re: Owning a boat vs charter

quote:

---

I have three boats.and I want another one. The problem I have now is that i'm out of room at house for my boats. love to fish and I have two girls 16 and 14. They love to fish also. One good thing about owning your own. You can go when and where you want, and leave when you want. They do have maintenance but not as bad as you think, A lot of people talk sh-t about the expense of owning a boat. they probably don't even have one.

---

3 here also...there ain't no perfect boat....none of them get used as much as I would like but I like when I do use them. Being a "sport" or a client is just not for me...I will say up front that I have never been on a charter where I did not think I could catch as many fish as the expert with the boat...I have been on some where the expert definitely knew what they were doing and their local knowledge was a HUGE difference but I have also been on so many where I was supposed to be on one boat that suddenly changed to another at the last minute or a boat had mechanical issues or the mate was new or the captain was new that I just do not have many great charter moments to speak of...and I have been on a bunch.

I can't recount the times I have shown a mate how to rig a bait and started catching fish....I can't recall the number of times a captain failed to make bait and I have suggested areas where bait could be made, was made and fish caught. I taught a captain in Fort Lauderdale how to kite fish once and paid him $1200 a day for 3 ($3600) days for the for the privilege ...unless you are a regular, repeat customer most do not put in the time and effort required to catch fish consistently. Many aren't in the business full time and are only taking the charters they get handed down from the guy you thought you were going to be fishing with. That'd be fine if they told you up front but they wait until the morning before you get on the boat. Its happened to me numerous times. Just because they have access to a boat and have fished some does not mean they have a clue as to what they are doing...they will have glowing reviews on their website because the guy with the website knows what he is doing....but if you aren't booked out years in advance or been fishing with him for years you ain't going with him unless its an off peak time to go...

I am no expert by any stretch...volumes could be written about the stuff I do not know about offshore fishing....but with access to a sea worthy boat and some basic equipment I can catch fish offshore anywhere in the SE, the Caribbean, the Mid Atlantic and Mexico....I may not raise 20 sails a day in South Florida but I can usually manage 2 or 3, year around, and have had double digit days.....damn a charter...if it is your goal to reel in fish that someone else has actually caught they are great but if you want to actually catch the fish yourself you gotta have your own boat or at least have a friend with a boat....