I was wondering what is the correct amount to tip the crew of a party boat when you win the jackpot?

Thanks !

Tree,
DON'T ASK ROB!!!!! He'll tell you to give em the pot. I don't think winning the pot should affect how much you tip. I mean you're tipping em because they were helpful and courteous throughout the day right? I mean, you might wanna give em a couple extra bucks just cause you're in a good mood, but I don't think it matters that much.
-Brian

Took a 7 lb barricuda on the Gentleman on Saturday which took the pot. I had several answers regarding this question. One regular passenger said 20%. The deckhand said 50% and said if you give us all we will let you ride next time for free. The pot was $120 and not wanting to offend anyone I gave $50 plus tips for fish cleaning and the galley maid. I didn't really care about the money as I was just happy to FINALLY catch a jackpot fish.

tree,
That's fine. It's mainly a personal choice. Ask 5 different people, you'll get 5 different answers.
-Brian

Yeah I would say the same thing, although I generally give it back to the crew. I would just let the quality of the trip decide it. If it was a sweet trip ask for some passes or something and let them keep the cash. If it was an ok trip, tip 30% or something, and if it sucked, well whatever, just give them something so you don't come off being a jerk.
Glad to hear you won the jackpot, a 7lb cuda is a good 'un!

Here is my belief. The crew gets the whole pot. I even give it if I am not happy with the crews performance. I do this for a few reasons. I learned to fish on The City of Redondo. On that boat giving up the pot resulted in passes. When I was young and not earning much the passes were great. The crew really appreciated the tip and other perks came to the regulars. I have found that on most boats the level of service is pretty good. My thoughts are for five or ten bucks I can give a good gift to these hard workers. On a few trips where I was not happy I gave the pot and talked with the deckhands and told them what I did not like. I have found that the discusions have been productive. On the next trips out they remember the kindness. I just think that these folks have a tough job, that requires fishing skills as well as people skills. If you are like me fishing is the best time. I want to let the crew know how much I enjoyed it.

Also remember not all boats will give passes for the pot. Some just say Thank you, and usually pick up the fish cleaning.

Good question. When my uncle started taking my brother and I fishing on the boats as kids, the first thing he did was talk about this. He said minimum 50% to the the crew. If it's a big pot, pay off your tab, fish cleaning, and cost of ticket, the rest goes back. Now as a deckhand myself I understand why he taught us this. This is a job done because of a love for fishing, not the money, yet we still have bills to pay. Our wages are less than minimum wage, we make 80% of our money from June to August, and the days are really long. Think about how tired you are after fishing a 3/4 day trip and imagine 2-3hrs of prep and scrubbing on top of this. Many nights I've fallen asleep during dinner. But, I love my job. I've been in the middle of some incredible bites, it just hurts to watch others fishing them. From the customer side, Jp (good tips in general) does help to insure good deckhands are around, because if you can't pay your bills then you find a new job. Any person who gives Jp on our boat will usually have no galley tab or fish cleaning at the end of the day, and free trip will probably be offered. Regulars who do so get even more benefits, namely some of the previously listed stuff w/out winning JP, and also free sacks, sweet huh. Someone who gives half will be treated well especially if you're nice and listen to advice. These two things can't be stressed enough, this alone can keep a bad day from being horrible for all. Any ways, if you get JP judge for yourself what is right. But, whatever you do don't insult the crew with something like $5. If they are a bad crew (keeping in mind that crews have bad days just like you) it'd be better to give nothing and give an explanation than to give almost nothing. At the very least gaffing the JP fish is worth more than that.
Sorry for the long post,
Amish Ed

Howard and Amish Ed,
You guys have some good points, I agree. I think that most people who have been around long enough to understand how things work on a party boat feel the same way, myself included. Deckhands and captains even the ones that aren't the greatest, do work their butts off for not much money. Like Brian mentioned it's very rare that I do not tip the whole pot and I would encourage other fisherman to do likewise. Like Amish Ed said, when you treat a crew well, you see the rewards on every trip you take thereafter, something that pays for itself in a way. It's kind of a cycle where if you take care of the crew, they take care of you and in the future you take care of them even more.
-Rob

I am just wondering which boat you work on. I fish alot down south, and I would like to give your boat a shot. I agree with your thoughts on the jackpot. The bottom line is the donater is only out the money put in, not the total amount of the pot.

I work on the Reel Fun out of Dana Wharf. We do mostly double 1/2 day, which is 6:30 and noon. I only work one day a week as of this week, it's supposed to be Sat., but this might change soon. Today I started my 2nd and final year of grad school and things are looking really busy, so who knows. But you should give it a try. Both Tim and Corey a good captains, they'll do just about anything to get into a decent bite and they want happy passengers too. Let me know if you're headed that way and if I'm free and can go I will, or if I'm working, get you a deal. Free passes are rare now, but I can probably get $10 tickets for 1/2day, 3/4, or twilight.
Kill less, catch more,
Amish Ed

If you give the entire jackpot to the crew, then why get into the jackpot in the first place??? It's kind of like buying a lotto ticket, winning the lottery, then giving all your winnings to the establishments that you've bought tickets from in the past. The analogy is a little rough, but you get the picture. If you are a regular on a boat (as in going out every week or two) I can understand donating your winnings to the crew, especially since they'll probably treat you well every time out and give you free passes. If you are an infrequent passenger on a boat, then this doesn't make much sense. It is customary and appropriate to donate a discretionary portion of the jackpot to the crew. But, the bottom line is this, you can ALWAYS tip the crew (I always do and everyone should) after fish cleaning or at some point during the trip!

I guess it all gets down to why someone gets into the jackpot to begin with. If your intentions are to win money then giving all to the crew is not for you. However if your intentions are to give the crew a larger tip than you could normally afford then giving it up is what to do. You dont have to be a regular on a boat to want to extend a thank you to a crew. It gives me a very good feeling when I can hand a crew member $100 or more dollars on a short trip. I'll bet if this was the norm, crew members would go out of there way to give it there all. I say cut them some slack and give them the pot.

THis may seem stupid, but I was curious exactly how much people out there are tipping. Not for the jackpot, but just for your average good 1/2 day or 3/4 day of fishing.