tipping guides

[bubba 96]

Hey guys quick question, I'm heading out to ontairo and finally get to go bass fishing on lake erie with Simon Frost(Dave Mercer's buddie and camera man and highly recomended by Dave) on the 29th of June , he's taking us out for an 8hr trip, and I was wondering what would be a fair tip, I beileve I saw last year on the fourm that around a 100 bucks would be alright.There will be 2 of us going fishing. Any ideas would be greatly appericated...Thanks in advance guys.Dave:sHa_shakeshout::sHa_shakeshout::

[Okotokian]

Well, what do you get in tips at your job? Oh, NOTHING?!?!

Grrrr....Tip jars everywhere now. Don't get me started....

Actually, just kidding. I know tips are expected. What is the day costing you (for the two of you)? I would imagine any tip is some percentage of that.

[grizz]

Hey guys quick question, I'm heading out to ontairo and finally get to go bass fishing on lake erie with Simon Frost(Dave Mercer's buddie and camera man and highly recomended by Dave) on the 29th of June , he's taking us out for an 8hr trip, and I was wondering what would be a fair tip, I beileve I saw last year on the fourm that around a 100 bucks would be alright.There will be 2 of us going fishing. Any ideas would be greatly appericated...Thanks in advance guys.Dave:sHa_shakeshout::sHa_shakeshout::what does the trip cost? $ 100.00 ea if he is a professional guide

[baitfisher83]

Think of it this way, how often does someone from Alberta really get to go fishing for Bass out there???I'd definitely say the tip is worth it given the service provided.....if it's 500 bucks or more for the trip, tip him 75-100

[big zeke]

I have had the best and worst guides...the good ones are on the gear always, helpful when asked, shows you proper technique and suggests improvements, makes sure you are having fun AND catching fish. The worst sit on their arse steering the boat while they puff away a pack...afraid to run out to a hotspot in order to save gas.

Good guides get as must as 50% of the dayrate as a tip, the bad ones get a short lecture and five bucks.

Depends if they honestly tried.
Zeke

[bubba 96]

The trip is costing 400, for the day for the 2 of us, and according to Dave Mercer he is the drop shot master, but he said we will do whatever possible to get on fish, and by the picts on his web site the smallies are huge, there was also an episode on facts of fishing where he was fishing with Dave, and he was outfishing Dave 3 to 1...he is also a tourny fisherman as well....All gear is included just have to bring my camera and clothing...He is even going to meet in fort erie where my folks live..And were going out in one of those big ol bass boats, where they barley touch the water on the move 300hp I think..thxs again Dave...Here's his web site what do ya think..
http://www.simonfrost.ca/

[Okotokian]

If it's a good experience I'd tip well. $400 for two guys seems pretty inexpensive to me.

[Drewski Canuck]

I have been on three guided trips now. One at Braybandt lodge on Great Slave, one with West Coast Resorts - Whale Channel, and one at Harrison Cove Lodge - Bamfield. Normal sob story starts out that he and his girlfriend who is 8 months pregnant is saving to buy a house, etc, etc, etc. Next line is that the guide only gets $75.00 per day, and it sure must be nice having such a high paying line of work. Next line is from the manager at supper saying $250.00 per head for 2 1/2 days of fishing, based upon two fishermen per guide. Trip usually costs about $2,000 - $3,000.00 per head already.

This milk fest is getting out of hand. I have given my guide at Brabandt an extra $100.00 over the group tip, as the guy was great and we got along great. He didn't ask for it or whine or beg, and was thankful. For the rest, I really hate the soft sell.

Drewski

[WalleyeDeitz]

My thoughts after being on many guided trips and spending two summers in the Yukon as a fishing guide….I would recommend tipping whatever you feel comfortable with. If your guide put a smile on your face and you had a great day, and you have a lil extra in your pocket, than $100 would be what I would recommend. If in your opinion he went above and beyond at working hard to make sure your day was special then $100 per person ($200) would be an excellent tip. I don’t think it matters who he is or who he holds a camera for with regards to what he deserves for a tip. Up north I have had some amazing fishing days when we could spot lakers on the sonar, I would instruct the guest to keep dropping their jig until I saw the jig in line with the fish, the fish would hit, I would do the same with the second guest and man were there some big smiles. Was not all me, some days the fish gods were helping but on the best day, I received a $200 US handshake just for that day, and they were there for a week. He appreciated how hard I worked, I appreciated the nice tip that was totally unexpected and we had an amazing week.

