Pineapple Express
Well-Known Member
Can’t comment on day trips as I always had the same guests for 3 or 4 days. I enjoyed it because it gave me an opportunity to actually get to know them, have a beer with them at end of the day etc. There isn’t an “appropriate” amount in my opinion. Take into consideration how your guide treated you, talked to you, was he putting in an effort? Was he too lazy to run bait when fishing was slow? Was he late getting to the boat because he was piling beers the night before? Did he encourage you to get involved and show you how to bait and run the gear?Guided on and off up north for better part of 10 years and can count on one hand the amount of times I was “disappointed” by what I received. Did have plenty of guests that were surprised I didn’t yell at them when they lost a fish which always blew my mind. Other guests who were surprised I let them set the hook. Who yells at their guests though... don’t get it. Nothing more rewarding in my opinion than teaching someone thats new to fishing how to cut and rig a cut plug, set their own gear and then play their own fish from start to finish. Guiding in my opinion is 25% skill and 75% people skills and interacting with your guests in a positive way. Many lodges do “underpay” their guides though if you weren’t to receive any gratuities. Most of the guides that I worked with that bitched about their gratuities just weren’t great at their job and didn’t enjoy interacting with their guests and it becomes pretty apparent to their guests. Your interaction with them on the water and being professional and prepared(example: guides calling the lodge for extra bait at 10am because they didn’t bother preparing enough the night before) for the day in many cases is what matters.
just my 0.02
I was taken to a lodge up in the Rupert area last summer as part of a work trip. The tips were handled by my host, but I did give each guide that I fished with some swag including a Maglite flashlight which the guides graciously accepted.
Hippa's comments are great. My first afternoon fishing was with the lodge owner's son...I adjusted the drag on the reel without asking and quickly got scolded. Sheesh! Later I asked him if he ever got any jerks out on the boat and he quickly replied "two assholes every trip". Maybe it was a good line but it was a little tone-deaf for the situation, at least in my eyes.
The rest of my trip was with the rookie guide....he hustled and busted his butt to keep the gear in the water and keep the conversation flowing. He was awesome! He taught me how to cut and rig herring cutplugs. He taught me how to rig for halibut. He let me run "my" rigger and rod. He was stoked when I released fish. It made the trip so memorable and awesome! I'd love to find him and fish with him again.