Starting fishing charter business

[Bandjoe]

Hi there,

I am in the process of starting a charter fishing business for live aboard charters - mainly fly and lure fishing promoting catch and release.

As part of my research thought I'd throw it out there to see what you guys look for in a charter?

Any tips and advice on what makes a good charter stand out from the rest?

Cheers

Lewin

[Fafnir]

Hi Lewin,

Well done on starting up and for doing a bit of research. There are a few things that have annoyed me on charters in the past so I will give you the opposite of those as things that I now look for.

Good Tackle - doesn't need to be Stella's or Saltiga's, but if I am away and can't use my own gear then I like to use reasonable gear that's well maintained.
Some effort from the skipper -I've been on a few charters where the guide/skipper hasn't seemed too concerned that we weren't catching fish. I've been on better ones where the skipper busts their backside trying to get us on to fish. Not much the skipper can do if the fish aren't around, but I appreciate those that try hard.
Open communication - I like charters where the person running it tells me their plan, what they're looking for, what we can expect etc. And then if it's not working, what their next plan is. If they get up to plan E or F and we're still not catching fish at least I know they're trying.
Education - Charter boat operators are out fishing a lot more than I am. I like it when they share their knowledge on techniques or tips on lures colours, retrieve styles etc that have worked for them. Even if you're not catching fish, if you're learning something then it's been worthwhile.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

So what type of boat? Whereabouts are you setting up? Are you doing estuaries, offshore or a bit of both?

[Lucky_Phill]

Cost.......... = .......... Value for money.............

That can be achieved with good gear, good crew, good food, good boat, good location, good skipper.......... doesn't have to be 5 star, just good.

LP

[snapperdan]

Good food. After a shitty rainy windy day with bugger all fish its great to come back to the boat to be met with sashimi, ceviche, fresh prawns etc. Chilli Mudcrab / bbq crayfish for dinner every night.

Good guides. THe guide maybe the best fisho in the world but a guide is not just a fisho. He is an entertainer, he is your friend, he can relate to many different types of folks from different walks of life. As a charter you cant pick and choose your customers they choose you. The guide is the face of the business. The clients spend most of there time with him. Your aim is to get repeat customers who book out the same week every year. The way to do this is through good guides.

Remember it is all about the customer. He wants to do a pre breaky assault on the spanish mackerel you do it. The client requests the guide doesnt smoke while fishing he doesnt. He wants to cast net some live poddies to fish live bait for barra you get it done, if the crabs are no good a certain month call up a seafood supplier and get some sent in etc. The live aboard charter market is a lot more fragmented than what it was a decade ago when the aussie dollar was cheap, yankies were in abundance etc. Aussies are traveling overseas more and more and seeing how much farther their dollar goes. We are not the only country with great fishing and there are some great lodges, live aboards and towns with great fishing / shopping/ nightlife. Your competing against them all.

[Noelm]

I have been on a few charters, some good, some shit, the worst one of the lot was from Sydney and the deckie slept all the way out, (while the owner/skipper was up on the flybridge) and when we started to fish, he took the only decent rod and fished with it, left us to fend for ourselves, never going with them again, ever, so from that I guess my main wish would be to have a good crew and hope they treat you as paying customers and not competition.

[Bandjoe]

Hi Guys,

Glad I put it out there - all really good solid tips. We will be the owner/operator so we will be putting everything into it - ensuring we get as close to the fish as possible. I like snapperdan's remarks about the guides - it is very true. We will have 3 qualified guides onboard for the charters, so we need them to be thinking like fish and like you say good company is a must - a good screening prior to employment and references and recommendations I guess will help us out with avoiding the duds.. Another must which I agree on is some good quality mudcrabs!!!

My partner and I are lucky enough to have some good solid previous boating experience, but this will be our first venture on our own. It is all a bit challenging getting started but I'm sure it will pay off.