If a guide drives the boat around and doesn’t seem to care about his guests that much because he is almost famous, then don’t tip him at all. I agree with the previous poster that it is unfortunate how tips are being seen as expected rather than earned. For example I just chartered a marlin fishing boat in Los Cabos Mexico on my own (couldn’t find anyone else). We got out, caught a couple tuna, the livewell pump died and our live bait died within one hour of when we started fishing. The Captain and the deckhand worked hard to hook them other ways, we switched methods to chase some bottom fish and then did a little cool sight seeing on the way in early. The captain mentioned that he wanted me to talk to the owner of the boat to explain how unhappy I was with the live well and to get some money back. I tipped these guys well because they worked hard…never caught a marlin but got some amazing pictures of whales, pelicans, sea lions and various other scenery shots. The owner offered me another trip at no charge but I didn’t want to leave my family for an entire day again. Additionally in Cancun 3 friends and I hired a charter and both the captain and the deckhand sat up in the tower all day except when a fish took a hook. They didn’t even talk to us all day, they forgot to tell us there was a lunch packed for us, you could tell they just wanted to drive us around and get back in……NO TIP FOR U……. In Hawaii, we had a guide that asked us if we could leave at 4am because he likes to go way further than the other boats. This dude busted his butt off, went bait fishing before he picked us up at 4am….and when he carved a chuck out of a 200lb tuna that another guest caught on our boat, mixed up some wasabi and soya sauce and we ate right off the side of a tuna caught 10 minutes earlier….the smile that was on my wife and my face was worth the good tip this hard working guide received....not to mention the several recommendations I have sent this guy. The extra time spent, the extra little efforts like feeding us some fresh fish was all above an beyond what I considered to be covered in the cost of the charter.

All this being said, if you have saved along time for this trip and don’t have sufficient funds to tip, then I personally wouldn’t care….most guides love being out there. If funds are tight, fire a letter with a couple photos of your trip to your guide a month or so after the trip. In my opinion the letters, photos, friendships and invites to various state destinations was worth more than any tip I received while fishing. I remember the people I met but not what they tipped me..........and getting paid for it looking back was the best situation I have ever been in….now I pay to go fishing….damn wife.

Regards,

[Jamie]

For me, I tip $50/day. and it can go up or down from there.
I use that formula on everything from Pheasant hunts, to Salmon trips to Brown bear hunts in Alaska.

That story above (The Tuna Sushi) would cause me to dig deeper.
Though it seems I have to grow a pair and drop back when partaking in a "Boat Ride"

Good info on here.

Jamie

[Tofinofish]

WalleyeDeitz

Your outline is well articulated in that it shows that guided situations can be different, very different. Some days a Zero is deserved, while many other days the guide proves his worth and is tipped accordingly as he is working in a service industry where tips are appreciated, but still optional.
I get asked 100s of times a year from guests regarding tipping my guide staff, and I always say it is optional but common for them with how hard they work for the guests overall experience. I also ask that if they find reason where a tip is not deserved at all, that they let me know why they may not be satisfied so I can follow up with details of a job better done next time. Though it is extremely rare for this to happen, it is good that a guide doesn't get stroked for a day where he needed to do a better job for factors within his control.
Tips are common for hard work, but should not be Expected every single trip.
My 2 cents.

J.

[bubba 96]

Thanks for all the info guys its appreciated, and will make my desicion eaiser on tue...Ill post picts when the trips done, hopefully there will be a bunch...Dave

[Kim473]

If the guide tries realy hard to put you on the fish even if they are not bitting $100 minumum. If they dont try hard and are just driving the boat less than $100 with a few choice words and talk to the management. Remember the guide usualy does not get a wage but are sorrta like subcontractors.

[Jamie]

If the guide tries realy hard to put you on the fish even if they are not bitting $100 minumum. If they dont try hard and are just driving the boat less than $100 with a few choice words and talk to the management. Remember the guide usualy does not get a wage but are sorrta like subcontractors.

Kim, not sure what guides you are talking about.
But every guide I have ever had gets paid.
$100 a day is way to much in my books. But to each their own I guess.

jamie

[209x50]

Sandi and I have been fortunate to fish a few different places with guides. I tip based on the day but base a good day at $50 each. I've had a couple where we didn't tip the Captain the one day and when he dug deeper and tried harder the next I've tipped him the $100. Tips today are getting to be like airport tax, some think you just have to do it. Not me they earn a tip for doing above and beyond an average day and showing some knowledge skill and quality gear. The guy who got the biggest tip from me fished with us for three days and we caught only 4 fish. But he out thought and out worked each one of them.