Whether you're fishing near your home or in a distant state, hiring a fishing guide can help you maximize the experience and end up with lots of fish to show for your efforts. Whether you're paired with your guide for just an afternoon or you're together for several days, it's a nice idea to present the guide with some sort of gift at the conclusion of the fishing trip. The exact value of the gift depends on how impressed you were with the guide, your budget, and other such factors, but generally, a token of your appreciation will go a long way. Here are some ideas to consider.

Custom Fishing Tackle

If you're an avid angler, you may make some of your own fishing lures. Whether you make fly fishing lures or traditional fishing lures, giving a couple of your homemade items to the fishing guide is an effective way to convey your thanks. You have the choice of simply giving the guide some lures to use or having them mounted in a small box to use as a display piece. This is simply a matter of preference; if you've spent hours meticulously crafting the lures, they're probably better to display than potentially lose in the water.

Fishing Gift Card

Every fishing enthusiast will appreciate a gift card that he or she can use toward this hobby. You have a wide range of options available to you. You can't go wrong with a gift card to a large outdoors store, but you can also consider buying a gift card to a specialty fishing shop in the area — perhaps one that sells homemade lures or specific high-end items. A gift card to an online fishing retailer is also a good idea. If you want to keep your gift more generic, a gift card to a local gas station is something that the fishing guide will use the next time he or she has to fill up before a trip.

Website Testimonial

While it's not technically a gift in the traditional sense, you can also offer to write a testimonial for the fishing guide if he or she has an online presence. Your thoughtfully worded testimonial can potentially help the guide get more business, which can have more value than a gift. When crafting your testimonial, use specific anecdotes to detail the fishing guide's professionalism, knowledge of the craft and friendly demeanor. A clear indication of these attributes can help prospective future customers decide to hire the guide.