I was wondering what everybody thought was adequate/sufficient for a tip when using a guide. 10%.....20% ?

Has anybody not tipped when the were unhappy with the service they received?

I have done several guided trips and for the most part I have been pretty happy with my guides. I have not had any unbelievable days on the water but they have all worked real hard to get me on fish. The only problem I have had is they have sometimes fished a little harder in front of me then I like but all have been real good people.

there's a post on this about once a week (check the search feature). Here's re most recent thread (pg 2 of this forum) http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5590899/Tipping_a_guide#Post5590899

Ask them not to, it's your trip. Did you express (directly or indirectly) that it was important for you to bring back a full box of fish? If so, that may be why. Just need to communicate with your guide. When you find one you like, I'm sure they appreciate your gratuity, referrals, or other appreciation you show, and your return business.

The tipping issue comes up every couple of months on the forum, and I guess that there is no across the board right answer.
But what I do know is that guiding is a bunch of hard work, and the guides expend a ton of money buying boats, trucks to pull boats, rods, reels, and tackle as well as the gas and maintenance required to keep a guide operation running. They endure mechanical break downs, sick days, sun burn, bad weather, and days when the fish just flat don't cooperate.
Guides are hit real hard in this economy and this is the time of year when many guides are not busy and have limited money coming in to fund the holiday family expenses.
I would answer to tip what you can afford, and if you have a little extra think of it as sharing your good fortune with someone that shares your passion for fishing.
Merry Christmas!!!

Nonsense. I shouldn't have to remind my guide who's trip it is. I certainly don't mind a guide fishing if it's to help determine what their biting on, etc, but once we're on the fish, he needs to put the rod down. Frankly, if the guide is trying to outfish me, he's long past the point of getting a tip.

One Up,

Think you might have missed Adam's point and that is that most Guides really appreciate the Customer letting them know "what the expect is".

Does the Customer's Party want to limit out and have 100 fish for the freezer, want to learn how to fish, new techniques, want to learn how to find fish, just want a liesurely day of catch & Release,want the Kid to catch his/her first fish, and on & on.

Many of our Customers are first time Guide Users and don't know what to expect. If we don't know what they want to accomplish, we sometimes fall short of their expects.

We've had many folks fish with us after fishing with other Guides. They told us Guides didn't catch enough fish, caught too many fish, were too competitive, were not aggressive enough, and everything in between. It just helps us to know what the Customer wants out of their trip.

On tips.....Tip if you had a great time if you like. If not, no big deal. We appreciate all our Customers and tips are a BONUS.

First this should be a sticky thread....I always tip, but i also let the guides know what I want....when i go i normally am doing because i want a day out and not have to deal with the boat and everything...I just want to fish....I tell them to fish as if it wasnt a guide trip, i think this takes alot of pressure off of them as well... i make sure my guide gets atleast $20 per person that I am fishing with

This subject has been BEATEN TO DEATH, but I will add one thing. Every now and again someones says "I hear if you don't tip they don't want you back"

What idiocy, Guide trips are like prospecting for gold. You are very happy when you get one , turning away customers in this economy is stupid to say the least!

LOL at this. A guide can't read your mind and every customer expects different things out of the trip. Some people would rather the guide fish, either to help teach techniques or just plain help catch fish and fill limits. Other folks don't want the guide to ever pick up a pole, some just want them to help find fish and put it down. If the customer is inexperienced the guide may need to fish just to make sure fish are there, sometimes it helps keep people interested/confident to see others catch them even when they aren't.

If the guide is trying to outfish you that is another thing altogether but realistically I dont see that happenening very often, and if it does then I bet that guide is struggling worst than the rest...

I will give my two experiences with guided trips, and how we tipped accordingly.

First trip I ever took was with a guide out of Sabine Lake for specks and reds. Day started off with him showing up 45 min. late at the place we were to meet, and his complaining started as soon as he stepped out of his truck. Either was talking about how the hurricane had took his brand new lodge before he could even start insurance on it, or was talking about his relationship problems. He made a quick trip to the end of the jetty to catch specks and fill the limits as quickly as possible, we didnt realize we were on a meat haul till this started. Fishing would have been over in about 2 hours except he ran out of jigheads and had to flag down other guides to give him a few, problem was we couldnt get the proper size and fishing all but came to an end at this point. This guide also was fearless enough to take us through the jetty to Louisiana waters, even though nobody had Louisiana licenses, and the whole time talking about how much the tickets were if we got caught. To top it off he spent most of the time talking about his problems with his current girlfriend and how much he liked taking xanax to forget about his problems...Needless to say this fellow didnt get a good tip...

My second trip was with Dannie Golden on Ray Bob, with my 2 brothers. We booked him when the lake had flooded after the long drought but he had a slip rented and was able to keep fishing. This trip was awesome, we didnt catch many big fish but caught a ton which was fine because one brother was relatively inexperienced. WE had to spend alot of the time flipping and pitching brush close to the ramp cause of an impending storm but it was fun to me, also caught about a 3 lb. spotted bass off a flooded ramp which is my biggest "Caintuck", as Danny calls them. We tipped Danny 100 bucks and would have gave him more but that was all the cash we had brought...

Just use your judgement on how much you liked the trip and tip accordingly

$5 for every fish over 5 pounds. let them know before ya launch, works great..

if they did a good job yes. this helps when you adventure to the same lake later on your own. you can give him a call and ask how they are biting.

I think that yes you should tip a guide accordingly. I have had some good and bad trips for different reasons, but if the guide makes a good attempt to get you on fish, you should tip. Sometimes people forget when booking a charter, that this is fishing and fish are not always jumping in the boat.
As far as a guide fishing in the boat as well. I think its great to have them fish with you, to learn techniques, locate fish, and to make it a better atmosphere.
If anyone is looking for a low pressure guide that will do whatever they possibly can to put you on fish, teach techniques, and just flat out have fun, look up James Caldemeyer on Lake Fork. Hands down the best guide I have had the opportunity to fish with.

I agree that communication is important, I just think it's a little presumptuous of a guide to fish like its his weekend off until the client has to ask him to quit.