Tipping the charter guide

[jungleboy]

Just curious as to what the averge tip is or the guide on a charter boat. Wife and I are going on a one day trip in PR on Monday and it's a first for us on any kind of a guided trip.

[Tofinoguy]

Always a good question that comes up often. After being in the industry for over 30 years i would like to make a couple of point.

If the fishing is slow, don't blame the guide......unless the other boats are all catching fish except you. Most fish are migratory, he can't catch them if they aren't there. Base your tip on his effort. Is he checking the gear often? Is he changing up his presentations? Is he networking with other guides to see if there is a bite going on somewhere else? Is he a friendly, service orientated person that is fun to spend the day fishing with?

I usually suggest a minimum of $20 per person but more is always appreciated.

Have a great trip!

[jungleboy]

Thanks for that we were thinking 10 to 15% based on the price of the trip which is 1200 I was being the cheapskate at 10 while Wifey was being more generous at 15 lol

[Wes_G]

You will probably get a range of opinions here from "I don't tip anything" to large sums of money.

After guiding for 10 years I will agree with what Tofinoguy says. Don't base your tip purely on how many fish that you catch. Just because a person is a guide it doesn't make the fish bite your hook, and we have just as good and bad days of fishing as everyone else.

[Tofinoguy]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

Thanks for that we were thinking 10 to 15% based on the price of the trip which is 1200 I was being the cheapskate at 10 while Wifey was being more generous at 15 lol

$120 is a very generous tip

[jungleboy]

While I would love to be on fish all day I realize it's not how it works I'm here for a good time and if fish happen then that's a bonus not basing a tip on numbers but on service /good time .

[PerchBuster]

If my guide tries hard and puts me on the meat I will personally tip $100/$150 no problem and happy to do so. The rest of my group can chip in from there. I think it's worth every penny. You're stepping on the boat with a pro, many years of experience and knowledge of the area, keeps you safe, knows where the bite is happening and how to catch them. It's a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, reward them for success, that's what it is all about I think!

[the local angler]

i went on a charter out of the same harbor where the BC ferries dock and our day trip was for 5 hours and we fished for 4.5 hours with out a bite, then the tides started to change and we hooked a small Chinook about 8" long released it then a sockeye right after and released it due to out of season. so we decided to tack on another hours as the bite seemed to pick up. then the next thing we know we were getting reports of crab traps with too short of a line so you couldn't see the buoy marker just under the water surface. we ended up snagging one and all hell broke loose as we frantically tried to remedy the situation and he put the boat in reverse and then all the rest of the lines and including the down rigger cables went straight into the prop and caused a huge mess. so the guide and myself are hanging 3/4 out of the boat trying to untangle this mess. finally things were under control and we still had just over a half hour to fish and none of us were in a good mood so we called it a day. me i kinda thought it was a gong show but we still tipped the guide $80 as this was my first fishing charter experience ever. i don't blame him for the crab trap thing but i was was expecting to go out farther then just the green bridge where everyone else was just in front of the harbor.