The charter/party industry...

[sportfishingusa]

Originally Posted by joeya78

its a double ended sword, how about the boats that come out of port and are fishing within 1 mile of running?

boats in sailfish marina that go sailfishing and such in florida are getting upwards of 2500 per day to do that, then you have to pay extra for live bait, they go a few miles off the beach, sometimes 3 miles to the ledge and start fishing, we have boats up here getting 2500 for a day troll that is burning 400 gallons of fuel lol

[LegalEyes]

Save a few bucks, buy your own airline tickets and skip the timeshare hard sell.

Cross threading... both issues solved

[Captain Ahab]

Originally Posted by Harpoon

But ultimately the consumer wins out with choices. We can choose the port, boat, crew that we want to fish with and someone that is in our price range. That keeps anglers interested and helps the industry as a whole cause we keep fishing. That also keeps sites like this in business since they are a place for advertisers. Now from a personal business perspective its gotta be a brutal industry to be in...especially if its your full time gig but ultimately that was your choice in the beginning of it all.

I would compare it too moving next to an airport that been in operation for 100 years and then asking said airport to lower the noise level after you move in. You knew from the beginning the fishing industry is tough and you have to be ready to weather all the changes no matter where they come from. I would say this happens in many different industries...not just the fishing industry.

Hey Jon - I guess you are still alive

Any word on when I can get the stuff back?

[rumster]

I wouldn't buy a hyundai. hahaha kidding.. Your right in that aspect, but what i am trying to say, if that if your trying to get into the business, trying to get started, starting at the same rates as most boats in the area will put you in their market and allow you to make more money doing so. Market research has shown and proving countless times throughout the ages, that if you take the same product, be it a 5 dollar apple corer, and charge 10 instead of five, more people will buy at 10 because they think it is a better product yet it is the same crap 5 dollar product.

I find the apple corer analogy a little insulting. As a consumer it doesn`t take long to realize who is doing a good job for you and who is not, regardless of price. As a pb operator or pc operator if you were getting gouged on the price that you pay for gas or bait you would be the 1st one to complain. So here you are openly looking to have an entire industry raise prices on a forum that a large number of your customers are derived from regardless of the service or knowledge of that particular captain. That is not very smart.

[sportfishingusa]

Originally Posted by rumster

I wouldn't buy a hyundai. hahaha kidding.. Your right in that aspect, but what i am trying to say, if that if your trying to get into the business, trying to get started, starting at the same rates as most boats in the area will put you in their market and allow you to make more money doing so. Market research has shown and proving countless times throughout the ages, that if you take the same product, be it a 5 dollar apple corer, and charge 10 instead of five, more people will buy at 10 because they think it is a better product yet it is the same crap 5 dollar product.

I find the apple corer analogy a little insulting. As a consumer it doesn`t take long to realize who is doing a good job for you and who is not, regardless of price. As a pb operator or pc operator if you were getting gouged on the price that you pay for gas or bait you would be the 1st one to complain. So here you are openly looking to have an entire industry raise prices on a forum that a large number of your customers are derived from regardless of the service or knowledge of that particular captain. That is not very smart.

That would be sort of true if i was a charter boat captain or has any affiliation with a boat or business in the fishing industry any longer. As for the insulting analogy, it might be insulting but it is true, you put an over priced tag on something and people jump for it..

You completely missing my point here any how.. This is not about price gouging, this is not about rip offs, this is not about raising prices, this is about people coming into this business half assed. People coming in with boats they used to use just to fish and have fun, now they are charter to off set costs and although they may not be taking many customers away from your well known and reputable fishing boats, they are selling themselves short.

Answer me one question, if you have a product that you know can generate you 100k a year at a specific price point, why would you settle for 50k a year and work harder to reach 50 percent potential?

Same goes with the charter industry, lets use whole numbers, you run a boat and you get 500 a day for an all day trip, most boats are getting 1000 per day and running more trips if not just as many as you at 500, lets say each boats costs are exactly the same, the charter boat selling himself short at 500 a day is working twice as hard to make up for the difference the boat charging 1000 a day is making, when the guy making 500 a day and working twice as hard, could charge 1000 a day and work half as hard.. Make sense? kinda like the old saying, working smarter not harder.. Hard work is needed to survive and be successful, but if you run ragged and run your business with no care as to your bottom line or what your time is worth, then you might as well go pee in the wind.

