Boat Captain pt 1

Lots of people tell me they would love to be a charter captain, "BOY, you have the greatest job in the world!" Getting paid for taking people fishing!! That's like saying the president gets paid for signing a few bills. They don't see the other 18 hrs a day he spends running the good ole USA.

My job entails being the guide and finding fish for you. Fish don't stay in the same place all the time, anytime there is a place where the fish hang out in the same place, fishermen quickly find out about it and quickly fish it out. I have some secret spots, but the other charter guys know my boat, and when they see me in a spot for more than a few minutes,they will wait for me to leave, then move over it to check it out with their electronics. Later they will come back and fish it, now it's not secret anymore.

For the past 25 yrs I have been insisting that my customers release all bass over 5 lbs. These are special fish, it takes 8 to 12 yrs to grow to this size. I have caught the same fish many times in a season, ( I mark them with a tag, then I can keep track of that fish, sometimes for years. )

People don't realize how hard it is to keep a boat in shape for chartering, You usually drive them for two days and work on them for three days. My wife thinks its just an excuse to get out of the house. The salt air is constantly eating up your wiring and generally causing havoc with anything metal ( your motor ). During the charter season the boat is kept in a slip in Marina del Rey, the rest of the year the boat is kept on the trailer in dry storage. Salt water is hell on a boat!!