What is considered proper "etiquette" in tipping a river guide in this state? I understand they provide a service, for a fee, but it seems that tipping is part of the equation. If they charge $175 for a seat in the boat for a day, work hard for you and show you a good time, how much is a reasonable tip?

I round up to 200.

$50-100 (well for 2 people) unless the Guide is a total loser...Like the time we fished the Skagit w/ a guide who hadn't caught a fish in a week and STILL said "come on up" instead of being up front and saying ahead of time..."Hey fishin' sucks, whatcha wanta do?"...
Hell we give $25-30 for fuel to friends (in water or dry storage) just to troll in front of the Edmonds Marina for 4hrs and wonder if it's enough.
Sumthang better than nothang...

Forgot to mention, mine charges 165

I am pretty much a straight up 20% tipper, unless the guy or gal doesn't put the work in then the percentage goes down accordingly.

I guided for twelve years after I retired, so I might have a biased perspective. I think that a 15 to 20 percent tip is in order IF the guide did his job, which means:

Did he deliver on what he advertises or told you on the phone or in person? Was his equipment in good working order? Did he have all the euipment he needed to perfom the tasks? Did he catch fish for you or give you a reasonable chance to catch fish? Was he pleasant to be with? Did he work hard to deliver.

I didn't always expect a tip, but was pleased to get one. I wasn't a high profile guide at all, mostly servicing clients from the Alaska lodge where I guided in the summer, and fishing on the Columbia and the O.P. under the best of conditions. My clients were very good tippers because I kind of high graded them from the lodge. and knew what they were like before I invited them.

People want to catch fish, of course, but what they want most is to have a good time. If you have a good time with the guide, I think they deserve a tip in the range of 15 to 20 percent. If you have a world beater type day that will be among your best ever, dig a little deeper in your wallet.

Just a thought: I have a friend who went to Tofino a few years ago, and asked me about tipping his salmon guide there. My buddy has a few bucks. I told him to introduce himself to the guide with a $100 dollar handshake, then tell him what he wanted to do for the day, and say "Please just take care of us". It really worked, and I'll tell you why from the guides perspective: In Alaska working in a lodge, you might get the same guests 3, 4, or 5 days in a row. If they decide not to tip you until the end of the 5 day trip, you, the guide begin to wonder if you will even get a tip? If they tip you well at the end of the first day, you can't wait to see them again the next day, and will bust your butt for them. It's just human nature.

when i fish on a charter boat i hand the deck hand a 20 as we start out and say more if you take care of me. never have to wait for anything

$25.00 rarely a buck more.Based on a $175.00 Trip.Good luck,
SZ

Tug,
Good to see you on board, give me a call or come fishing with me, you always have a seat here !!!

Peace
Superfly

Handing money out on a crowded boat is a good idea.

Guides are under paid in the first place. I know guides are supposed to catch you fish, but lets face it, its still fishing and skunk days do happen. this is not an invitation not to tip if you were treated well and had a good time. rounding up to $200 should be a given. For Steelhead it should be 20$ per fish hooked on top of that.

If you are the type to use a guide to fish for information on a given river system and your intentions are to not have to use the guide again, you should tip $100 and let it be known ahead of time. Most decent guides will respect your intentions and most likely give you more information than you would get otherwise.

If you are late to the launch in the morning you should tip an extra $50 no matter what happens!

geez..i thought the $175 covered the tip. I guess that's why i bought my own drift boat. Payin a guide is way too expensive for me to begin with.
Not that i dont tip..just never thought of it the couple times I paid for the guide. Both were total losers anyway.

On a $175 guided trip, I give at least $220.

fool

I never got a tip for "teaching kids"..........and some of the parents should have paid big bucks..........

One of my reason's I only tip $25.00 on a $175.00 trip is the fact that I supply my own rods and gear,bait so basically all the guide is really doing is rowing me safely down the river and some times saying cast here or there.If my truck is not used for the shuttle then I will pay for the shuttle and still cover the $25.00 tip.Which add's up to what floatin' fool pay's out usually.When a guide is getting two clients and $400.00 per day that's good pay,the problem is it's not every day or even 5 day's a week so it makes it tough.Good luck,
SZ

Well i guess I wont be hiring a guide if that is proper etiquette.
I can go fish for three days in Forks for $225 and stay in a room at the Forks motel for two nights. Just cant do it.

What if the guide sleeps in and is late to the launch? Not that it would ever happen. . . .right?

fb

Must be that time of year--This topic comes up annually


Here's a tip "never eat a berry off the bush lower than you waist"

Ah, the ever-frequent guide tipping thread.

Can anyone provide 5 good reasons why guide tipping is a common practice where those same reasons couldn't be applied to any other job/career/profession?

The history of how and why guide tipping has become so acceptable is curious to me.

Fishing guides, bartenders, servers, hell even the barber who cuts my hair, any and all professionals that you tip shouldn't be subject to a guaranteed "tip" or even a standard tipping percent.

I'm not one of those people who ALWAYS leaves a 15% tip. Before you think I'm some cranky d!ck who's stingy on tipping, I'm actually a fairly generous tipper and usually tip 20% or up for good service.

However, when I get sh!tty service, be it at a restaurant or from a fishing guide, I have no problem giving little to no tip. If someone half asses their work or doesn't give 2 schits about me or makes my experience less than pleasurable, then the hell with giving them 15% or even 5%. On the flip side, if my guide or waiter is great, makes it a memorable day on the water or if the service was great and I enjoyed my time at their restaurant because of them, I'll tip them well and tell em they made me experience special.

Fortunately, most people in service related industries are for the most part pretty good folk and I don't have too many bad experience. If you do a $hitty job you shouldn't get tipped, nor should you expect to get tipped. If you are that person, you have the wrong perception on how things work and need to be told so. Vice versa, if you have a guide who's bending over backwards for you and making your day a most memorable one, tip the help and tell him he did a great job....

True enough, but how many fish are you going to catch on your own and with how many of your best friends will you be bonking elbows while you're fishing? if you don't value you the service, well, nothing to be said but don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

Fishing with an accomplished guide (for native steel especially) is worth the money. They will get you into fish you wouldn't have gotten into otherwise and you get to fish all day, no rowing, just fishing. That is worth $225 to me at least a couple times a year. I learn something significant every time I go with a guide and some of my best trips have been guided.

To each their own, but don't discount a guided trip and what it is worth in the short and long term.