I have only been in this situation once, not really a guide I guess but it was in Fla. 4 of us paid 100 a piece to charter a boat, caught a ton of mackeral and tipped the mate 30 a piece, because he worked his butt off for 4 of us and even better he was orginally from Madisonville. He actually called and cancelled twice because the weather wasn't very good, said " I will still go if you want but you won't do any good, just a waste of your money." And after talking with some folks on the dock, he was right, those 2 days were a waste for people so I think he more than deserved it.