the clients wanted to learn that water and what kind of areas they should target, I’ve seen trips where clients wanted to learn a specific technique.

As others have said, make your intentions known, and you decide if they were met. Tip according to what your goals were, and how hard the guide worked to help you achieve them.

wimwuen wrote:

I suggest speaking with your guide in advance, and let them know what you’d like to get out of the trip. Everybody hires a guide for different reasons. I’ve seen trips where guys just want to catch as many fish as possible, trips where the clients wanted to learn that water and what kind of areas they should target, I’ve seen trips where clients wanted to learn a specific technique.

As others have said, make your intentions known, and you decide if they were met. Tip according to what your goals were, and how hard the guide worked to help you achieve them.

That’s right on with my suggestions. IF they truly customize the experience to your liking, which isn’t always an easy task to accomplish, a healthy tip is something I’d consider.

Also think about your likelihood of hiring this guide again. If they did a great job and are in high demand, good tippers usually get choice spots on the calendar for return trips.

Joel