Help Please - tipping fishing guides

I am seeking some guidance - here in Oz tipping (gratuities) is something only done with taxi drivers and restaurants and then ONLY when you receive good service. I understand that in the US tipping is the norm.

We are visiting both Canada and Alaska in July and August and as an avid fisherman I have arranged a trip to a remote lodge as well as several day fishing charters - my question, and it is a simple one, is:

Is it customary to tip fishing guides, is there a customary acceptable level of tips and does it vary depending upon what sort of day you have had. Finally when staying at a lodge should we tip our guide each day or at the end of ther stay.

Your feedback would be much appreciated

Regards

Nick - Perth Australia

this is all purely at your discretion... but if they work hard for you, they deserve it. It's by no means lucrative, and the ones putting you on fish most of the time are the runts of the lodge. They aren't there for the money, but for the gratitude of being immersed in the realm of fishing, and your success is all they think about if they are a great guide.

maybe they just didn't like you 

ORIGINAL: LakeErieMonster

what if the guide works for a lodge that isn't paying him?

 
Then he's a slave.  Help him escape.

Seriously many thanks for your feedback - my real concern here is that I want to do the right thing, been fishing solidly for 55 years and have chartered and used guides a few times in Oz, end result, the most expensive by far and away gave the worst advice, service, took us to a place in the NT which would have been lucky to have seen a barra in 20 years thanks to the extensive netting by professionals and I even had to skipper his boat as he couldn't get it back on the trailer. Darwin - old guide, battered tinny in Darwin Harbour, cheap as, learnt more about soft plastic fishing for barra and jacks in four hours than years of fishing had taught me. Similarly went on the lower Ord on a cheap one day trip, Macca's, and had an absolutely amazing time, got sick of catching barra, had a huge croc take the best fish of the day from my wife's rod and learnt heaps but, seriously, people in Oz don't tip guides but here minimum wages are LAW and, as I understand it, good guides shop themselves around and secure reasonable returns.

My dilemmma at the lodge is that I might be one of only a very few (16 max but most are wildlife enthusiasts) so I might finally get the opportunity to catch salmon (dont care which type as all will be released) char and steelhead and I hope whilst in Alaka to finally catch a lifelong dream - the lowly grayling. All courtesy of a long time employer who reckoned they didnt want me experience any more = big check and the opposition snapping me up immediately for a better salary and four days a week - love Friday fishing. 9 weeks to go and - Vancouver (8 days) and Alaska 5 weeks(most amazing tourist website - will benefit from the tourist dollars :-)

I would say 20-25$ a guy is good, that's what we usually do if the service is good, that doesn't mean just catching fish.
If a guide works hard to try to put fish in the boat or on the streambank, then you should tip them well. I've been on bad trips where they never tired switching tactics if the fish were not hitting, just trolled around on a 8 hour boat ride. I've been on trips with no fish, but the guide/captain worked their butts off to put fish in the boat. It just depends on what kind of service you get and part of that is doing some research. This forum is good for that, it's hard when you are planning a trip that far away, but you can still search for info.
But, yes tipping is standard on these trip in the US and I would guess Canada as well.

The best way to look at tipping a guide is to think of it this way....
How many times have you hired someone for some type of service and wished you could have paid less because you thought the service was lacking? A good example of this happened to me just today when I took my car to the local garage to get worked on. When the mechanic was finished, I paid the bill, and got in the car to drive away, and noticed a grease stain on my floor mat. In this case he stained the floor mats that I put in the car during guiding season which are already dirty, but if this wasn't the case, it would be a big deal. If that mechanic worked with tips as part of his pay he wouldnt be getting much.

With that being said, if your guide is lazy, doesn't teach you anything, is rude, cuts your day short, is late showing up etc... you get the chance to reflect that in how much you pay him. On the other hand, if your guide puts you on fish, is pleasant, attentive, and you end up learning something, you should surely reflect that in the tip.

As far as what dollar amount to tip your guide, I can't answer that, since every situation is different. The best way to judge it is to put yourself in the guides shoes, and ask yourself how much you would want to be tipped. Make sure to remember if you plan on using this guide again, he'll surely remember how much you tipped last time.

I've had clients who have caught their biggest fish ever on a dry fly and though they were being generous with what I considered a very small tip, and have had some mediocre days where I was tipped more than I ever expected. In both cases the tips were appreciated.

Bottom line is, if you have a good experience show it in the tip.