I’m looking into becoming an inshore charter captain. I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice for an angler wanting to become a successful charter captain. This has been a dream of mine since i can remember I appreciate any ■■■■■■■■ given.
Thanks, Robert S
Catch fish??
Sorry I couldn’t resist. I would start from the business aspect rather than the product aspect. We all know there are successful captains out there that can catch a ton of fish, but can’t rub two nickels together. Focus on the money and learn from the successes and failures. If this is your dream the fishing will work out just make sure you can live with the business part. Good luck.
I was a charter captain and inshore guide for 25 years, so I have some experience with it. Decided it was an easier living to build boats:smiley: I’ll give you a few highlights.
You have to know how to catch fish. Not just some fish sometimes, but all local fish at every stage of the tide and moon, under all weather conditions, windy, rain, hot or cold.
You have to know the waters and your boat like you know your wife’s backside. Clients do not want to spend a day or a night stuck on a mud flat or broke down somewhere.
To get your OUPV license you must have 360 days of documented time on the water. You must pass a thorough background check, have no criminal record, fingerprinted. You must take a complete physical, including vision. You must get drug tested. You must get certified in First Aid and CPR, and keep them current. Then you must pass a fairly extensive coast guard written test. I recommend Sea School to guide you through all this.
After you pass all that, you will need a very good and reliable boat, and even better liability insurance policy! Somebody is going to get hurt, it’s just a matter of time. You may also need a local business license.
If you got this far, you must have the kind of personality that can deal with every species of human bean and still keep smiling, and keep them smiling. Many clients you get will be experts and expect you to be. Many will think they are experts and won’t follow instructions:smiley: Many have never held a fishing rod. Many have never been in a boat before. Some will be scared, some will be clumsy, some will be idiots, some will walk down the dock and you realize they weigh 800 pounds between 2 of them. But you have to give them all a good time and keep them safe from the sea, and themselves.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
quote:
You have to know how to catch fish. Not just some fish sometimes, but all local fish at every stage of the tide and moon, under all weather conditions, windy, rain, hot or cold.You have to know the waters and your boat like you know your wife’s backside. Clients do not want to spend a day or a night stuck on a mud flat or broke down somewhere.
To get your OUPV license you must have 360 days of documented time on the water. You must pass a thorough background check, have no criminal record, fingerprinted. You must take a complete physical, including vision. You must get drug tested. You must get certified in First Aid and CPR, and keep them current. Then you must pass a fairly extensive coast guard written test. I recommend Sea School to guide you through all this.
After you pass all that, you will need a very good and reliable boat, and even better liability insurance policy! Somebody is going to get hurt, it’s just a matter of time. You may also need a local business license.
If you got this far, you must have the kind of personality that can deal with every species of human bean and still keep smiling, and keep them smiling. Many clients you get will be experts and expect you to be. Many will think they are experts and won’t follow instructions Many have never held a fishing rod. Many have never been in a boat before. Some will be scared, some will be clumsy, some will be idiots, some will walk down the dock and you realize they weigh 800 pounds between 2 of them. But you have to give them all a good time and keep them safe from the sea, and themselves.
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Dang, I don’t know why more people aren’t guides. Sounds fun!
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Oh yeah, some days it’s the best job in the world, some days the worst:smiley:
I used to average of 300 trips a year and seldom cancelled for weather. Getting up at 0400 and getting the boat ready to fish every morning. Even when you know it’s windy, cold and not going to be a good day, you have to pretend it is. Get in late, cold and wet, or hot and sweaty and gnat bit, clean the boat, clean the fish, re-fuel, do whatever maintenance needs doing, fix everything that broke that day, replace what got dropped in the river, re-rig all the tackle, get bait and ice rounded up and ready for tomorrow, get home about late thirty, eat, shower, go to bed, get up and do it again. And again, and again, and again.
Honestly it took all the fun out of fishing after a while. And fishing with strangers. I figure I’ve taken more than 20,000 people fishing over the years, a few I enjoyed a lot, some I would never let on my boat again.
Now I only fish on my time, with good trusted friends and family. No pressure, no expectations, no idiots or wannabe experts. I let my Masters license expire last year, not going to renew again, done with that chapter of my life.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
2 pgs. real quick.
we need more charter capt’s in charleston. that’s for sure.
My advice would be to stay in school.
Charleston City Papers Best Guide of 2014
It takes a person with a steel gut to run their own business. Just not knowing whether you will have enough to pay the bills from week to week is enough for me to not want to do it. Life is hard, peace of mind isn’t easy, and it’s even harder when you have to find a way to run a small business and still have a life of your own and pay for your own insurance, taxes, overhead,…
Not me!