Fafnir you've got some really good points that Im sure gets overlooked quite often by operators who have been in the business for a long time - and they forget that they are there for the guests enjoyment and its not 'just another day at work'. Cheers for bringing that up! We will be up in Cape York, FNQ area and mainly estuary fishing but also have access to some good pelagics and inshore reefs.

With all the rain we are getting up here it should be a good start to our season!

Lewin

[choppa]

i think the magic question would have to be what size boat/style you are going to be utilising for this venture,,, meaning we all have our pet hates and likes,,, but without knowing the vessel or if tenders are involved etc,,, your query is a bit hard to answer specifically

[snapperdan]

Having fished with Seafaris up at cape york (years ago) the only fault i could give them was not having a guide every day. On your guided day you killed it in the rivers, flats, offshore every where. On the days you fished your self you didnt do so well. The trip cost alot of money (more so than their competitors) and they had earned a reputation however i felt like hey could squeaze abit more fishing in by travelling at night. For example we all get off the plane at bamaga and jumped on the boat had a quick briefing and steamed down the coast. We put a troller out and caught some good fish but had to stop fishing as to clear the river mouth before dark.

We could have jumped on the boat and had a quick rig and a briefing and easily got in a half day session around some of the islands up at seisia and then had a nice dinner and steamed late at night to clear the river mouth at dawn. Then it would be early breaky and straight into it.

The same on the way back. We fished till lunch time and then steamed home for a dinner on the pick at seisia. Would have loved to have had just a few more hours or one last cast. I also wished to have had access to a bigger boat. I know alot of the anglers are fly only and many come to fish this area for its permit and its abundance of species caught sight casting in shallow water just off the beach in the lee of the trade winds but. There are marlin and sailfish there and there are lots of them. We needed something a bit bigger than a 4 and a half meter flats boat to fish past 10 meters depth comfortably. A US center console with tower or a small single diesel express like this one http://www.gameboats.com.au/brokerage/165/Griffin-31-Freedom.htm but with a tower and you would be able to get a bit further offshore for bill fish no matter the weather and also stalk the cobia that are ever present so much better. As you can see i like the offshore more than the inshore and the west cast of cape york is one of the most interesting fisheries i have ever had the pleasure of fishing.

[Bandjoe]

Thats great....

The main vessel will be a catamaran around the 50ft mark (liveaboard with all the mods and cons)- tenders will include a couple of 5m plate aluminum purpose built boats for the estuaries and inshore fishing and we are planning on having 6m custom craft which will be in survey allowing the guests to get out a little further from the main boat. We have already taken the fishing in day/steaming at night into consideration Snapperdan as I remember this was one thing that annoyed me on a charter I went on.

There's some good points you have brought up and I've taken some good notes - good hearing opinions from guests point of view. Cheers

[NoBananas]

I've only been on about 6 charters. There were 2 charters that I thought were average.
First, cramed shoulder to shoulder and with this came tangles and twists all day long. I know it's a business but with that I won't rebook with this person ever again.
Second, Was fishing for a good 2 hours on with mostly undersized catch. The tackle was old and in poor condition. The deckie decided he would have ago. He used his own tackle (lighter and in good condition) He did catch a good size fish, the first decent one for the day. He then showed it off to the paying clients and said "this is my dinner". Considering there was only 4 keepers on board with 13 clients I thought the deckie could of handled that a bit better.

Positives.

One deckie I thought did a great job. He kept us informed of everything we did from setup of rigs, drift lines, anchoring to fish info. Not only that he made us all feel very welcome and went the extra mile to land the fish. Also he had made sure there was a spare rig at all times. As soon as you busted a rig he was handing you another ready to go.

Cheers,
Lefty

[NAGG]

Lewin ..... you are off to a flying start - I wish you all the best with the venture.
word & mouth are going to be so important to your business in the first couple of years ....... and understanding that is the key.

My 10 things that are important to me are .

