TL;DR
- Guides who work for an outfitter are paid a set fee per trip. In a Montana estimate prepared for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in 2022, the guide kept $425 of a $625 float trip, took a $100 tip, and paid about $170 of the trip’s costs.
- Posted guide pay runs from $185 to $425 a day at a Colorado outfitter to $10,000 to $13,000 a month in salary and tips, with flights, room and board, for a Coast Guard-licensed guide at a Kodiak Island lodge in 2026.
- Tips are a big share of the day. A Bozeman outfitter charging $695 to $725 recommends $150 to $200 per guide per day; an Alaska lodge recommends 10 to 15 percent of a $10,750 week.
- Most guides are part-time. Of 256 Washington guides who filed logbooks for 2023, 175 logged 1 to 25 trips and only five logged more than 100.
- The closest federal wage series, tour and travel guides, had a May 2025 median of $18.33 an hour nationally and $21.25 in Alaska, but it mostly counts museum and tour guides.
Fishing guide pay has three parts: what the outfitter pays you for the day, what the client tips, and what the job covers, from room and board at a lodge to nothing at all on a day float out of town. The fourth part is how many days you get. This article puts published numbers on each, from outfitter job ads, lodge career pages, state logbook reports and license fee schedules.
If you are still deciding whether to guide, start with how to become a fishing guide, which covers state licenses and schools. This one is about the money.
How are fishing guides paid?
Most are paid a fee per trip or per day by the outfitter who books the client; a smaller group owns the business and keeps the whole trip price. The clearest public breakdown is a worksheet posted with the May 26, 2022 meeting materials of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Madison River work group. It estimated a two-angler float at $625. An outfitter paid the guide $425 of that, and the guide got a $100 tip, with $50 to $200 as the range.
The guide was not done paying, though. The same worksheet has the guide covering a $40 shuttle, about $42 for lunch and drinks, about $58 in mileage and about $30 in flies and tackle, $170 a trip in all. That left $355 of gross profit on a $525 day before annual costs. A single-boat outfitter who guides their own clients billed the full $625 and kept the tip but paid $205 in trip costs, and the worksheet notes that half of outfitters run 25 trips or fewer a year and that it is difficult to book more than 20 on word of mouth alone.
Lodges and multi-day outfitters pay differently. Swan Mountain Outfitters in Montana lists fishing guides at $2,000 to $3,500 a month with room and board, on an employment page headed for the 2024 season. Alaska fly-in lodges quote a day rate or a monthly salary and add flights, housing and meals. Colorado’s 5280 Angler pays by the day, varying with trip type, duration, guest count and reimbursements, and guarantees that pay meets the state minimum wage.
How much do fishing guides make per day?
Published guide pay in the sources below runs from $150 to $425 a day, before tips. Few outfitters print a number, so the list is short.
| Employer | Where | Guide pay | Also included | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5280 Angler | Colorado Front Range and Western Slope | $185 to $425 a day | Tips, company boats and waders, end-of-season bonus, 401(k) match | A full season is 3 or more months |
| Madison River worksheet (estimate) | Montana | $400 to $450 a trip from the outfitter | Tip of $50 to $200 | Not stated |
| Swan Mountain Outfitters | Swan Valley, Montana | $2,000 to $3,500 a month | Room and board | June to September |
| Talaheim Lodge | Alaska, fly-in | $150 a day for an experienced guide, plus tips | Room and board; round trip air from Anchorage | June 30 to September 3, 11 weeks |
| Larsen Bay Lodge, Fishing Guide/Captain | Kodiak Island, Alaska | $10,000 to $13,000 a month, salary plus tips | Plane tickets, room, board, laundry, Wi-Fi | Mid-June to late September 2026 |
| Whaler’s Cove Lodge | Southeast Alaska | A daily rate for guiding and a daily rate for days on land, plus tips | Three meals a day; travel benefit by seniority | 68 to 72 guiding days, 2026 |
| Northwoods Lodge | Fish Lakes Creek, Alaska | A monthly salary | Round-trip airfare from Anchorage, housing, all meals | May 25 to September 15 |
Sources: employer career pages and a CoolWorks listing posted Jul 14, 2026; Montana FWP Madison River work group worksheet, May 2022. Talaheim’s page is undated and Swan Mountain’s is headed for the 2024 season. Accessed Sep 13, 2026.
To see what the client pays for the same day, look at Montana price lists. Bitterroot Anglers lists $650 for one or two people in 2026. The Tackle Shop in Ennis charges $700 for a full-day float, Fins and Feathers in Bozeman $695 to $725, and Montana Angler $740 a guide, or $790 for Yellowstone National Park or the Missouri near Craig.
