Hi,
I was wondering what you all think about tipping fishing guides. Is it expected, normal, rare? The trip is already pretty expensive and a tip on top of that might be a bit much for some folks. Kind of wanted to see what you guys thought on the subject. If it is common what is a normal tip.

I dont expect tips when i take people out your already paying me. but it would be nice to tip the deck hand if he busted his butt my 13yr dose every thing if you bust a leader he hands you his rod to fish with and ties it, take the fish off the hook shows people how dont know how to handle a cat how to do that he does every thing and most of the time people dont tip him even if it just 5$ its something I pay him out of what I make I have been on a guided trip were the hand slept the entertire timer he would not even tie a rig up that busted. the the guid said we need to tip him he slept the whole time they dont clean the fish when no one would tip him he told us his hand gets first pick of the fish seeing how we only caught 8 fish between the 5 of us the other guys told him no and the kicker the guy told me that me and my family could come up for free then when we get there he wanted me to pay I had to pull out the email and text messages. and that is after he changed were he was launching from and did not tell us till i called him an hour after he was suppose to show his boat was running like [censored] and took for ever to get where we were fishing then he ended the trip before it was over stating his time starts when the boat hits the water. the guy talks big about all the huge cats and all the cats they catch every trip. it was a waist of a 4hr drive d
on lime stone i head out as soon as i can see well enough not to hit a stump so atound 545 -6am waco if the gates open we go right in and same thing if not we launch about 6-620 and we go till 2-3pm some times longer if they are really biting or your close to your limit 90% of my customer come as recommendations from previous customers but back to your question no you dont need to I dont expect it for some people they have to save for a while to go on these trips most are not cheap like me I understand that a lot of people just dont have the extra money to do so and dont expect it in most cases when they do tip i try to give it back as you are paying me al ready. if they wont take it i give it to my son for his hard work he does

I am limited on experience as far as tipping but I think if your guide puts you on fish or does a really good job then I would say give them a little extra. I have had one really bad experience with one guide and I had to really great trips with another. The second one got tipped and the other got paid but will never get my business again.

The unspoken expectation for a gratuity in the marine business id 20%. Having been involved for the last 20 years in one way or another in the marine/boating industry, the subject of gratuities has always been a real sore spot with me. The entire marine industry seems to operate on a system of bribes and handouts with people expecting something just for picking up a phone.. I've had people expect to be paid for sending me a referral and I've seen boat captains go into a tirade because they did not get a gratuity when they should not have even been paid for the trip at all. Unbelievable.
Years ago I did skippered sailboat charters for the marine where I slipped my boat. I agreed to do it for a price, the marina paid me, if I received a tip, that was fine, if I didn't that was still fine. I knew what the job paid and had I not wanted to do it for that, I would have simply declined the job. Sometimes I was tipped, sometimes not. I never pupped any of our clients for money.
That said, anyone who charges $400 for a fishing tip and then expects to be tipped regardless of the level of service, really should find another line of work. I have never been on a guided fishing trip, and based on the stories I have read posted by customers, some good and some bad, I probably never will. Certainly a so-called guide who provides a mediocre fishing trip and has a lazy deck hand who won't get off his butt to bait a hook or clean a fish, doesn't even deserve what he charged for the trip, let alone a tip for poor service.

I have been guiding for over 40 years and I really enjoy it.It all about the service to your customers and there experience .If you do what a guide is support to you will always get a tip ,I get one every time and I APPERATE it,that said I also clean all the fish ,take all the fish of the hook,bait all the hooks,and supply drinks and repair all the poles if they brake a line,i never fish because they are paying me to take care of them ,I never use a deck hand because I can handle it my self.Guiding is like any other service it all about the quality provides to your COUSTOMERS.

+1 Not quite 40 years lol I do have a deck hand every now and then for striper fishing but the over all goal weather you catch fish or not is to show your customers the best possible time every time! Just like your waiter when you go out to eat, if you decide to give a tip base it off your service. I dont require a tip nor push customers to fill like they have to leave one.

Just to be clear, my comments were directed at the people who because of an entitlement mentality, think they should be rewarded regardless of the quality of the trip. I'm sure there are guides out there who provide a good value for what they charge, and if they go above and beyond to insure a good trip, then they should be rewarded just as a good server in a restaurant is rewarded. But to expect a tip regardless is wrong. I have left a restaurant without tipping not because the food was bad, but because the service was terrible. The same would apply to a fishing trip. I think that if I paid for a trip that was not good enough to warrant a tip, I would explain why and what I was unhappy with. A good guide would put that information to good use and improve his service, a mediocre one would not.

