First, you will want to make sure that the company you are purchasing your charter through is reputable. There are a lot of charters available, but unfortunately, there are a lot of guys on the water that do not carry proper safety gear, or licensing, if required, to carry other passengers. This, along with a lack of sufficient insurance, means that yourself, and your guests are at risk when you step foot onto the boat. Spend some time up front to make sure that the prospective charter guide service is right for your group.

Next, figure out what you are going to do with the fish that you catch. When charter fishing, you are usually going after trophies, so if you are going to want to eat the fish, let the captain know ahead of time, so that he can help you catch edible sized targets. Trophy fish do not make the best table fare, but if you are intending to stuff the fish for display, then let the captain know that as well. He will likely recommend a taxidermist to you, to help connect with someone that can make your dreams a reality. Keep this in mind for your next charter fishing trip, to have a much better time.

As for what to expect on your charter boat fishing trip, you are going to want to have to get up early in the morning to get onto the boat, and are going to want to expect to be on the water all day. The charter captain will take care of meals and drinks for your group, so you don’t have to worry too much about packing lunches. Just be prepared for a long day, because it often takes an hour or more to get to your fishing spot, while not a problem in the beginning of the day, for the less determined anglers in your group, it may cause fussing and fighting just from being worn out and tired on the trip back to the marina.

photo credit: theSuperStar

Some charter fishing boats and companies will often times load up other groups onto the boats with your group, and while this isn’t a problem because of the size of the boat, some times you get groups together that just don’t get along well, and as mentioned earlier, at the end of the day this causes stress and tension, which has happened on a lot of the multiple group charter boat fishing trips I have been on, and unfortunately this method earns the captain more money, so they like to practice it. If this is going to be an issue for your group, or you think you may just have more fun with the few people you want to bring, there are captains that will cater to your needs, so consider asking for it up front and you may receive.

Deep sea charter fishing is by far one of the cheapest ways to get out and catch some really large fish. The monsters live in the deep, and a good charter captain is going to take you to the shelf where the water drops from hundreds of feet deep, to thousands of feet deep. If they aren’t going to the shelf, they will probably take you to the sunken ships and reefs that the government often builds up for sport fishing efforts. Whatever the case, the gas for these boats, as well as bait and the captains time do cost a bit of money, but you can easily load a charter fishing boat down with you and 5 of your buddies, and each person spend less than $100 to fish for the day. You will all be guaranteed huge catches too as long as you choose a decent charter fishing captain.