[Fish Tank]

I've been thinking about this for a while and don't think there is any right or wrong answer here, just different ways of looking at things. Some businesses make their money by volume and others make money by higher margins.

Walmart can sell a handbag for $30 meanwhile my fiance' makes me spend $300 at a Coach store! They both probably cost around $10 to make and can hold the same amount of stuff (which is the whole purpose of a bag, isn't it?), but the difference is that most of the population can afford the Walmart bag and once you get into the Coach pricerange, you have narrowed down the market of potential buyers. At the end of the year, if Walmart sells 10x the amount of bags than Coach does because their market of potential buyers is 10x greater, don't they both make the same amount of $? The same applies in this business as well.

Some operations are geared towards the higher-end clientele who expect a large, fast, vessel with a mate ready to retie rigs and dehook your fish, a nice galley with breakfast served on the way out, top of the line reels on custom rods, an endless supply of sinkers and tackle, etc. For that, I can certainly agree that there should be a premium associated with that type of service.

On the other hand, there are some boats that have a clientele base of people that just want to fish as much as possible. For those people, they are willing to sacrifice some of those additional ammenities for a lower price point which allows them to fish 4-5xs per month instead of 2-3.

That is what originally attracted me to Capt. Tommy's boat, "Right Away II", and why I have been a weekly regular of his for the past 10 years and now have entered into business with him. I have my own equipment and tackle and bring my lunch (mostly Coors Light with an occasional sandwich if I remember to pack it). I enjoy tying my own rigs and releasing my own fish. I don't have a problem hauling an anchor if necessary or picking up a brush and wiping down the gunnels. To me, that is all part of the sport of fishing and the fact that I was able to fish more often because of that made it all worth it.

Just because Capt. Tommy's business model is a little different compared to some of the other boats (a large customer base of weekly regulars instead of less frequent fares) doesn't mean we catch less fish, aren't willing to travel farther to find the bite and aren't making money. In fact, a lot of the posts/responses we have received on this site reference him as arguably one of the best bottomfishermen in the area.

I understand not everyone has the same opinion as me and that is the beauty of this site. It allows each of us to speak openly about certain topics and get different perspectives from a wide range of people.

Tight Lines!

~Capt. Kevin

P.S. If anyone would prefer to pay $200 for an open boat spot, we will gladly oblige

[Skolmann]

Fish Tank, agree 100%.

[jigemup]

Agree with Fish Tank, been fishing with Tommy since 2000.

[damnyankee]

I'm bringing PBR this week, Kev. And free market = you can charge what you want and provide whatever service you want. If it affects others' business in an industry, well, it's supposed to. Like natural selection, those that adapt will thrive and those that don't will die off. On the demand side, customers are free to choose whatever price/service they want. I've been with Tommy for three years, following him from 3 boats. Every time I've been on another charter, it reminds me why I fish with Tommy around 35 times a year. As Capt. Kevin said, other charters provide free lead, a mate to tie your rigs and unsnag you, and whatever else. But I don't want those things, and when I go on those charters I tell the mate so. I still pay my full fare, and tip, but I didn't get the service I paid for by my own choice. That being said, I choose to fish with Tommy predominantly, because he is not charging for those things. I supply my own lead, tackle, gulp, etc. and I am my own mate. And that allows for a lower fare. Mind you, I'm not cheap, I just enjoy doing those things for myself. Which brings me back to my original point of it's my choice in a free market.

[Chico]

When I first began hiring charter capts I did go with some of the lower priced charters. The boats were smaller, they did not use a mate, and were relatively speaking kinda new to the charter business. Today some of them are among the high priced charters. They were able to attract new fishermen to the charter concept with their lower prices and build up a clientele that was loyal and over the years their clients saw that it was worth the extra $$ to stick with their charter captains. If I would not have found that Capt. in Key Largo who would take two of us offshore all day for $550. in 1999, or the Capt. in Sw Fla. that would run open boats to fish offshore for $150. per man. I would never have even gone on a charter boat!! I would still be fishing with the partyboats, I would never have known what I was missing. The same goes for the partyboats. I personally, am loyal to a particular sponsor boat out of Pt Pleasant Beach, they have ALWAYS exceeded or met my expectations. Friends always ask me to try other boats, I just can't see why?? I know what I am getting with my first choice, and don't mind paying more for what I see as a great value and a positive experience. Let's go fishing!!!