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[jacked55]

Just wondering what the majority of people would considered a fair gratuity for a one day ocean salmon fishing charter, assuming the charter experience was good.

[TheChumWhisperer]

at least 10-15%, or up to 50$.

[salmonlover]

just depends on you really. when I went on a charter three years ago. I had such a blast slaying chinooks only boat that was that day!. I gave the guide 100 bucks. Generosity should come from the heart not percentages. Go with what you feel they deserve.

[CohoMan]

We gave 10% but I threw in another $20 to the young 19 year old that baited our hooks and netted the fish.

[silver ghost]

I'd say $100 bucks minimum is polite

[bbronswyk2000]

I'd say $100 bucks minimum is polite

I agree unless the guide was lazy and didnt work hard enough. You cant judge it based on how good the fishing was. We had a guide last year that tried desperately to get us into fish and blew a ton of gas. In the end we caught fish but not as much as expected. He still got his $100 tip.

[Driller]

I'd tell the guy you had a great day on the water and youd like him to take his wife out for dinner on you, and give him 50 bucks.  That's a big tip.  None of this hundred bucks stuff!  You already paid a lot for the trip.  That being said, if you make a decent income, and 100 bucks isn't a big deal to you, then don't be so cheap!  Give the guy a hundred bucks!!! 

[Tex]

We gave 10% but I threw in another $20 to the young 19 year old that baited our hooks and netted the fish.

Good for you, sounds like you were generous and had a good time!

Tips are all about effort, as others have said.  bb2000 nailed it when he mentioned that it's not dependent on if you caught fish or not - sometimes you just don't catch fish.  On the other side of the coin, if you caught lots of fish but the guide was lazy/offensive/etc, then lowballing him/her or even giving them no tip is fine by me.

[crazypop]

You make tons of money! Tip large my friend!!

[oolichan2]

We always do $50 bucks per head per day if the guide works hard. So $200 for a group of 4. I tell the guys I fish with that that's what we tip up front, anyone too cheap can stay home.

I have only had 1 bad guide for 1 day on an OBMG so haven't had to tip less.

These guys live and die on tips and IMO 10% is not enough. That would only be 90 bucks on a 900 ocean charter, and 40 bucks for a day out with one of Murphy's guys on the stamp. Not enough considering these guys are up at 5am getting the boat ready, they fish you 8-10 hours, clean your fish after, clean the boat, gas up and tie rigs for the next day. 15 hour days to get tipped the same percentage as a server at the Cactus club.

[oolichan2]

I should add do your research before choosing a guide and you'll never have a bad trip. I know I'm in for a good day with a guy like 'Nog, or Rollie, or Gill McKean, Dustin K, etc.

[Sandy]

I'm beginning to see the merit on the Euro no tip they are paid pro's theory as some outfits are abusing the principle.

last year we went out on an afternoon trip from Vancouver with some visitors from Scotland, good fishing, boat hand worked hard but the skipper was sadly laking in people skills, curt and a racist. You do not tell racists jokes to your clientele or make derogatory statements about visual minorities ,especially when you have no idea who your clients are.
again boathand saved the afternoon.
skipper even told us all he pays little as the boat hand makes his money on tips. Note to Skipper! min wage !!!

since heard this guy has packed it in! could that be no referals?

had another trip where the O/O guide refused a tip as he was only doing what he was paid for ( this is who we thought we were re-booking).

so in short, O/Oguides your fees only, boat hands and working guides, sliding scale depending on the effort, pot will sweeten the better the experience had ie: fish, good company.

[mko72]

I've been checking out the guiding websites, and need a little clarification.  I used to coach wakeboarding and we charged per head, not for the boat. So when a guiding service charges $500 for 1 person, $530 for 2, $575 for 3 etc. etc.  That's total right?  You're essentially paying $500 to rent the boat for half a day, then every extra body is $30.  So one person would pay $500 but three people could split the $575 three ways right?  If that's the case then one should certainly tip freely, especially if the guide is cleaning and packaging your fish! 

I used to refuse tips from wakeboarders' (read: kids') parents because I felt that I was just doing my job.  So part of me wants to say that if the guide is no good, or the skipper is a RACIST (wow) then I wouldn't tip. You are paying a lot to be there and most people forget that a tip is a reward for great service above and beyond the call of duty. 

It's such a grey area.  The pimply kid busting his butt and sweating bullets at McDonald's doesn't merit a tip but the busty blonde in the short skirt who takes your coat at Cactus Club and screws up your drink order feels entitled to a large tip just because she won the genetic poker tournament? 

[zabber]

most people forget that a tip is a reward for great service above and beyond the call of duty. 

I was under the impression that a 10-15% tip is just "customary"/expected, regardless of the service.

That being said, I've left no tip/a p!ss poor tip for horrid service (e.g. making our party wait 30 minutes for a bill while also screwing up orders and being relatively unfriendly) and will tip freely for exceptional service if I feel the "customary" percentage is not enough. Haha, reminds me of that scene in Reservoir Dogs...

Back to tipping on charters.

[Rodney]

I think every time you make a post on Fishing with Rod, you should tip the website owner 10 cents... Just think how much time he invests in sitting here, late at night or early morning, reading through each post to make sure they follow the guidelines, risking work-related illness like obesity...