How much do Alaska fishing guides make?
Less per day in cash than a busy Montana guide at some lodges, far more at others, and at every lodge here with room and board covered. Talaheim Lodge quotes $150 a day plus tips for an experienced guide for an 11-week season, with a performance raise possible after two weeks. Larsen Bay Lodge on Kodiak Island advertised a Fishing Guide/Captain at $10,000 to $13,000 a month in salary plus tips for mid-June to late September 2026, with plane tickets, room, board, laundry and Wi-Fi included.
The gap is the boat. Larsen Bay requires a Coast Guard six-pack license to take clients out on 27 to 43 foot boats. Whaler’s Cove Lodge requires a Merchant Mariner Credential with at least an OUPV license, first aid and CPR, and a TWIC card, and Tikchik Narrows Lodge’s hiring page asks for a captain with an OUPV six-pack license. Talaheim’s and Northwoods’ guide pages do not mention one.
Alaska seasons are short and intense. Whaler’s Cove hosts guests for 68 to 72 days straight, and it says guides work every one of them, with no day off unless the weather is extreme. Northwoods Lodge runs May 25 to September 15. Tips can be large at the high end: Copper River Lodge prices a six-day package at $10,750 for 2027 and recommends 10 to 15 percent, $1,075 to $1,615 per guest. The federal series for tour and travel guides in Alaska had a May 2025 median of $21.25 an hour, $44,210 a year. More on the state’s jobs is in Alaska fishing jobs, and open listings are at fishing guide jobs in Alaska.
How much do fishing guides make in tips?
On a Montana float, about $50 to $200 per guide per day, going by outfitters’ own guidance. Fins and Feathers in Bozeman recommends $150 to $200 per guide per day for one or two anglers. Riddle’s Fishing Lodge on the Kenai suggests 15 to 20 percent of the trip cost, or $50 to $100 per angler per day handed directly to the guide. Copper River Lodge uses 10 to 15 percent of a week-long package. The Montana worksheet assumed a $100 tip on a $625 float, within a $50 to $200 range.
Some lodges pool tips. Whaler’s Cove lists “Guide tips distribution” among its lodge director’s duties, and 5280 Angler describes tips as customary and at the guest’s discretion. Ask any employer whether tips are pooled, split with other staff, or kept by the guide who earned them.
How many days a season does a fishing guide work?
Fewer than most people think, outside a lodge. Washington publishes a guide logbook report. In 2023 it had 470 licensed fishing guides, and 256 of them filed logbooks, a 55 percent compliance rate. Of those, 175 logged 1 to 25 trips, 49 logged 26 to 50, and only five logged more than 100. The Department of Fish and Wildlife calls the majority part-time. The average trip was seven hours with two to three clients, and most guides ran one trip a day.
The Alaska statewide count cited here is older. In 2012 the state licensed 1,263 sport fishing businesses and 2,844 guides, who ran 47,482 saltwater charter trips and 37,788 freshwater trips (Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series 13-37, July 2013). Lodges fill more days: Whaler’s Cove guides work 68 to 72 straight days, and Talaheim’s season is 11 weeks.
For a busy Lower 48 outfitter guide, the Montana worksheet spread annual costs over an average of 100 trips a season, and 5280 Angler defines a full season as 3 or more months of consistent guiding. Multiply your realistic day count, not the best case, by the day rate plus tips. If the count is low, stack seasons; see the best states for guide work.
What costs does a fishing guide pay?
Licenses, insurance, gear and, if you run your own boat, the boat and truck. The Montana worksheet put a guide’s annual costs at $5,462.50: a $50 license renewal after a $125 first license, $350 for insurance, $62.50 for an independent contractor exemption certificate, $1,000 for gear, $2,000 of boat and trailer depreciation and about $2,000 of commercial auto insurance.
| Cost | Amount | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Montana guide license | $125 to apply, $50 a year to renew | Every Montana guide, endorsed by an outfitter |
| Montana outfitter license | $1,800 to apply, $150 to renew; liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 total for injury | Guides who book their own clients; fishing outfitters need 3 years and 120 days as a licensed guide |
| Washington game fish guide license | $305 resident, $690 nonresident, plus a $70 application fee; $300,000 liability insurance; first aid and CPR | Washington game fish guides |
| Alaska sport fishing guide registration | Free; plus a current Alaska sport fishing license, and a state business license for owners | Every Alaska guide |
| Coast Guard OUPV (six-pack) license | $100 evaluation, $95 exam, $45 issuance; 12 months of vessel experience at 30 days a month | Operators of motorized passenger vessels under 100 gross tons carrying six or fewer passengers |
Sources: Montana Board of Outfitters and ARM 24.171.509; RCW 77.65.480 and 77.65.560; Alaska Department of Fish and Game guide registration pages; 46 CFR 10.107, 10.219 and 11.467. Accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Working for an outfitter or lodge removes much of this. The lodges above include room and board, and 5280 Angler lets its guides use company boats, waders and equipment. Compare offers on what you keep after these costs, not on the day rate alone.
