Marshall Cutchin
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Remember back when people were interested in protecting their personal data? Seems so long ago.
Fascinating topic and some really good info there, Zach. Thanks for posting it.
Great advice here from a bunch of folks. I wanted to add some general advice about tipping (since I am completing an article about it right now).
— You can plan to tip most independent guides just as you would any other service-industry people: 10-20% based on performance/quality of service. Guides in most locations of the world depend on tips to supplement their income; in many places the majority of their income comes from tips.
— The trend in package trips (i.e. booking a lodge that includes guides) is toward a collective gratuity given to the lodge manager. He/she then distributes the tips evenly to all employees. This may sound odd, but it prevents struggles among the guides for access to the best tippers. If in doubt, ask the lodge manager, and it is always a good idea to get tipping advice from the booking agent if you use one. Package tips are generally lower, between 7% and 15%.
— If you can’t afford a 20% tip for an independent guide, don’t think that it is mandatory. The most successful guides (and the best, in my opinion) wouldn’t make less of an effort for someone that regularly tips 10% than for someone who tips 30% if they enjoy fishing with that person.
The last thing I want to add: don’t book a bad guide. Do your homework, get references — preferably from known top guides, and personally assess your guide/lodge over the phone. If you are at a lodge that rotates guides and you have a bad experience, let the lodge manager know immediately. There are too many excellent guides that have open dates or need the income. And at lodges you are doing your compatriots a favor by noting bad behavior.
Oh, and Zach, I am working on the video 🙂
Marshall
A few tips from the (ex) guide:
1. Guides like anglers who are enthusiastic and realistic and make pleasant company. Regardless of your skill level, if you make an effort, pay attention, and let the guide know that you are there to learn something, over the course of the day you’ll have a better experience.
2. Talk. The best anglers engage in dialogue with their guide, especially when the fish are difficult. In saltwater, this is probably a continuous dialogue, as in “I see him, he’s moving right, he just stopped ….” In trout fishing, this may mean just seeking confirmation about how you plan to approach the fish or what tippet to use. Dialogue lets the guide know what you are seeing and thinking and allows him/her to adjust strategy. Of course this doesn’t extend to all non-fishing periods; no guide enjoys constant chatter.
3. Don’t be afraid to use the guide’s tackle, if they bring it. Good guides have balanced and tested outfits that are suitable for the quarry. Plus, their knots are probably better than yours.
4. Ask the guide what flies to use, even if you are certain you know. Don’t insist on a pattern that your cousin Frank told you he caught 3 permit in Mexico on or the one the Fan Creek cutthroats jumped all over.
A few tips from the guided:
1. Always bring rain gear, even if no rain is forecast. If the guide says it might rain, put your jacket on quickly.
2. Don’t wait until you get to the fishing to rig your rod; tie on a tippet and fly and have it ready when you reach the water. If the guide. while rowing, tells you that you are coming up on a sweeper that tends to hold big fish, don’t suddenly decide that this would be a good time to sit down and clean your glasses.
3. Always ask about lunch. Customs vary between salt- and freshwater and between parts of the world. Hungry is not good.
4. If in doubt about tipping, ask the lodge manager. If you’ve hired the guide directly, always tip something, even if it is only 5%, unless you’ve had a rotten day and it is entirely the guide’s fault. Guides in most parts of the world make a large portion of their income from tips. And they remember good tippers.
Marshall
