Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

tipping "guides"


Recommended Posts

Our group has always fished at resorts that have drive-to houses and generally not an awful lot of expected service other than some guy in a plow truck poking his head into the shack once a day.

This year we booked with a place that has bomber transport, bait and fish cleaning included. We're not getting old and lazy, just didn't book early enough elsewhere blush

The resort we're staying at refers to their bomber drivers as "guides". With the increaded level of service, I'm assuming that some sort of gratuity is more or less expected. My dilema is that I don't want to be a jerk and stiff some poor working guy, but at the same time I'm an ordinary working class guy myself and don't have a wad of cash to be throwing around.

Any advice appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that its right to tip but you have to tip to the service that they give and your group has to be happy and willing to go back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you feel they help put you on the fish and/or gave you some additional help, I would tip them; especially if they move you and/or move your house to get you on fish. If they just drove the bomber, and you didn't feel they added to your trip, don't tip them. I know they call them "guides", but I really do not think they give the level of service of a "guide"....or at least that has been my experience on the South Shore. Now on the NW Angle, I have and will tip the guide as I feel he really works hard to keep us happy and on fish.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they just drop you off and pick you up, don't really see the need to tip. If they stop in and check on you and nothing is going and they move you around, I would tip 20.00

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They probably call them guides because they probably run their charter boats in the summer.So in a sense they are guides.However there is a lot more involved in running a charter boat and they are taking care of you for hours in the summer.Running you out to a house in a bomber isnt much guiding involved.Im not a big tipper myself but if I go to a resturant and the waiter is very friendly and comes around to ask if you need anything and does a good job I leave a tip.Same with a bomber driver.And of coarse if your calling yourself guide and the fishing sucks well dont expect a tip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Service is key" they call them guides and yes they bring you out to your house, drop you off, and check in on you throughout the day. What a lot of people don't realize is there is a lot of work that gets done behind the scenes to put houses on fish. I have fished Lake of the Woods for many years and can tell you in the winter fishing out of resorts it a crapshoot as to which houses are catching fish. Sure there are times that every house out there catches an abundance of fish but its in the minority. some houses are slamming fish while 100 yards away "same depth" nobody is cathing a thing, moral of the story is the "guides" (yes a lot of them guide in the summer as well) spend their time in between checking on houses; moving houses to areas that have been producing. There has to be a feeling of being taken care while on the ice reguardless of catching fish, as any fisherman knows there is no guarentee of catching fish whether you know a lake like tha back of your hand or not. I believe they deserve a tip regardless but the amount of tip depends more on the service as it does on the amout of fish you catch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are catching fish and they are cleaning them I think $20 a person is the min. I have tipped between $25-40 on trips like you are talking about for 2 days. We have always caught fish so idk what to say if you don't do at least ok.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i agree. some guides bust their asrses on the ice, some are worthless. if you get a good set of guides do tip. you will definatley know when you have good guides or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends on what the guide provided for you. Last time we were up at Arneson's I had a malfunction with some batteries in the camera and a beer shortage so the guide ran more out. He got a nice tip that day and then the next he gave us some tips on what to use for a rig and bang we caught quite a bit more so another decent tip again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • SkunkedAgain
      Hogs! Hogs!!!
    • MarkB
      My 2 cousins and myself just finished up a windy 4 day trip to our favorite lake. It was the last of the year and was eventful to say the least. When we arrived, water temperatures were 61 degrees and when we left yesterday morning the water temps had dropped to 54 degrees. The fishing was fantastic, once again, and we caught walleyes, bass, and northerns on minnows and crawlers(northerns only on minnows). We found the fish adjacent to shallow rock piles(14') in 20'-28' of water. Our best fishing hours of the day were ~5:30 -twilight in the evenings and until ~ 10:30 in the mornings. Although those two time periods were prime time, fish bit all day. For us, the bite was very light and we probably missed or lost as many fish as we caught. Some people think I'm nuts when I say bead color can make a difference and it certainly did this trip. My cousin's "go to" green/white bead combo did zilch on this trip. It was one translucent red bead and a plain size #2 gamakatsu hook with a 3' leader that produced the fish. We ended up with 137 walleyes and 19 bass for the 4 day outing. We caught far more 17"-19.999" walleyes on this trip than on our previous trips and our numerous slot fish measured from 21"-25". My younger cousin caught 4 slot fish in ~20 minutes one evening. We fish exclusively for walleyes and additional species are incidental. With that said, we caught some beautiful smallmouth bass on this trip and they were right down there with the walleyes, usually in the rocks. As usual, everything is catch and release except for the fish we eat while there and the 12 walleyes(3 individual limits) we take home to the wives. While cleaning some eaters we kept for supper, we always check the stomach contents. One of the walleyes had the jig that is pictured below loose in its stomach!  No attached line, no embedded hook, just the jig! It baffled us as to how in the world it could have gotten there . As you can see, the jig is in good shape so the fish must have swallowed it recently .   The boat traffic was minimal this trip and we had a couple days where it looked as if we had the lake to ourselves. Sunday was a brutal day with wind gusts to 50MPH!. We stayed in and ventured out finally at ~5:00. It turned out to be the best 2 hours of the entire trip. This time, the baby loons were around, the eagles were abundant, the changing leaves made the entire lake area look like a painting. If I could make only one short trip a year to the lake, now would be the time. What capped off the trip was the magnificent display of the Northern Lights. We can't wait for next spring to return, God willing, and, in the meantime, good fishing.  MarkB🙂 The jig found in the stomach of a walleye we ate.   My young cousin with his best of the trip.   a chunky 17" smallmouth   19.5" smallmouth
    • leech~~
      Well, since they both say Propane on them.  Not propane QT++ their probably both the same gender!  🤭
    • Wanderer
    • Brianf.
      What an amazing extended weekend. The fish were happy and cooperated nicely.   We also had the unique experience of fishing under Northern Lights each of the last three nights in pristine weather conditions.  I wish everyone could have that experience, even if just once.  The pics below don't do it justice, though you get the idea.  The walleyes are putting on the feedbag and some are getting rather plump.  We caught mostly slot fish with several 'overs' in our bag.  Our two biggest weighed 8lbs 5oz and 8lb 3oz.     The crappies were active at dusk and beyond.  Almost all of the ones we caught were 14" or bigger.  The biggest we caught was a bit over 15".  We lost two muskies at the boat and caught a 38" pike after dark - quite surprising.   Every fish we caught was immediately released btw.  Water temp 54/55 when we left.  All-in-all, another great fishing experience on Lake Vermilion - for which I'm so incredibly appreciative.        
    • JerkinLips
    • leech~~
      The price and the label.  It's that same exact gas.  
    • Finns
      I don't use gas anymore, what's the difference between them?
    • Fish Head
      Great to hear from you again Mark! I've always liked your posts over the years. 
    • leech~~
      Yep, it's just you know and I know every dad who takes his kids or family camping for the first time.  Is buying the camping gas no matter the cost, cuz it says "Camping" on it! 🤭🤭
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.