Steel Bunny Posted January 20, 2015 Report Posted January 20, 2015 not all guides are professional...just like all servers aren't amazing either Well if you chose a guide that isnt professioanl, you havent done your research Teasin' ya.
Steel Bunny Posted January 20, 2015 Report Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) A tip is a way to say thank you for a job well done. If he has a boat ready to go when you get there. If he packs a decent lunch . If his boat is clean and well stocked with equipment. Basically if you feel like it is fishing with a friend rather than having someone who just puts in time to have you on the water. Most of the bass fishing is catch and release so him cleaning your fish is not usually a service they offer. I would go for a saltwater trip before a bass trip you will see more beauty as well as fish that fight harder. Art Edited January 21, 2015 by Steel Bunny
bare foot wader Posted January 20, 2015 Report Posted January 20, 2015 Ive hired one guide in my life and we tipped him because he dropped one of us back at shore early, and because he let us do something illegal on his boat. THATS what I call going the extra mile I got a captain you can call in florida..he'll run you from south beach to cuba and back doing some midnight tarpon fishing
aplumma Posted January 20, 2015 Report Posted January 20, 2015 If I were the guy with the nice clean, well stocked boat, and I was charging the same as the guy next door with a dirty ass old boat, id feel pretty dumb. If the clean boat charges more than the dirty boat then you point is invalid. LOL keep it coming! Actually you have no idea if you hired the dirty ass boat till you get there. I have seen $500.00 charters that had broken poles,bait wells that will turn your stomach. lunches of wilted lettuce and lunch meat that should have been condemned. Now if you charter very rarely then you might have not ever chartered with a bad Captain so you don't have a comparison to see how good a trip can be. The other side of the coin is are you a good customer? I have had a few charters that I would allow to come back out for free on a day that I was not chartered but scouting for new spots. I also have a few that I am forever booked and can't possible take them out again. It really is up to how you act as to how you will be treated. Case in point I was up North and a guide was waiting on the dock for his customer. We talked for a few minutes and I was throwing a saltwater bait and he like the action and said that should be a good Muskie bait. I had another one in my boat so I cut it off and gave it to him. We talked a few minutes more and he asked how my fishing had been and I said great but I was looking for a few more good pike spots. He then did the one thing that most guides never do he started to mark up a map for me of good pike spots. So I got my map and we traded notes of places to catch what we were after. In 10 minutes we both had expanded our knowledge of the water more than we would have in a month of fishing. His only request was not to show others the map since it is how he makes his living and because I fish the waters one week a year he was not concerned about me burning out his spots. That is a GOOD guide who helps everyone he can no matter if he was getting a tip. So you wonder did I give him a tip.... well not in money but I gave hima secret arsenal of baits that the Muskies haven't seen yet. Art
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) What your suggesting deserves a tip is really just basic business fundamentals. Actually you have no idea if you hired the dirty ass boat till you get there. I have seen $500.00 charters that had broken poles,bait wells that will turn your stomach. lunches of wilted lettuce and lunch meat that should have been condemned. Did you find this guy in the yellow pages? All guides Ive checked out have sites and facebook pages that show exactly what you get when you pay $500 for a charter. Now if you charter very rarely then you might have not ever chartered with a bad Captain so you don't have a comparison to see how good a trip can be. The other side of the coin is are you a good customer? I have had a few charters that I would allow to come back out for free on a day that I was not chartered but scouting for new spots. I also have a few that I am forever booked and can't possible take them out again. It really is up to how you act as to how you will be treated. Im a peach so no worries here. Case in point I was up North and a guide was waiting on the dock for his customer. We talked for a few minutes and I was throwing a saltwater bait and he like the action and said that should be a good Muskie bait. I had another one in my boat so I cut it off and gave it to him. We talked a few minutes more and he asked how my fishing had been and I said great but I was looking for a few more good pike spots. He then did the one thing that most guides never do he started to mark up a map for me of good pike spots. So I got my map and we traded notes of places to catch what we were after. In 10 minutes we both had expanded our knowledge of the water more than we would have in a month of fishing. His only request was not to show others the map since it is how he makes his living and because I fish the waters one week a year he was not concerned about me burning out his spots. That is a GOOD guide who helps everyone he can no matter if he was getting a tip. So you wonder did I give him a tip.... well not in money but I gave hima secret arsenal of baits that the Muskies haven't seen yet. Yes I would agree this is going the extra mile. Clean boat, on time and friendly does not equal going the extra mile. It means you are dealing with a professional. Going the extra mile to me, would be dropping me off at shore for lunch because I dont eat chicken salad (or whatever his wife made us). That is tip worthy. Letting me drink beer if their policy is 'no beer', thats tip worthy. Do you see the difference??? If you hook up with someone who delivers less than expected - you didnt do your research. Art Edited January 21, 2015 by Steel Bunny
bare foot wader Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 well, why do you tip a server in a restaurant? they bring me food, that's what I expect when I go to a restaurant research only gets you so far, still a crap shoot at the end of the day
BillM Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 well, why do you tip a server in a restaurant? they bring me food, that's what I expect when I go to a restaurant research only gets you so far, still a crap shoot at the end of the day You tip a server in a restaurant because they rely on that to offset they're super low wage. Personally, I'd tip the guide unless he was a complete disaster.
