Charter fishing - tip

[journeyman713]

Been going back and forth on what to tip for a charter fishing trip.
Solo captain/owner, small vessel, no crew, 1/2 day, just the 2 of us.
On one hand - his price is built in.
On the other - with no crew, he's doing double duty.
If he cleans the fish - he went above and beyond.
What say the rokslide community?

 

[Dewy]

I usually do 10-20% depending on the effort of the Capt. I always take my kids, teenage twins, with me so I take that into consideration as well.

 

[j_volt]

$100

 

[loganwayne]

@Dewy all over it i think. Even if you dont catch fish or alot of fish if the Capt. is putting some serious effort into trying to find fish ill still tip good. not his fault they aint biting.
On the other hand if its slow and he's doing nothing to change things up hes gonna get a smaller tip.

 

[bigsky_hunter]

As a former fishing guide I would average about $200 a day. This was a large operation and I would have the same guests for 4 days. $100 for 1/2 day is fair. Base the tip on overall experience and effort by guide not necessarily the amount of fish caught. Working with 30 other guides it was well known that big fish/quantity didn’t mean more money.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

If the captain is the owner and he has no crew to pay then he is keeping 100% of the profits.

I wouldn’t tip in that situation.

 

[JoshOR]

10-20%. Same as going out to eat.

 

[I Am Gunz]

I just did a trip out of Port Washington about 2 months ago. Was me, my dad, his neighbor and kid. Guide did an awesome job and really exceeded what we truly expected. we tipped him $100 and about 6 beers lol. He wasn't the captain/owner though so it was a little different situation. I am kind of more leaning toward Thinhorn's point of no tip, or a small tip.

 

[gbflyer]

I owned my own boat and never expected gratuity. Most of my customers were aware. I never felt bad about accepting a tip from a walk-on, I tried to get my regulars to keep it in their pockets. Some would, others insisted.

 

[JPC6000]

Really, depends on the experience for me. 0-15%, if I think he went above and beyond then 15%, If I feel ripped off then 0.

 

[Weldor]

Just read a woods and water article on the same subject. This author thinks 20% is fair. I think he's out of his mind. It is a business out to make money, not a charity. I tip on all my hunts, some more than others. Never based on what percent of the trip. If I'm paying $20 grand to hunt a $4000 tip seems excessive to me. Ok, now you can beat me up. I figure a one on one just say for Deer, $100 bucks a day is fair in my mind.

 

[TaperPin]

A $20 bill each day is great for anyone in the skilled service industries - “Here, I just wanted to buy you lunch.” For seasonal jobs or situations where more of their income is compressed into a shorter amount of time, $50 or $100 a day may be equally appropriate. Pay less if that’s your budget - I’ve paid less than someone deserved and simply said, “You deserve more, but times are tight for us right now.” They understand and appreciate the kind words.

When it’s a business and the hired help is doing all the work, I’ll tip them and not the owner. Too many jackasses get credit for the guys making things happen.

I’ve spent a career catering to the wealthy and must have a soft spot for jerks that don’t appreciate a hard earned skill that they will never have, even if my time was given away for free. Even those that only tipped $20 at the end of the week were nice folks, every one of them - it was a nice gesture. 20 years from now you can be remembered by everyone in your lifetime that works for you as a nice person or an entitled one. Lol

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Just read a woods and water article on the same subject. This author thinks 20% is fair. I think he's out of his mind. It is a business out to make money, not a charity. I tip on all my hunts, some more than others. Never based on what percent of the trip. If I'm paying $20 grand to hunt a $4000 tip seems excessive to me. Ok, now you can beat me up. I figure a one on one just say for Deer, $100 bucks a day is fair in my mind.

Im with you. I personally think the tip should be included in the price if they expect customers to pay their employees salaries. Im also sick of being guilted into feeling bad for low salary workers, that isn't really anybodies fault but their own.

 

[roadrunner]

Personal choice. The guides wages are figured into the trip price. Operating expense is figured into the trip price.

You pay for the trip, not the outcome (fish caught or tag filled).

 

[cb2176]

About $100.

Ocean fishing, certainly more.

 

[Yoder]

I would tip a guy that's the owner/captain way less than a deck hand. It's his business, what does he need a tip for? Here's a tip, charge more money.

 

[SDHNTR]

If he works hard, 10-20%, just like anything else. And this is coming from a guy who spent his formative years working on sportfishing charter boats. If you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford the trip.

 

[journeyman713]

Thanks for the replies.
Trip went well, caught Redrum (Redfish).
He was tipped well.

 

[LAhunter4962]

As a former fishing guide I’d say anywhere from 10-20% was my average tip, I’d say look at how hard the guide is trying to out you on fish. Some of my best tips when I was guiding actually came on slower days where I grinded more and helped my clients catch fish in tougher conditions.

 

[DangerRanger]

Just read a woods and water article on the same subject. This author thinks 20% is fair. I think he's out of his mind. It is a business out to make money, not a charity. I tip on all my hunts, some more than others. Never based on what percent of the trip. If I'm paying $20 grand to hunt a $4000 tip seems excessive to me. Ok, now you can beat me up. I figure a one on one just say for Deer, $100 bucks a day is fair in my mind.

I feel like once you get into the multi thousand dollar hunts especially if the company is owned by your guide it just seems like nonsense to be tilling over a grand.

The tip should be like a nice thank you for going above and beyond for me and here’s some cherry on top. If I’m paying 2+ grand in cash over what you quoted me idk you should just charge more.