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My father-in-law is useing a guide for a trip this summer. We have never been out with a guide and would like some info on what to expect. How much is a normal tip, should he tip higher if it is a number of fish, lower or not at all if it is a bad day? What the rules of edicate on a guided trip are?
He is looking forward to the trip but wants to know what to be ready for so he will not look or fell like he is freash on the water.
Thanks for the help.

RW-reeler

I'd like to hear the answer to this myself. Carl

My tips have been from $0 to as much as 20%, but a good average would be 10% to 15%.
Don't base your decision on the number of fish only as sometimes the fish don't cooperate with us, either.

If the guide treats you well, tells a good story, makes you laugh, or makes you feel like you are fishing with an old freind, tip him or her well.

I hope you/he has a great trip!
If your finances are a bit on the snug side and you can barely afford the trip, a simple card or photos of your trip sent after you get home is tip enough for most of us.

Cap's right on, about 10 to 15% is fair. If the guide is likeable and tries, that's all he/she can do. Treat your guide as you would a waitress/waiter at an upscale restaurant. They earn their money. Johnnie

Thanks for the responses Jack and Johnny. As I look on this site and read some mags, the more questions seem to pop into the mind. It is good to have a place that there are no bad questions.

RW-reeler

Add my two cents a bit late but I’ve been on both ends of this question.

I never expected a tip! when I was a guide. If I received a tip, I appreciated it very much, considering it more than a Thank You. Time on the water is precious, for any of us, I did my best to see to it my customers had the best day I could provide.

The fish don’t always cooperate as has been said. Some days bites are few and far between, you just have to keep those folks who plunked down hard-earned cash with whatever entertainment you could. I looked at it like I’d done an outstanding job that particular day.

As for tipping a guide myself, almost always, I’ve had the rare luck of using some of the good ones. I cannot think of one single charter I paid for that wasn’t a memorable day on the water.

One of the best, up there with all you Yankees ;8~P, and them long toothy critters. You know them fish, the one’s that ought to scare the bayjaysus out of any self respecting bass. Musky’s that is.

In three days we caught exactly one, and it wasn’t big enough to talk about. But I had a riot those three days. The guide, Bruce was his name, last name escapes me, earned a tip, a big one. Not only did he work his behind off, he kept me smiling, if not laughing the entire time. And, to make a good deal better, I learned a lot about how to fish for Musky’s, which served me well the next year.

Tipping is a tricky sensitive question, but 10 to 20 percent is a good number. As long as the Guide earns it, if he doesn’t, treat them like a wait person in a restaurant who serves your food cold, late and with a bad attitude.