I agree 100 percent with you Bob.

the way i see it, if you would have to ask and act based on the answer here, then you shouldn't tip. Tip should be based on your impression and feeling that you feel so grateful you would like to pay a little more. if you tip/don't tip just because someone says its right/wrong thing to do from here, that just defeats a whole purpose of idea of tip.

I totally agree with Bob. by the way, tip shouldn't always be a form of money. it could be six pack of beers, a lunch, whatever, or just simple thank you from your heart, a pure form of gratitude..
if people are not satisfied with that then, that's the whole reason why tip culture should be diminished as they have no clue of the meaning of it.

Thanks for all the great feedback. I will certainly tip if I had a great trip, learned some new methods to get on the fish, etc. I just wanted to get a feel for how everyone else feels about the subject and maybe some idea of how much people usually tip if they do.

Thanks again,

Im not a fan of/believer in tipping.

I know 18 year old high school girls who made $500 a night as a waitress from tips because its traditional to tip waitresses because they don't make enough

I don't tip fishing guides. That said I don't take many guided trips. Charge what you need to charge to coverer your expenses and a profit and charge it. Good service should be expected if its not given you wont get return/repeat business or referrals. I don't get tips and I don't expect them at my job.

Recently took a guide out at the coast $700 for a party of 4 for 8 hours. FIL tried to tell me we needed to tip him because guides don't make any money... Dude told us he ran 6 days a week.

Here is my opinion on tipping a guide. That is up to the customer and what he/she feels is correct for what they experienced. I don't ever expect a tip but it is always appreciated! I have been guiding for years and receive tips on probably 95% of my trips. I have heard many people say "guiding is easy" or "man you make good money". But most guides will tell you its not about the money, we don't profit a lot. Lets break it down honestly. I live approximately 30 mins form the lake I guide on mostly (most guides don't live on the lake!). So to ensure and not just hope I have the correct bait I go out the day before or two days before to catch "good" bait for my clients, this usually in tells 3-5 hours of drive time and/or cast net throwing. So you have a little boat fuel and truck fuel. Then the day of the trip I am there an hour ahead, then the trip, then time after cleaning. So lets add up....

trip day time---10 hours at least (with driving)
Bait day time---3 hours minimum (bait hard then a lot more or another trip!!)
Truck fuel----$40 (very safe estimate--I'm a diesel owner)
Boat fuel---$30 (again safe estimate)
Ice/Lost tackle--$20 (again safe estimate)

Total of expenses is $90. I run a trip for $350 a day for up to 3 people. So subtract the expenses that's $260. Divide that by the minimum 13 hours and you get $20 an hour. Now you are not considering the gate fee's or annual passes, boat insurance, guide insurance, guide license, personal food/drinks, wear and tear on trailer and boat, wear tear on truck, purchase of good equipment (reels, graphs, rods, rod holders), maintenance on equipment (line, time spent repairs or oiling/break down). All this is overhead! If you are a true professional guide you know all of this. I have a great CPA who breaks down my expenses vs. profit and I make anywhere from $8 to $11 dollars an hour past few years. Difference in being fuel cost and maintenance/repairs on boat/trailer and motor. So honestly you now see there is a lot more than just going out and taking you fishing from a guide (remember professional--not a fly by night or self proclaimed). Most guides now a days who charge a very cheap price are running illegal!!! NO INSURANCE, NO GUIDE LICENSE or NOT the CORRECT GUIDE EQUIPMENT required by LAW!

When I take people out too (past clients chime in) I not only fish but I teach also. Graphing, fish seasonal movements, equipment, different technique's etc.... To me I'm not just providing a fishing trip but a true learning experience. Maybe that's why I receive what I do in tips from my clients? From the experience and service not the fishing?!

As a full time guide, tips make up for around a third of my income. Are they required? Absolutely not. Do they help a great deal? Yes they do.

In my opinion I hire a guide, not a friend. Ill pay you what you ask, not what I think your worth. Do you tip a car salesman because he gave you a little better deal than the guy at the dealer up the road or was friendlier, or let you take the truck overnight for a test drive, or let you tow your boat with it on test drive etc.? I doubt it.

Not doggin on guides, just saying I don't get where the notion to tip came from, I don't tip my A/C repair man either and his service is much more important to me than a fishing guide.

Every body's GOT there opinion that why we live in America .BUT THANK YOU TO ALL MY CLIENTS WHO TIP ME and all the other guides we all APPERATE it ,thanks you again.