Tipping First Mate?

[LooseDrag NPAA #115]

This does not concern Walleye but, 4 of us are taking a deep sea fishing charter in florida and was wondering what the customary tip was for the first mate? The charter is $700

[Goldpig]

I would tip at least a hundred. I think the fifteen percent guideline is fairly applicable. I would tip up to twenty-five percent for excellent service.

[cisco]

Fairly standard on Lake Michigan half-day charters at present is $10 to $15 apiece, so, I suspect the recommendation of $100 for the day is appropriate. I don't know what's happening currently on salt water.

[cisco]

PS -- those L Mich charters I mentioned are typically six guys. Should have mentioned that above.

[Sunshine]

We may be a little cheap, but we tip $20.00 per person.

[Captric]

YOu have hit it right on,, My mates usually average 75 and up for tips. Trust me,, the quality of mate on most trolling trips really has an impact on your day, both in amount and wuality of fish, but more important, how enjoyable your day will be or not be.

I really value the good mates I have and hope not to lose them.

I know when the mate works hard, and the people don't seam to appreciate it ( not necessarily in tearms of size of tip but attitude is just as important on your part ( the customer ) it has an impact on how the mate will work the next time the customers are on board.
The mate and captian should try to make you feel at home and appreciated and work to that goal.

Well good luck and have fun on the big water.!!!!

[cmb]

I was recently on a "Deep Sea" head boat trip out of the Tampa-StPete area. The mates actualy solisited their tips by personaly carrying a jar to each pasenger (I found this rude). After watching them take much better care of the three females nearby, and the "regulars", they didn't get a dime from me!

We didn't get any grouper, but had a decent day and a nice dinner of snapper. the crew did a decent job, but with the different treatment and VERY WASTEFULL fish cleaning, they wouldn't winn any awards.

[Bottomfeeder]

I Chartered a boat out of Kona, Hawaii. I asked if we could keep some of the Tuna or Marlin to take home. The captain said that they sell the fish and give the money to the crew. If we wanted the fish we would be asked to tip 20%. I guess all of the charter boats out there are also commercial fishing boats.

[TLY]

We found the same thing at Porto Viallata (sp) where when we went out on day A we were asked to donate the fish,, they would cut us a few fillets. This was not too bad since we didn't want fish to spoil nor did we have a large freezer in house. Day B was basically 'you had fish yesterday, you don't want it 2 days in a row do you?', and they offered nothing.

We had a ball catching yellow tail and others and we were not quick/rude enough to mention catch/release so we took no other fish but I bet we ate some of them sooner or later.

But tip wise, it seemed the 15% was appreciated. 2nd day wasn't quite 15%. No, we didn't buy a condo or 40 gallons of Kuklua. Got tired of Macarenna tho, Pacifico is a great brew!.

TLY