What does the BLS say fishing guides earn?
It does not track fishing guides on their own. O*NET’s first match for “fishing guide” is Tour Guides and Escorts, whose reported job titles are museum docents, interpreters and tour guides, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes that group together with travel guides. Use it only as a rough floor.
| Area | Median hourly | Median yearly | Top 10% earn at least |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $18.33 | $38,120 | $29.29 an hour |
| Alaska | $21.25 | $44,210 | $28.31 an hour |
| Wyoming | $22.60 | $47,020 | $29.55 an hour |
| Colorado | $20.59 | $42,840 | $26.73 an hour |
| Montana | $19.28 | $40,100 | $28.50 an hour |
| Idaho | $18.25 | $37,960 | $27.93 an hour |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Tour and Travel Guides, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine and the BLS data API. Accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Commercial fishing is a different job with a different pay system, a crew share of the catch, not a day rate. If that is the “fishing job” you want, see fishing jobs and deckhand pay. Guide openings are at fishing guide jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make a living as a fishing guide?
Some guides do, but the data say most do not do it full time. In Washington in 2023, only five of 256 reporting guides logged more than 100 trips. Full-time guides usually work a full lodge season in Alaska or stack a summer and a winter fishery in different states.
Do Alaska fishing lodges pay for your flights?
Many do. Talaheim and Northwoods include round-trip air from Anchorage, Larsen Bay includes plane tickets, and Whaler’s Cove offers a travel benefit that grows with seniority. Confirm in writing whether the lodge pays both ways or only if you finish the season.
Do you need a captain’s license to guide fishing in Alaska?
Not to register as a guide; registration is free. Saltwater lodges that run clients in motorized boats want a Coast Guard license, which is why lodges such as Larsen Bay, Whaler’s Cove and Tikchik Narrows ask for one.
How much does a guided fishing day cost the client?
Montana outfitters’ posted full-day rates, checked in September 2026, run $650 to $790 for one or two anglers before the tip, depending on the outfitter and the water. A six-day Alaska lodge package at Copper River Lodge is $10,750 for 2027.
Are fishing guides employees or contractors?
Both exist. The Montana worksheet budgets $62.50 a year for an independent contractor exemption certificate for guides, while 5280 Angler offers a 401(k) match and Alaska lodges pay a salary or a daily rate. Ask which you will be, because a contractor pays their own insurance and payroll taxes.
Sources
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Madison River work group, “Outfitter and Guide Estimated Income and Expenditures for a Day Float Trip”, May 26, 2022 meeting, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Fishing Guide Logbook Progress Report 2023 (FPA 24-04, Mar 15, 2024), accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 13-37, Participation, Effort, and Harvest in the Sport Fish Business/Guide Licensing and Logbook Programs, 2012; Sport Fish Business, Guide and Vessel Registration and guide requirements pages, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Guide employer pages: 5280 Angler employment; Swan Mountain Outfitters employment; Talaheim Lodge, fishing guides and pilots; Larsen Bay Lodge, Fishing Guide/Captain, CoolWorks (posted Jul 14, 2026); Whaler’s Cove Lodge, 2026 employment; Northwoods Lodge employment; Tikchik Narrows Lodge employment page, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Outfitter rate and tipping pages: Bitterroot Anglers, 2026 rates; The Tackle Shop, rates; Fins and Feathers, FAQs; Montana Angler, rates; Copper River Lodge, rates; Riddle’s Fishing Lodge, gratuity guide, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Montana Board of Outfitters, guide license and outfitter license pages; ARM 24.171.509, insurance, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Revised Code of Washington, RCW 77.65.480 and RCW 77.65.560, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- 46 CFR 11.467, 10.107 and 10.219, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 39-7010 Tour and Travel Guides, May 2025, via the BLS public data API and O*NET OnLine local wages; O*NET, Tour Guides and Escorts and “fishing guide” search, accessed Sep 13, 2026.