how much to tip a guide?

[squeedunk]

What is expected as a tip for a day of guided fishing? Does it vary from walleye fishing to muskie fishing? I am headed up to LOW next week and am just wondering what the guides up there typically get for tips from their clients.

Thanks.

[jigginjim]

Since I also guide, it can be how your trip goes. If you had a good time, maybe learned a few things thats always good.

Several of my clients say "its not about alot fish all the time, just enjoy fishing some new lakes."

I Have hired guides when salt water fishing, or places when I don't have my boat. (ie, Great lakes, and lake of the woods). I also tip my guides 20% of the trip rate.

[harvey lee]

The first thing I would try to remember is that you cannot tip according to your catch for the day. If the fish are not biting then they cannot make them.

I have always tried to tip my guides 10-20% for the day or $50-75 dollars. If one has a good time and learns things while fishing with your guide then that should be considered a good day and a job well done.

I have tipped guides up to $100 for the day with two other fisherman but that isnt the norm.

[JohnMickish]

I've never hired a guide before so tell me why I should tip? He's a professional doing what he gets paid for. You don't tip your doctor, electrician or mechanic, they all answer the questions you ask too, and if you want to you can learn from them also.

I can understand if his employer was paying him under minimum wage like a wait staff and tips where expected but he's a paid professional, just like the guy that finishes your driveway, your garbage man and so on.

If I'm wrong let me know but If I'm paying someone 37.50 per hour (or so) and they also get a 20% tip should I start to expect one too when I do service calls?? I mean, should I send a tip the engineering firm when they do a good job?

I'm not saying I won't tip when I do hire a guide, just tell me why I should tip him and not the other professionals that help me out through life, and why you guys don't tip them too.

[harvey lee]

Post deleted by harvey lee

[gunflint]

My suggestion would be to just read your signature.

[Random guy]

How much to tip? Well how happy are you with the service? Did you learn what you wanted to learn? Was the boat, gear and tackle in good shape? It is all about the service, that should help you to decide how much to tip. On average I would say tips come in 15-30% of day rate.

[pfluemis]

Excluding the time, when I was 14 and went to the Church hill river in northern Canada, I have never stayed at a resort, or hired a guide. Explain to me how this works. I was under the impression you stayed at a resort, then looked for a guide seperately and hired them on your own, not as part of the resort stay.

My thought right now is, if it is part of the "package" staying at the resort, then I can see a tip being proper. If you hire a guide as a stand alone service, then I would think that the fee charged would cover everything, including, but not limited to, their time, expenses, and expertise.

I understand there is a quality factor too. But how would you know that your getting better quality from one vs. another. A middle of the road guide could take you out on a hot bite and you could conclude they really know their stuff, yet you could go out on a bad day and do decently with a top guide and you might think they are not so good, when in reality, they were a much better guide. They made what should have been a poor day, a decent day.

[harvey lee]

I believe that the majority of fisherman that do tip thier hired guides look at equipment, what was learned and not so much how many fish were caught.

One does not have to tip but I choose to because of what the guide has done for me above and beyond what I expected.

I have hired guides numerous times and lets say the trip was done at noon or whenever. I have had a slow day and about the time the day is to end or the bite has been slow my time runs out. Many guides have kept us out a little longer for no extra fee. That guide will get a nicer tip from me.

[JohnMickish]

The intent of my post is why do we tip some professionals and not all,(which nobody has answered yet). Sorry if it came out negative towards guides, it was not intended that way.

[harvey lee]

I had it answered but deleted it.

If I go to the doctor, I'm not there to learn how to put suture's in but, to have it sutured up. When I hire a guide, more times than not its on a new lake to learn the lake or how to fish the specie's in that lake.

Lets say I go to a lake I have never fished before and I'm going to spend the week. I will gladly hire a guide for the first day to learn what to use, where to fish so the rest of the week I will have some idea of where to go and what to use. Many lakes are very different and some hard to learn and find fish.

Every year myself and two other guy's go to a different lake of thier choice to fish. I can call a guide and dont have to worry about doing any research on that lake and just sit back and enjoy with all of thier equipment. If this guide shows me a very good time, he will be rewarded with something extra.

I guess for me it comes down to what I will learn for the day. If I learn something from that guide, great as I can use that for the rest of my life. I do not go to the doctor to learn anything other than to get fixed up. Same as an electrition, he fixes whats broke and thank-you.

I guess it comes down to what I want to learn from the guide for my enjoyment. The others I have to repair what I will probably never be able to do myself or want to.

I would say it all comes down to the service's rendered.

[pfluemis]

Quote:

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The intent of my post is why do we tip some professionals and not all,(which nobody has answered yet). Sorry if it came out negative towards guides, it was not intended that way.

---

100 years ago, doctors did get tips. They also would take chickens and canned goods as payment too. Nowday's, doctors have become part of a "system" seeing thousands of people and directing them either to the Pharmacy, or a specialist. 50 years ago, you used to take your car to your auto mechanic and he would fix the car, wash the windows, and fill the tank. You would pay the bill and tip him for his services. Nowday's, you give your key's to the service advisor and tell him/her the problems. They then relay this info to the mechanic that he/she feels will either fix the problem the best, or who has an opening. Intimate service people, like wait staff, still offer a service that offers personal attention to the customer. Some business sectors have evolved into "strictly business", while other sectors still retain the personal attention detail. That's my take on it anyway's.

[NEANGLER]

They are provding you a service, it is no different than going to a restaurant or bar and having a meal or a drink. Tip based on the service provided, did you learn a new lake, new tips or way of fishing, did he work his butt off if the fisihing was tough, was he personable? All these come into account but same general rule is 15-20%.

