i guess this may be a contraversial (best i can spell) thing. when i take a guided trip here is how i pay. if it is owner operator and it cost 700 i pay 700 and tip 20 if he cleans fish. now if there are deck hands i tip them seperatly cause they work there *** off and if capt is hired i will tip him. to me if guide is owner operator and am paying basically 100 a hour i don't tip. if he has deck hand doing work i will tip deck hand. i am not cheap i tip very good every where i go. but if i am already paying 100 a hour why should i tip. i suck i know. i am going to get it on this one.
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Yeah you will probably get blasted on this one... I basically try to tip around $100. It really depends on how hard the captain tries to put me on fish. If he tries he gets more if he doesn't then he gets less. Notice I said nothing about catching fish as it is still called fishing, but rather how hard the man tries to earn his money. -
It is all about the experience. It sounds like you are going off shore/jetties if you are paying 700 and the boat has deck hands. I tip is subjective. If you had a great time, caught tons of fish, learned something - then the tip should show that.
If the guide was not personable, did not seem to care (phone it in) and did not provide you with a fun experience then a small tip if non is appropriate which I would imagine would be 20 per person.
Now please notice that I did not say "not catch fish" because there are those days where the fish seem to have their mouth's closed, winds high, water muddy, etc and the guide busts his/her but to get you on the fish but just could not do it. I would tip because they went above and beyond probably spent 100+ in gas, and they will get my return business.
But in the end tip what you feel is right. Since I fish every weekend, I may tip more because I know what it costs to fish, scout, maintain a boat, and deal with some irritating people.Comment
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Eight of us chartered a boat out of Glaveston a few years ago. Paid cash to the owner and guide of the boat. The deck hand Jody worked his butt off, he did everything for us before we even asked. On the way back to the dock we were talking to Jody and he told us that he had to split his tips with the gudie 50/50. When we go to the dock the guide said he would clean the fish for a fee if we wanted. We told him no thank you we would do it ourselves. The guide left leaving Jody there to clean the boat so we told him where we were staying and to come by for a couple beers that evening and we would take care of him then because we didn't think it was right for the guide take half of his tip. We ran into the guide as we were leaving and told him we were not pleased with his attitude and bad manners while we were out and there would not be a tip. Jody did come by and we rewarded him handsomely.
We tip according to how the trip goes. If the guide trys hard and has a great attitude we usually tip 10%-20% of the cost of the trip. If not he gets nadda.Comment
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He isnt making $100 an hour. Bait tackle fuel and boat cost eats up alot of the $100 an hour. I know keeping boats up running and flawless is not cheap. Just ask my wife.Comment
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Im a guide and get 750 a day on my gar trips. Depending on conditions, I may have a deck hand. I don't expect a tip but I appreciate it . Im going to go above and beyond to make the trip happen. If the fish don't bite I will offer to cut the cost in half.
I pay my deckhands but I really appreciate them being tipped. To me..tip is optional. If a client feels they got more than their moneys worth, most will tip. The ones that have a great time and tip well usually get the call when the fishing is best and get taken to the best holes. If a client is a jerk, it doesn't matter how well he tips, he wont be back on my boat.
I have a couple of great clients that I really enjoy that never tip. I don't think they ever even considered it. They are easy to please though and enjoyable to have on the boat.
I guess what Im saying is, if you finish the trip and are thinking that you cant wait to do it again, Tip him well. It will go a long way on the next trip.Last edited by GarGuy; 07-01-2014, 02:26 PM.Comment
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We went on a halibut charter out of Homer in May. Me and the wife and two other couples. Cost was $250/head. It was a company owned boat with a hired captain and two female deckhands. We fished hard and got limits. The girls and the captain were great. I think I tipped the deckhands $40 each and the captain $60. That was to cover me and my wife. Not sure what the other couples tipped. Probably half of what I did. I've worked on a boat and know what it takes, so if the service is there, I tip hard, especially when they are all hired hands. The number of fish caught doesn't matter as long as the crew is working to get us on the fish.Comment
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As the owner/operator of hunting operation, I feel you are off base. A lot of times the tips are the difference in the owner/operator making money or breaking even. If Im busting my butt for you on the same level my guys are, why tip one different than the other? The owner/operator has the burden of all the administrative work, the capital investment, etc. He is spending untold hours outside of the actual fishing trip to make that trip possible. The guide simply shows up, does his job and goes home. I can assure you @ $100/hr a fishing operation isnt making much if any money. Last year, I guided with 3 others on a corporate trip I had on my place. I was given $1500 and told to split it between the 3 guides which I did. Guess who wont be guiding that group next year? Im sure they felt I had "made enough" on the hunts, when in fact, Im lucky to break even at the end. It isnt about the money with me, it is the appreciation shown for the work and effort that goes into what I do. When Im given money and told to divide it equally, I normally take $100-$200 to cover my diesel for the trip and give the rest to my guys. For me Im lucky and money isnt an issue, so I guide for those I want to year in and year out. Also, remember the owner/operator doesnt have to take you on as a client. If you dont take care of him/her, I bet the next time you try to book with him/her, they will be "booked solid".
The group I fish with normally dont use guides but on the few occassions we do, we normally tip close to the daily rate if the guide did his job. So if the trip cost us $600 as a group we probably tip $500 if the guide busted his butt. Ive had a few guides, "phone it in" and I didnt tip them $1. And catching fish or killing my quarry has never figured into what I tip. This is just my opinion and my experiences. Take from it what you will.Comment
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I don't want to take any business but i fish a lot in galveston, sabine and Calcasieu
if yall wanna pitch in for gas and aren't overally freaked out if we don't catch then lets do it.Comment
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I used to guide for crappie on Lake Palestine and this was an issue several times for me. I worked hard at finding and staying on fish so my clients would have a good trip and have fish to take home. Many times i would kill myself and let people fish an extra hour or two just to make sure they got what they came for only to get done cleaning a limit of fish and have them give me what the trip cost and no tip. I would get upset because it was like a slap in the face, i went above and beyond to make it worth their $300 and gave up my time and gave them an extra hour or two and it wasn't appreciated. So i thought if they will not pay i will go up on my prices to cover all my expenses, then i got hammered for raising my prices. Guiding is a tough business where your clients most of the time have unrealistic expectations of what you are able to do. Most expect to pay the $ and you WILL provide the service and PRODUCE the game. Some days you are the hero and the next you are the zero. I feel for you guys that have chosen to make your living as a guide, it is a rewarding but very challenging job that you will never be appreciated for as you should. That being said if i go on a guided trip and the service is their even if the fish are not biting i would still tip as good as i was able.
ClayComment
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I feel it is up to the owner to figure what it costs to run a boat for a day and charge accordingly so he can make a living. He should include labor in his calculation. If his help goes above expectations I will tip generously.Comment
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Yep.............not to be rude but you are a bad client! As someone said earlier it is about the experience.Comment
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I am sorry but if you are a guide either hunting or fishing and are not making any money at all on what you charge either raise your fees or find another business. If a fishing guide is charging $700 a day, he is spending $100 on fuel, $100 on his boat and upkeep, and you can even take away another $100 for miscellaneous and it still leaves him with $400 per day profit. That 2k per week so 100k per year. Not a bad income.
Please don't get me wrong when I do use a guide and he works hard and I have have a great experience with him I tip usually around 20% of the trip but I will not tip the amount of the trip.Comment
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I tip whoever is the captain the same as i do a waiter. 10-20% based on service. My captain i use the most owns the company and always gets 20% tip cause i think he earns itComment
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