Tipping Procedures on Alaska Fishing Charters

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Fishing charters are a service industry business. Guides and captains of charter fishing boat operations in Alaska operate tours designed to cater to the fishing public. As these Alaskan charters are service-based, tipping the guides becomes standard practice for clients and customers. There are steps to follow to ensure that you tip your guide, captain and filet/fish-cleaning person properly for a job well done.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Learn the Numbers

Things You’ll Need:

Alaskan fishing charter guides and captain
Money

Step 1

Count the number of people directly involved with the charter operation who assisted with your trip. Take into consideration the guides or guides, boat captain and crew, and any dock help that filleted, cleaned or assisted with getting your fish smoked and shipped.

Step 2

Calculate a tip breakdown for the involved staff members by how much they assisted and helped with your trip and catch. Use 15 percent as the starting point for the tip, based on the price paid for your charter, and adjust, depending on the quality of the service, guiding and operations.

Step 3

Give the guide or guides the larger portion of the tip. If you felt the trip was worthy of more than 15 percent, use 20 percent for the high end of the tip scale, and if the trip was less than hoped for or expected, drop the tip down to 10 percent. Give the guides between 50 to 75 percent of the full tip. The captain of the boat should receive 15 to 20 percent of the tip. If the captain was also the guide, give the combined amount.

Step 4

Reward the dockhands, crew or filet people with the remainder of the tip total. If you felt the filet and assistance with shipping was professional, offer an extra $2 for each fish.

Tips & Warnings

Tip after the trip. Don't discount giving deckhands or filet staff a six-pack of beer or buying them a drink for part of the tip. This is a great way to mingle with locals in the pub after your trip.

Article Written By Eric Cedric

A former Alaskan of 20 years, Eric Cedric now resides in California. He's published in "Outside" and "Backpacker" and has written a book on life in small-town Alaska, "North by Southeast." Cedric was a professional mountain guide and backcountry expedition leader for 18 years. He worked in Russia, Iceland, Greece, Turkey and Belize. Cedric attended Syracuse University and is a private pilot.

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