[Bryce]

Depends on the circumstances. Guide through an owner/oporator you should figure the tip is figured in to the bill. Exceptional service still gets a gratuity. Go through a resort and you can figure the guide is at low wage and tip accordingly. Again, exceptional service deserves an exceptional tip. Expect exponential dividends if you are a repeat customer and have tipped well in the past. The few times I have done the package deal on LOW, this strategy has worked well.

[squeedunk]

Thanks for all the input. The guide we are having is for all three days while we are at a resort. It is part of the total bill. We are required to pay for bait, gas, and shore lunch (if we want it), so this may be quite a bit different than a guided trip to help you learn a lake. I also plan on using all of my own equipment since I am comfortable with it and mine was much nicer than what the guide had to offer last year when we did this trip. Either way, it sounds like 20% would be acceptable, more with an extras from the guide.

I can't wait to have someone else drive the boat for a few days! It should be a great trip!

[Questor]

I dealt with an outfitter who set up a guided trip for me. The rule of thumb is to tip about the same percentage as at a restaurant: 15 percent is good. 20 percent is an excellent tip.

[lawdog]

I really think mnfishingguy's question is still valid, the whole concept of "tipping" is really a strange thing. You are buying his service and paying "x" amount for it, then if he does a good job, you have to pay him more? What are you paying him to do when you pay the original fee, just take up space and not actually try? This isn't just a guide thing either, I really don't like the concept in any setting. What is really strange with guides though is so many of these guys are independants or owner/operators so they set their own price, then you give them a tip? Nobody just gives me extra cash when I win a case for them, why should I give someone extra cash when they do the job I hired them for??? I just don't get it.

[genegodawa]

I pretty much tip in the customary situations (but I agree it doesn't make sense to me) and I'll add in another profession here - my barber. But in this case, I do it more because I believe his rates are already more than fair.

Reminds me of how I really like to tip - when it is not too common (at least for me)....like when I bought lunch for the movers after they got our stuff into our new house without any hassle and another time for the house painter and another time for the basement waterproofing crew. They are all doing work I'd rather not, and I just wanted them to know it was appreciated. Nothing extravagant and maybe it wasn't really much, but a McD's here or a coupla beers there went over pretty good.

For a guide I would say it would depend on the results: more fish/better time then I'd give a better tip especially in these days of high-priced bait and gas and boat insurance and engine maintenance and .....all costs.

I think I would rather have a fair rate and give a tip then pay a higher fixed rate without a tip. Just my feelings, right or wrong.

[Questor]

I agree with the previous post. In the places where I've hired guides the rates were fair and I could see he wasn't going to get rich, especially considering the capital costs. Guides spend a LOT on equipment and many replace things like outboard motors ANNUALLY.

I believe that tips are factored into a guide's fee on the assumption that people will tip generously if all goes well. It's sort of a quality indicator for them.

One note on tipping that I found sad but amusing. One of my nephews was a waiter on the US side of the border with Canada. He characterized the Canadians as "wallet retentive."

[slotlimit]

For me it would depend if I ever planned on using that guide again. IF so you might want to give him a nice tip so the next time he takes you to his best spots. Four of us go out to SD pheasant hunting every year and the guy charges us $300 per person, gives us his house and he moves out. We take him out for supper and leave him a $200 tip every year. He saves us 150 acres of CRP that he doesn't let anyone else hunt until after we have. I have never had a fishing guide but if I was to go to say LOW every year with the same guide on a fishing trip I'd leave a good tip but if it was just a one time deal why bother.

[Hammer Handle]

I guess I have never tipped a guide. I figure the "tip" is in their fee. I don't tip a mechanic that fixes my boat motor or car either after they give me sound advice on what was wrong. Isn't that the same thing?

I haven't used a guide much, maybe that is a good thing for I have never tipped one. I would rather learn the lake myself.

[palisade1kid]

I've read this whole thread and it seemes to me those that just pay the rate charged will get the basic service everyone gets.

Now if a guy tipped me over and above the normal fee ,on the next trip I'd bust my hump for that valued customer.

So do you want the normal regular everyday service or would you want the best you could get for a few extra dollars.

If money is that tight with those of you who think tipping is over the top then maybe you should not complain with average service.

[Hammer Handle]

So, if you only plan on using a guide once...then don't leave a tip? And, if you plan on using them again, tip well?

I guess that makes sense, althought I still don't understand the whole "tipping" thing. A guess a good mechanic gives him repeat business and that is his tip??

[Sandmannd]

I guess I have a hard time tipping someone that I'm paying $300 for a 4 hour outing or whatever you spend. Guides aren't cheap. Now if you expect a tip, you darn sure better bust your but to get one from me and not get one to give me better service the next time. I would think if you bust your butt your going to get return service and word of mouth. In the long run, that should be better than a $20 or more tip. I build PC's for a hospital and when they hire someone and need a PC tomorrow instead of the 4 days I usually get to build it, I bust my butt to get it done and get no extra money that day. If I do tip, I walk into a dining or other exeriance with the mind set that you start at 10%, you can go up or down from there. If I ever run out of soday, your down a lot. If I have to keep calling you over instead of just checking on us it goes down. If you give me good service it stays at 10%. If you give me great service it goes up to 20%. I hate the idea that everyone deserves a 20% tip because that's what they live on. If you want a good tip, work for it. If you aren't friendly don't expect one. My 2 cents anyway.

[uphill]

Crappiekieth, so what you are saying is the first time you guide me I am going to get average service? That is what I am going to base my tip on. Then I give you a tip based on your average sevice to me so my next trip will be average because I didn't tip that much? Wow not very business savey if you ask me. Bust your hump the first time = great tip, average service first trip = average tip and possibly a different guide my next trip. If you are in the service industry shouldn't you treat everybody the same on there first trip out with you and do the best job possible so they come back to you again. Just my .02