Is it proper, expected, an unwritten rule???

It is Proper.. if they show knowledge and exceed your expectations. Tips should not reflect whether you caught fish or not.. That is why they call it fishing.. But if they are respectful, work hard and teach you something a Tip is proper..

Sure--Here is my wife's favorite tip---- NEVER pet a burning dog.

You know what tips are not expected but here is what I do guide trip is 400 between you and your pardner I always tell my friend its 250 and then I pay 250. Makes a good day I would say.

like anything else good 10-20% tip + anything you broke or damage that was your fault. now if you catch a DD, just consider what you think a fish of a lifetime is worth!

Rob, so if a guide shuts the trolling motor on your 250.00 rod, should he reduce his rate?

This is probably the most asked question on this forum, no, make that the second, the first would be "Who is a Good Guide on Fork"

You might try using the search button on this question, you can find a few threads on it with some great info.

My answer would be, yes it is expected and a unwritten rule, if the guide tried to put you on fish and did all he could do to make sure you had a great experience and a great day, then it is very proper to tip him. I typically will buy his breakfast, lunch and tip him well. I have been with numerous guides on Fork and cannot remember one including yesterdays that did not deserve the tip he got!

We tip, buy breakfast and lunch, sometimes dinner. These guys work hard and have alot of expenses. It does not matter how many fish we catch but if we catch a DD then the tip gets bigger! They should charge more for a day rate but most people probably would not pay it. Hats off to the Lake Fork guides:)

Here we go again.... Lol

no, because Dobyns would replace rod no questions asked.

I have done 50+ guide trips and never had that happen, but if guide broke something of mine I couldn't get reimbursed I wouldn't make a huge deal of it, but in my head roughly calculate used value and might take a little off tip.

trust me, I'm an [censored] kicking brutal negotiator and tight wad in business, but I fish for fun. I usually go out of my way to treat the guide great. That usually means giving them the benefit of the doubt doing more for them, than too little.

I hear you, been on many and I mean many guide trips as well and actually did see this happen, totally accident and I was just making a example by stateing it. This is all subjective on how you felt at the end of the day, did you have fun, enjoyed the day, then do what is right and tip the guy, he is trying to make a living here!

If you cannot afford to give a good guide a fair tip then you cannot afford a guide trip!!!!

What they charge is a fair tip.

This should not be a topic that requires any debate... Seriously.

There are many worse ways to spend fishing money than to make sure that your most skilled fishing acquaintance thinks you're a nice guy. It's a tough way to make a living and those guys work hard.

Of course if they didn't work hard or make the day enjoyable, that might be a different story. But I've never had that happen.

Tips are an important part of a Guides life. The good ones figure this out early and adjust their actions to reap those benefits. No Guide can control the overall bite, or how active fish may be on any givin day so there will always be the GOOD the BAD and the UGLY to deal with.
If a guide is on time, and has everything prepared for a day on the water it means a lot. A tip of 50 to 100 dollars for the day is probably a good average and every bit helps for someone who is actually trying to make a living at guiding out of a Bass boat.