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 well, why do you tip a server in a restaurant? they bring me food, that's what I expect when I go to a restaurant research only gets you so far, still a crap shoot at the end of the day Its not the same thing lol but im tired of debating now. Rest assured I will tip my guide . Next question, whats appropriate? $50?
bare foot wader Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 not all guides make big bucks, very few do...so why not tip to offset their wage?...any in my humble opinion, they work much harder than servers...not sayin a servers job is easy we usually tip 50-100 per person
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 not all guides make big bucks, very few do...so why not tip to offset their wage?...any in my humble opinion, they work much harder than servers...not sayin a servers job is easy we usually tip 50-100 per person lol ok, but guides do not make a wage! All that I have found are owner/operators, there is a difference. If servers LOVED what they did and it was something they aspired to do, youd be correct in the comparison. Do you hate me yet?
Whopper Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) How can you say that a guide that is an owner/operator does not work for wages? They not only work for wages, they have to pay for the boat, bait, equipment, dockage, insurance and any other cost they incur. What's left they pay taxes on and that becomes their wages. Any guide offers a service, if one is happy/unhappy with the service rendered it is up to that individual to tip or not to tip. IMHO if I was happy with the total experience the least I would tip would be 10% and might go as high as 20% EDIT ADD: This same kind of debate comes up about tipping bush pilots. Edited January 21, 2015 by Whopper
bare foot wader Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 lol ok, but guides do not make a wage! All that I have found are owner/operators, there is a difference. If servers LOVED what they did and it was something they aspired to do, youd be correct in the comparison. Do you hate me yet? nah, debates are fun every guide has days they don't like their jobs....I learned very quickly guiding is NOT for me...I do not like arrogant, obese foreigners that don't know how to fish and insult you when the fishing sucks LOL most guides in industry, that are not owner operators, get a daily wage and it's ball park 40-60% of what you're paying, take that daily wage and divide by the hours and it's not as high as most would expect maybe...those daily hours are 2-3 hours extra on top of the fishing hours, preppig and cleaning, etc it's tough work...they are the hostess, server, chef, janitor and manager all in one... fly guides at exclusive lodges and salt guides tend to make more than freshwater I always tip cash, and not on the plastic cards I worked at a heli ski lodge and I tallied and allocated the tips from each group to pilot, guides ,masseuse and chefs...now those are big tips! makes fishin tips look like peanuts
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) How can you say that a guide that is an owner/operator does not work for wages? They not only work for wages, they have to pay for the boat, bait, equipment, dockage, insurance and any other cost they incur. What's left they pay taxes on and that becomes their wages. Any guide offers a service, if one is happy/unhappy with the service rendered it is up to that individual to tip or not to tip. IMHO if I was happy with the total experience the least I would tip would be 10% and might go as high as 20% EDIT ADD: This same kind of debate comes up about tipping bush pilots. A wage is paid by employer to employee. Owner/operators charge their own fees, whatever they wish. This is what I meant. Yes I am somewhat aware of whats invovled, i know its not cheap or easy. I think you are misunderstanding me here. My original question was - HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR GUIDE DESERVES A TIP. Showing up on time is not one of them, at least not for me. Edited January 21, 2015 by Steel Bunny
Whopper Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Simma down now Your splitting hairs on what a wage is. As far as what deserves a tip is entirely up to you. The way I look at it, if I was happy with the service, felt like I was treated special and learned something from the experience I would tip.
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Yes I am splitting hairs. LOL you see, deep down I know you are right, but I just like debating. Maybe im so grouchy about it cuz I am taking the charter alone and will have to dish out what looks like $600 for the day. Ha, one day on teh water is going to cost me more than 2 spring training games and leafs @ tampa bay! Or = to one night at a leafs home game! lol
Whopper Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Good debate except for the fact that we stepped all over the OP's original topic. Sorry about that Shloim
bare foot wader Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Yes I am splitting hairs. LOL you see, deep down I know you are right, but I just like debating. Maybe im so grouchy about it cuz I am taking the charter alone and will have to dish out what looks like $600 for the day. Ha, one day on teh water is going to cost me more than 2 spring training games and leafs @ tampa bay! Or = to one night at a leafs home game! lol so where you going fishing? what for? hope we get pics after this raging debate lol piff, no big loss there, leafs suck (and I'm a fan sadly...)
Steel Bunny Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 so where you going fishing? what for? hope we get pics after this raging debate lol piff, no big loss there, leafs suck (and I'm a fan sadly...) Going to Orlando and Tampa. I'm on my own for fishing. I found what looks like a good guide for redfish, seatrout, black drums. His website says "tips not included but greatly appreciated". Guess you guys are right . If anyone wants to go halfsies on a charter lemme know! I'll pack us a dynamite lunch
gotfish Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 I spent the xmas break down in Orlando area and there a ton of fishing oppertunities without using a guide service. First i would recomend renting a boat at Turkey lake. The rental is run buy the cuty of orlando, boat rentals are $33 dollars for four hours 7am - 11am. what they dont tell you is if you arrive early they let you out early. We arrived at 615 and went straigt out after a quil lake rundown. The boats are deep wide john type boats with front electric. I took my two 19yr old nephews with me and had a blast. The one caught his first large mouth that was over 8lbs on a swacky stick bait. Rattle traps jerk baits and soft plastics is all we used for success. Other fishing oppertunities are all retention ponds at resorts and around commercial areas are stocked with bass to keep a stable water ecosystem or something like that. I was fortunate to hook up with a local who took me to a few local lakes for some awsome bass fishing. I would love to winter in central florida for the fishing oppertunities are endless.
mistaredone Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 8lbs! That's awesome! I caught lots of 1-2lb fish but that was it. The electric was struggling the whole time (excuses) Last time I was there the Turkey lake rentals were only on Thursday to Sunday and need to be booked in advance
solopaddler Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 Personally, I'd tip the guide unless he was a complete disaster. Sometimes 12 cartons of smokes and a new fillet knife eh Billy?
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