I’m planning on booking an inshore fishing charter on the coast in a few weeks. Just curious on thoughts around a rule of thumb for tipping if the service is great etc.

I have a baseline of 20%, if they work hard, have a good personality, and bring in fish or not, my tip may go up. If they are dud with no personality and don't really care, then I may go down.

That just cries out for editing. ^^^

Are you talking about fishing or a Vegas trip? LOL

To the OP:

I consider 20% a big tip and base solely on my perception of their effort. I dont care if they are personable as long as they are not rude.

If the boat charges $50 for extra people I tip much better than if the boat charges $100 for extra people.

I tip very little to none if they make a short trip because we limited out.

I tip very well (20%+) if I catch a limit and they try to get me into catch and release or bonus species like sheepshead.

Thanks for the feedback

I go minimum 20% and most of the time it's 25% especially if the guide is great at answering questions and teaching, works hard and we are able to find a few fish. Whether I catch a limit or not factors very little on how much I tip. It's fishing service not catching service. For me it's about how much I learned and whether or not I enjoyed the trip.

If you're paying a quoted rate for a fishing trip, why over pay? Th guide charges a set rate which covers his costs and profit.

It's common courtesy.

There are lots of factors I use when determining the correct tip amount. If the guide is already charging a high price compared to the average going price, then I may tip less. I do not base the tip on catching fish, but base it on how hard the guide works at catching fish. I have also tipped more based on the guides financial situation. All that said, 20% is a good guideline.

Do you tip the air condition repair man? The guy who fixes flats at Discount Tire? The Checker at Walmart?
The oil change guy?

Nope sure don't. Still doesn't change the fact that it's common courtesy. Something that a lot of people are missing these days.

Yeah! What Jerry said!