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker LarryOh yeah, some days it’s the best job in the world, some days the worst:smiley:
I agree with that. Spending the last 2 summers helping a charter captain, when the weather is great and you can’t keep the fish off the hooks, it’s the best thing ever.
But when you and the customers fish for hours and the fish won’t bite no matter how hard you try, baits you present or times you move looking for the fish…you see the strain of stress on the captains face. Those days, it’s not a very fun job.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 19 year old (boy of leisure)
1 - 1 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC
^^^^What Fritz Said
Fishing for fun is a loooot different than fishing as a job.
I really appreciate all the great ■■■■■■■■. I’m going to see if i can volunteer and help out a charter captain to get some first hand experience before i completely commit.
Larry with 25 years experance I’m sure you have seen it all, well that was until the next time.
rsomerville, if you are young and would like to give it a try I say go at it with 100% effort. If for some reason it doesnt work out at least you can say you gave it your best.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
Dear 2593…It’s one thing to have passion and commitment to your work, it is quite another to have fun doing what you enjoy. My suggestion is to never turn what you enjoy into your job. There are exceptions of course, and there are set limitations of time that one can attempt to make a living doing what they enjoy, but it rarely lasts a lifetime, and it’s always a challenge to find the necessary balance. Much better to be really good at your job, and make a lot of money doing it so you can afford to do what you enjoy when you want to do it.
P.S. The make a lot of money part let’s you “retire” early and do whatever the heck you want to do, like being a charter captain only when the weather is good, the fish are biting, and you take people you like, and you use the money to buy stuff you want and don’t need.
Sol Mate
Mako 20B
225 Optimax
quote:
Originally posted by bossdog1Dear 2593…It’s one thing to have passion and commitment to your work, it is quite another to have fun doing what you enjoy. My suggestion is to never turn what you enjoy into your job. There are exceptions of course, and there are set limitations of time that one can attempt to make a living doing what they enjoy, but it rarely lasts a lifetime, and it’s always a challenge to find the necessary balance. Much better to be really good at your job, and make a lot of money doing it so you can afford to do what you enjoy when you want to do it.
P.S. The make a lot of money part let’s you “retire” early and do whatever the heck you want to do, like being a charter captain only when the weather is good, the fish are biting, and you take people you like, and you use the money to buy stuff you want and don’t need.Sol Mate
Mako 20B
225 Optimax
Oh there are many many years of wisdom in this post alone…
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
if it’s something you think you want then try and apprentice with someone before you sink the money into all the licensing. I worked in Wyoming for awhile as a guide. It’s not all “guts and glory”. Turning passions into work can be rewarding but it can also drive you nuts. I can feel cracker larry’s pain on the “experts” and the nonstop work. If you still want it after a year of experiencing the grind. Go for it. Either way at least you aren’t left wondering! Just make sure and keep a part time job…
my wife used to ask me-why are you going fishing in January when it’s 20 degrees out, raining and the wind is blowing 30 mph?
my answer was- cause I have to be able to catch em 24/7/365
if you don’t like that- don’t be a guide
quote:
my wife used to ask me-why are you going fishing in January when it's 20 degrees out, raining and the wind is blowing 30 mph? my answer was- cause I have to be able to catch em 24/7/365if you don’t like that- don’t be a guide
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Exactly. Not to mention that you still have to pay all the bills in February, just like any other month. If you’ve got a client who wants to go when it is 20 degrees and blowing 30 with snow flurries,and you need to make the house payment, you go fishing. Not because you want to, but because you have to. And they will expect you to catch fish.
Boat payments, dockage, insurance, house payments, living expenses, everything still goes on in the winter. We used to be able to just run out and catch a load of grouper, snapper and blackfish to make payments in the winter, can’t do that now.
We’d take tourists on sightseeing trips to Daufuskie, dolphin watching tours, took out some movie crews a few times for filming of “Roots” and we had snow and ice on the deck. I’ve done 4 or 5 burials at sea, spreading ashes. Hint: make sure they are dumped downwind
It took me a week to get rid of Joe on the boat. Did a few marriages also, well I didn’t actually do them, just carried the couples and the preachers and party out where they wanted to be while they did their thing. Those were fun.
My best trip ever had 3 Swedish girls who didn’t want to fish, just wanted to ride around naked in the sun. OK with me, although we drew a crowd
In a good season you can make a lot of money, then you blow an engine, bust a prop, or shaft, or rudder, and have to spend your winter savings on repairs. You have to fix it or you can’t keep fishing. I once blew an engine on a Monday, inboard engine, and was solid booked with trips from Wednesday through the next 2 weeks with a group of conventioneers. I
It’s mean even to mention this without photos.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
“make sure they are dumped downwind”
words to live by right there.
