We receive this question quite a bit and wanted to share it:

Q: What is the “policy” on tipping a guide? We have had a guide in the past who strongly hinted for us to tip and we did. Others have said nothing. But is this a standard policy, or expected? If so, what is the correct amount or percentage? This is very confusing and causes much discomfort. Why don’t they just charge what they want to charge and forget about tips?

A: You pose an interesting question that I have struggled with myself. There is no real “policy” and it can be confusing. We all know that it is customary to tip wait staff because their hourly wage is different and well below the current minimum wage. We all also read about how it’s appropriate to tip certain service people during the holidays; i.e. postman, hair dresser and others.

But is this expected when we go fishing? To go fishing with a guide at $125 per person is on the expensive side for most folks let alone adding a tip. It’s certainly more than you would spend renting a boat, but well worth it when you haul in your limit and/or catch some of the biggest lunkers of your life.

The flip side is the guide not only has a significant amount of money invested in his boat, equipment & tackle, but there’s also insurance, maintenance, slip fees, licenses, CPR training, advertising and other expenses. Has the guide calculated this into his standard per person rate? Certainly, but there are things that a guide does that can be considered equivalent to being a “waiter” on his own boat; i.e., getting up 3 hours early to net live bait from the lake, tying & baiting the hooks, fishing training, first aid (sometimes) and probably most important, cleaning & bagging your catch.

If a guide did all this (and not all do) then a tip in the 15% range would be appropriate. Especially if the guide was quite professional and you truly enjoyed being on his boat & all the things he did that day to make it a great day for you. If you hire a guide to simply be a lake guide and not require that he wait on you hand-and-foot and clean your fish, then a tip would probably not be in order.

My final thought is this: no one should outright ask (or hint) for a tip. What would your reaction be at a restaurant if your waiter did that? You would probably reduce the amount of the tip significantly or not tip at all. Asking for a tip is inappropriate, makes everyone uncomfortable and will only result in the customer not coming back and give the guiding profession a bad name.

Editor’s Note: We invite your comments on this post whether you are a guide or somebody who has hired a guide. Email me your opinion at:
info@oklahomafishingguides.com

Lake Skiatook Guide David Clark reports excellent hybrid striper action over the Labor Day weekend. He reports that his clients caught 15 fish with 11 of them being nice size using small shad in about 32ft of water fishing them 20ft deep. The biggest was close to 5lbs. with most in the 3 to 4lb range. The lake temperature has fallen to about 82 degrees.

Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report David! David guides on 4 lakes in Oklahoma; Lake Birch, Lake Skiatook, Lake Sooner and
Lake Waurika. Check out David’s site at: www.FishOnOk.com

Lake of the Arbuckles fishing guide Frank Hanna took the day off on Sunday to take his step-son fishing and reports catching some nice largemouth bass at Lake Wes Watkins. His step-son caught one that was real close to 5lbs and all Frank caught were the little ones. He says that’s ok though, because it was worth every minute watching his step-son smile as he beat him fishing – worth a million dollars! The big bass was caught on a Baby minus-1 fire tiger moving slowly across the moss.

Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report Frank. You may have just inspired a future Bassmaster champion! For those who haven’t fished at Lake Wes Watkins – please note – largemouth bass are catch-n-release only. If you would like to fish with Frank at Lake of the Arbuckles, email him at: basskickinhanna@yahoo.com

While driving back from the Wildlife Expo (see article below), I stopped in the Arbuckle Mountains to survey the recent wildfire damage. Although the fire entered a portion of Turner Falls Park, all businesses and the park remains open. Lake of the Arbuckles, Veteran’s Lake (record black bass lake) and Guy Sandy were also uneffected, so go on and plan a trip to this beautiful area!

I just returned from the Oklahoma Wildlife Department’s annual Wildlife Expo at the Lazy E Arena in Edmond, Oklahoma. What a fantastic event! Designed for children of all ages, the many booths, exhibits and hands-on activities educate those interested in all things outdoors. You can learn how to make a campfire without matches, hone your kayak skills, avoid poison ivy and many, many more things about the great outdoors.

I highly encourage you to attend this event AND take your children. Your future outdoor adventures will be much safer and enjoyable with everything you learn from the super-friendly folks that work at the Wildlife Department and other Oklahoma governmental agencies.

To view more information, go to: www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlifeexpo.com

My wife and I spent the weekend at Lake Broken Bow and the Beaver’s Bend Resort area. For those of you who haven’t been there – you need to get there!

Located in the Ouachita National Forest, this area offers virtually EVERYTHING outdoors; fishing, boating, hunting, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, ATV trails, hang gliding, golf, go-karts, dining and much, much more.

We met many hard-working and super friendly people who are dedicated to preserving AND enjoying everything the area has to offer. It doesn’t take that long to get there (2.5 hours from Dallas) and I highly recommend the area to anyone at anytime of the year. Stay a week or more – you won’t be disappointed.

High temperatures and prolonged drought led to a major fish kill at Great Salt Plains Lake in northcentral Oklahoma this week. Biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation estimate 10,000 fish have died due to low dissolved oxygen levels in the lake.

“This is a major fish kill and it reflects how this abnormal weather not only affects farmers and ranchers, but it also affects our lakes and our fisheries resources,” said Barry Bolton, assistant chief of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “We are monitoring the situation closely. Unfortunately, there is simply not anything we can do to remedy high heat and lack of rain.”

According to Bolton, Great Salt Plains is a relatively shallow reservoir making it particularly susceptible to warm water temperatures.

“What we really need is some rain, cooler temperatures or strong winds – unfortunately none of these conditions are in the short-term forecast and there is a real concern that this situation could get worse before it gets better,” Bolton said. “However, nature is very resilient and long term outlook remains positive. We will continue to monitor the situation and we will adjust our management efforts, such as stocking, in the future if that is appropriate.”
There have been no other fish kills reported in other state reservoirs.

For more information about fishing in Oklahoma log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com

Lake Texoma Guide GW Chisholm of Trails Guide Service reports that although it’s hot, the big stripers are biting, coming in over 10lbs and many in the teens. He also reports that the topwater action is getting better, especially on the cloudier days, very early in the morning with chrome colors working well, especially chrome and blue.

Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report GW! Remember to drink lots of water out there in the heat! As they say, the weather only bothers the fisherman!

Lake Broken Bow fishing guide Bryce Archey reports that now is the time to book your fall fishing trip for excellent opportunities to catch smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass. He caught this 5.8lb lunker smallie using a Sammy 85 top water lure. Bryce also notes to book in advance for the best possible dates.

Editor’s Note: Thanks Bryce — nice smallie! Visit Bryce’s site at: www.BrokenBowLakeGuide.com

While visiting with GW Chisholm, fishing guide at Lake Texoma the other day, he asked that I post this picture of a crappie I caught while fishing with him several summers ago. What is interesting about this crappie is not only it’s size (~3lbs.) but the beautiful emerald green tint that it has. GW says that’s this particular species is what makes crappie fishing at Texoma so fun. They are big, beautiful and very tasty!

Editor’s Note: Thanks for reminding me of that photo GW. We had a great time on that trip. It was my birthday, the weather was perfect and we caught a ton of fish!