Tipping a fishing guide is a common practice among anglers, but there is still some confusion as to how, when and why guides should be tipped. Generally, an adequate tip is around 20% of the cost of the trip. However, the amount can vary depending on the diligence, kindness, skill and willingness of your guide to teach and go the extra mile. When it comes to all-inclusive packages or trips that bundle accommodation, food, and guide service into one price, customers can typically expect to leave between 8 and 12 percent of the total cost.
This percentage is a benchmark, but it can definitely increase if the service exceeds standards. At the end of a fishing trip, when you return to the dock, it's your turn to take care of the good fishermen who took care of you. Tipping for a fishing trip has the same general rule as tipping the waiter, with 10-20% being a common practice. It's a good idea to start with 15% and go up or down depending on how satisfied you are with the trip. Keep in mind that guides spend hours preparing for a trip.
Despite their experience, having the right bait and being in the best places, sometimes fish just don't bite. When it comes to tipping, you pay for your time, effort, and attention, not fish. Guides make a difference in rivers, lakes and salt pans, and are a key component of the trip that allows you to focus on fishing and the beautiful places the fish call home. When a fisherman has a fish on, it's the sailor's job to help during the fight before grabbing, screwing up, or tying the fish's tail to get it on board. Typically speaking, fishing guides become fishing guides because they love everything related to sports.
These include fishing from larger vessels on the high seas, usually when fly fishing for sea fish. Fishing is all about the experience, so if a guide is friendly and fun, attentive and willing to help anyway, that's what it takes to be a good fishing guide and the tip usually represents my appreciation for that. In other words, since there are many unpredictable factors that influence whether or not fish will be in the mood to eat on any given day, the amount of fish your guide helps you catch should not be your primary tipping consideration. At Fly Fishing Fix we strongly believe in and advocate for a good tip, regardless of how many fish you catch. In general, fifteen percent is considered the minimum amount to tip your guide. In a group setting, anglers can split tips but they should help their fishing partner with advanced knowledge to prevent them from feeling embarrassed at the end of the fishing day. Therefore, when fishing with a guide - even if you have fished there before - it is best to follow their example and let them do their job. Just as a professional financial advisor knows which funds to invest in and which to avoid, a good fishing guide knows where the fish are and where they aren't.
Right next to the fly fishing guide costume shop there should also be a fishing guide vehicle dealership. Having been fly fishing for almost fifty years I can say that I have become very good at riding my rod and riding my line for a wide variety of fly fishing situations. In short, when you think about tipping fishing guides and other staff at the fishing lodge I prefer to tip 20% in total but if I feel especially grateful for their effort I don't hesitate to go up from there.
