Hi Fellow Anglers,

I know this question had been asked to death. So how much do you tip him/her for 4 people trip? Is $50 decent if they did a great job? Or that depends on the guide professionalism and how hard they work to put you on fish? I have a trip coming up at Richland Chambers this 4th of July. I don't want to disappoint by not tipping enough. Just wanted to be in a ball park range. Thank you

Depends. Its all up to u in my opinion.

Man the can of worms is opened again! I really research the guides I use because they are for business trips and my clients will be onboard. Some have absolutely no idea of how to fish. Some have never fished and some have not fished in 20 years since they were a kid. Some fish all the time and are capable of using equipment on their own.

Now where do you fit in this description of variables that a guide will need to deal with? If fishing for catfish on Richland Chambers I would recommend Chris "Catman" Watson or Bob Holmes. Chris is the absolute best kitty guide on the lake. I would be very surprised is any guide worth their salt would be available for July 4th as they stay booked out weeks in advance, sometimes months.

Once I have found a guide that fits the needs for my party, I pay them in advance with the tip. It will be appreciated by the guide and they will work their tails off to make the trip as best as it can be. I usually tip $25 to $30 a head and it usually a 5 party trip so $100 to $150 dollars and this will depend on the fishing prowness of my clients. More hand holding is more tip.

I learned to do guided trips in this manner from some very bad experiences with so called "guides" in my earlier years. I had some horrible experiences where no tip was given and I was just glad to get back to the bank!

I have used Chris for years and he is the best for kitty fishing on Richland Chambers and he does sandies and hybrids also. Bob also does all three. If you want a bass guide, sorry I have no recommendations as I do not chase those green scaly trash fish!

It all depends on the guide. If he works hard to accomodate and get quality or quantity of fish, he deserves a great tip.
I have been out with guides that, as stated above, I was just glad to get back to shore alive! And I have been out with guides that really took an interest in his clients and worked very hard to fulfill their expectations.
The former got NO tip and a good [censored] chewing... the latter got 50% of total price ($300.00)as tip.

60 bucks

I usually schedule duck Hunting trips and Fishing trips for 4 guys, If we are paying individually I tell them its an Extra 20 to 25 Bucks a piece to take care of the guide that usually works out.

$50 is fair, if you are satisfied with the experience and it's not necessarily based on fish caught.

the cost of the trip would factor in I suppose
15 to 20 % of the trip cost is customary in most cases
of course the hospitality and gear and fun also plays a significant role as well
it aint an easy job for sure
and in many cases the "guide" is just an employee or buddy of the actual guide service
so to be sure there are no automatic shall we say "guidelines"
I gave up a rather nice hat and all my cash to a poor guide one time in a foreign country
he was just an employee working an 18 hour day 7 days a week for a big guide service ....
he and his crew of 2 got 300 bux a month to split up as a salary
follow your heart ....it will lead you ...

Agreed.

$50 bucks

You go to a restaurant and tip the waitress 20 - 25% if she does ok for 20 - 30 minutes. Why would you tip a guide any thing less for working his [censored] off for 6-8 hours?

Never hired a guide, but does it matter if he works for himself or is an employee of somebody else?

$5 a fish over 6 pounds.

We caught 6 hybrids over 21" and 14 sandies. It was a slow day. Regardless the captain's deckhand (16 yr old) worked his butt off to assist us. We had a great time. In the end we tipped them $100 for their hard work to put us on fish. Again it was a slow start but strong finished the last 2 hrs.