The charter/party industry...

[makosnax]

With your logic it is non sense for party boats to charge 60 dollars. You create more business and return customers by offering a good experience at a fair price. I'll be damned if im gonna pay 125 to go fluking when the guy on the party boat fifty yards away paid sixty bucks.

[BWhaler23]

Ok fellas I've heard and read enough.... Time to through my hat into the ring... I've got a twin engine boston whaler cc with tipical electronics and I've had it inshore for stripers and fluke and offshore for tuna... got all my paperwork and insurance....I guess $100. a head for a full day more for offshore and will take it from there.... Now don't all jump in at once and lets go fishn'...


Capt. Pat

[SaltLife1980]

The economy is not that great so that plays a role too. Another factor is maybe some of the boat owners have less expenses.. Or maybe they have the finances to just do it for fun and not need to money to live.. The price has to cover your expenses.. so if a boat can charge cheaper and still pay the bills and make a little money then more power to them.. Like if a boat can charge less but fill the boat and fish say everyday they will make money because the lower price will add up due to the amount of trips the boat makes..

[Reel Class]

Let's call a duck a duck and a horse a horse. This thread is about price gouging in the charter boat industry. It's about nothing more.

Think about it this way. You're driving down route 35, and you get to gas station A and see he's charging $2.75/gallon, wow! The guy in gas station B a half mile away is charging $3.75/gallon, you're not gonna go there because you wanna save a few bucks. You fill up with gas station A, as does 20 other people, and a week later, you're broken down b/c you got bad fuel and now you gotta pay for any repairs that need to be done.

The bottom line, Capt Kris said a few pages back, is YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Yes, for some of us, there are more expenses in terms of fuel and bait, and prices are adjusted accordingly. Some of us don't have the luxury of pulling out of our slip and drifting in the channel a mile away and catching some fish while most of the day your engine is idling and not burning fuel.

Typically, for me (and most other "shore area" guys to get my guys into fish on any given day, I'm covering a minimum of 10 miles, if not more, from dock to dock. I, like everyone else, try to keep my fares fair and reasonable - my engines and boat are good on fuel, we buy bait in bulk, etc.

With that said, I still have to make $$ on my trips. Yes, this is "part time" for me except for the summer when we do this full time and there is no $$ coming in; my business is paying bills - I have a family to feed, I have mortgage(s), other bills, etc. I, like most other guys have good intentions while running this business - it's the guys that have different intentions, or no intentions at all except to be some kind of a folk hero that takes guys fishing to cover the costs of his boat, that this thread is directed at. (Correct me if I'm wrong Vin!)

[reefsquater]

It's all clear now.


The party boats blame the charters for now having open boats which they didn't years ago. They are the best because they are on the water more then anyone.

The full time captain blames the part timers for coming into the business. They are the best because they are on the water almost as much as the party boat and have more range and smaller pieces they fish.

The part timers blame other part timers that don't offer as great a product as them. They are as good as the full time guy and they go the extra mile to put meat in the box.

The casual part timer considers himself as a good as any and just does it for the love of fishing.

The government blames it on overfishing, with the guys above clearly all taking way too many of this resource.

The conservatives blame the economy. No one is making money so prices need to be cheaper.



And the people who fish, last of all, don't care where the blame is. All of them just want a fair service at a reasonable price and find the option that fits them nicely.

[jenny lee sportfishing]

i must admit you are 100% correct. when the economy is struggling and prices are down/competitive the winner is the public. however, in all business generally speaking when you cut cost something is usually sacrificed. there most certainly are charter operations that really don't care or need to profit, but at the sake of integrity for the full time ones that do, i personally feel that running well under the industry is not a good practice. once again, i do realize that john q public is the benefactor of this practice.

[Flukinator]

Originally Posted by reefsquater

It's all clear now.


The party boats blame the charters for now having open boats which they didn't years ago. They are the best because they are on the water more then anyone.

The full time captain blames the part timers for coming into the business. They are the best because they are on the water almost as much as the party boat and have more range and smaller pieces they fish.

The part timers blame other part timers that don't offer as great a product as them. They are as good as the full time guy and they go the extra mile to put meat in the box.

The casual part timer considers himself as a good as any and just does it for the love of fishing.

The government blames it on overfishing, with the guys above clearly all taking way too many of this resource.

The conservatives blame the economy. No one is making money so prices need to be cheaper.



And the people who fish, last of all, don't care where the blame is. All of them just want a fair service at a reasonable price and find the option that fits them nicely.

Well-said. As I said on page 2, finger-pointing at each other isn't helping anyone. The fishing industry has enough stacked against it, and there are plenty of external issues to deal with.

And yes, you do get what you pay for. Paying less to go on a small boat with a captain who won't do too much to help you will work for some people (I don't mind this, as I often prefer to rig, cut bait, filet fish, etc. by myself), and won't for others. You pay a premium for premium service. I don't think people booking charters are oblivious to this fact! John Q. Public who fishes once or twice a year is going to go for the premium service because he can't do that stuff himself. Capt. Cheapo is likely going to take out customers who know what they're doign and just want a boat to fish on. In that way, everyone still gets what they want. I don't see how this hurts the industry more than ridiculous regulations and closed seasons.

[buckfin732]

So if a part time guy gets in the business to just cover expenses because he loves to fish is somehow a villen?Not everyone needs to make a ton of money and do it to be out on the water.Some guy do it to supplement there income and some guys do it for sole income.That's what makes this country great.The American Dream.A seat for every ass.The cheap Ass the frugal Ass the rich Ass and the dumb Ass.People will garvatate to what their pockets can afford.

[Fin Reaper]

Because of the way things are (economy, Sandy, fishing regs) Captains and Fishermen are being forced to make decisions that they previously didn't have to make. I only have so much disposable income so raising the price means I fish less, BUT I would rather fish less and have a higher quality trip than save a few bucks and deal with low quality bait and fishing areas based on fuel consumption rather than were the fish are. IMHO, the Walmart mentality is infanitly more distructive. You do get what you pay for.

John Ruskin said “There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man's lawful prey.”

[Pete]

There are just far too many variables here to give the right answer. There are boats with many amenities heat / ac, bigger faster engines, larger cockpits, shaded area, etc. etc. In the end though it is about catching fish. The better captains always manage to find them, even in the worst conditions. That is not to say they haven't ever returned to port with the donut. A one price minimum fits all just doesn't make sense. I have fished on boats with all the creature comforts, and the captain and crew did everything but wipe my arse. And, other boats where the fuel burned was at a minimum and the mate was more occupied with his I-phone rather than the fares. I prefer to do most of the heavy lifting myself, baiting, tying rigs, hook removal etc. But, not everyone does. There are many boats that I plunk down the higher end fare to, because they are worth it. And, others that I'd never sail with again. If I can experiment and find out firsthand who does it just as good for cheaper, lucky me. But, I have been burned as well. Cheaper can be just as good, sometimes even better. The guys who think (and I emphasize think) they are good at it, but aren't, won't be around very long at any price.

If there are guys doing this and losing money due to cheap fares, and no other reason, I say, shame on them. That just doesn't make sense.