if you want to get a bad name around the lake quickly then don't tip, especially when you had a good day.

unless you are burning through guides after a single trip tips and good attitude help in long run. guide will make a couple extra runs for fish, fish a little longer, maybe hit that secret spot they have been saving for tournaments because it holds overs, maybe let you throw their $35 a-rig if you don't have one. truck has a price, gas has a price, hotel has a price, expert guide is priceless.

I tip $100/day regardless of the fishing. The guides I use can't make them bite and they can't get them in the boat for me. But they are all really nice guys who have taught me a ton that it would have taken me much longer to learn on my own. I buy breakfast, lunch, ice and all our drinks, too.

Back in '98 I went to fork with a guide many of y'all know- no longer in the business but he was very well known at the time. We were in the back of Mustang in the early spring, and he reared back to cast and flung a 1/2oz rattle trap right into the very top of my head! Not realizing he had hooks in me, he immediately cast forward HARD! Fortunately the hooks hit the bone of my skull so they didn't get buried TOO far. He turned around in total shock, his mouth hanging open, and, with the bait still stuck in my brain pan, I said "If you EVER do that again...the trip's on you!" We all three busted out laughing until we had tears in our eyes.

The bait came out without a trip to the emergency room so it was all good!

Tip your guide's fellas. It's a tough way to earn a buck.

These guides work hard. They deserve every tip they get if they are professional and teach you things regardless of how many you put in the boat. Karma baby, Karma. The fishing gods will not shine on you if you screw your guide over.

As I recall there is an outstanding guide on Falcon ...Charlie something...and I believe he had to quit guiding as he couldn't support his family on a guide's pay...and he was the best.

Ok TFF! I have a question. Is it better to tip before the guided trip or after? I have a trip planned in February.

After

After

Great thread..It never crossed my mind to tip, kinda thought it was built into price but after reading...I will always tip now

Agreed

I don't know why this comes up so much, if you feel good about trip then by all means tip, if you don't, then don't. I went into the garage of a tire shop and tipped a kid 10 bucks cause he got a flat fixed for me in about 10 minutes. There are a lot of tough ways to make a living. Tips are optional and should be earned. I take care of my regular guide. That said its not automatic.

I always pay and tip afterward,count out the standard fee,then give him the tip and tell him "here is something for his extra effort" then give him the tip.

I have had a couple guides I only used once, no bass or fork guides, that I didn't tip because end of trip they raised the agreed upon price. In both cases I had booked over 6 months ahead and they had raised their prices in meantime. I can understand a guide losing track of this running hundreds of clients a year, but in both cases when I mentioned we talked about a different price they kinda shrugged it off. I just axed the tip, they got their full upcharged amount, but they would have been better off to stick with prior agreement and a full tip.

Guide business is a service oriented business. You are paying for more than just catching the fish. You are paying for knowledge. You are paying for experience. You are paying for the chance at increasing the odds of landing your biggest bass ever.