1) Information /web site & communication have to be top shelf
2) Presentation ...... the first things your clients will see & hear on arrival
3) Care - get to know the clients even before they jump aboard (skill levels) - Food / alcohol preferences
4) Equipment - Quality & well maintained
5) Understand what your clients want ...... dont assume anything but also if need be interject if something suggested is the wrong choice
6) Guides who know their stuff and are passionate fishoes ...... it cant just be a job
7) accommodation / food / amenities - needs to be comfortable ( make it an experience)
8) Boats .... see 4)
9) Engage with your clients during the day .... get feeback
10) Price ....... meet the above & you'll get your price as long as it is competitive and realistic.


Chris


PS - I've spent time with a couple of charters over the years & you felt you were with mates .....and not just a client

[snapperdan]

Another thing to think about is marketing.

Back to seafaris, they built there reputation on not only catching permit. They were the charter operator of choice for rex hunts fishing adventures back in the time we didnt have 10 different fishing shows available on pay tv. While many folks didnt take much notice of rexy they loved bushy and starlo. Starlo wrote so many magazine articles about that place you would have thought he invented it. Same with Jose Wejebe of spanish fly fame. He put them on the map in the states and the yankies came in droves. I was the only Aussie on my trip (2003). They were all yanks and a few poms who had also seen the operation via rexy. Though see this tread from a us forum about cash for comment on popular us programs http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f186/who-makes-money-fishing-tv-who-pays-bill-1564708.html

The asian market is a huge one. Hong Kong, KL, Singapore, Japan , Jakarta, plus china and and its ever swelling middle class. This is where i would try and get a foot in. It might take a while however this is where most of our tourists come from now days. Fishing is huge there, people have money and want to spend it.

On another topic i would also like to see some torres strait islander guides. It would be great to see some of the "local" folks up there get a gig out of something they do every day for survival.

Also and i dont know how you will take this one. FREE BEER. I know grog is pricy up that way and also heavily restricted due to dry zones etc however beer doesn't have to be bought and sold on board at inner city night club prices. Make up home brew and have kegs onboard. Charge $1 a beer or something. Its not rocket science and your clients will love the fact they dont have to put there hands in there pocket at the end of the trip except to tip the guides.

[PinHead]

I have been with three charter operators..would not hesitate to go with any of them again..in fact, I will be going with them at some stage. Those operators alwasy make you feel welcome and try hard to get you on the fish. In saying that, I doubt I would consider going on any other charters in SEQ.

I have not been on an overnight charter and would be hesistant..if I don;t like the opratror I am struck there for the entire night...would not be a pleasant experience.

"mainly fly and lure fishing promoting catch and release."..dunno where you will be operating but I know I enjoy brigning home a feed. Don't stifle your client base by stating the catch and release too loudly in the early stages.

Good luck with the venture.

[snapperdan]

I have been with three charter operators..would not hesitate to go with any of them again..in fact, I will be going with them at some stage. Those operators alwasy make you feel welcome and try hard to get you on the fish. In saying that, I doubt I would consider going on any other charters in SEQ.

I have not been on an overnight charter and would be hesistant..if I don;t like the opratror I am struck there for the entire night...would not be a pleasant experience.

"mainly fly and lure fishing promoting catch and release."..dunno where you will be operating but I know I enjoy brigning home a feed. Don't stifle your client base by stating the catch and release too loudly in the early stages.

Good luck with the venture.

Sure , but this is not a fishing charter as such. Its an adventure to a wilderness area where fish are basically guaranteed and its fly in fly out unless you want to spend a few days in a 4wd beating the shit out of your self. Luggage weighs are very restricted and tackle takes the priority. You loose heaps of tackle during the trip so you could possibly take home a feed of fillets however it might not make the flight and go bad, you could organise airfreight i suppose but the costs would prob out way the cost of buying it at the fish market. Its not a swains trip or a bottom bashing charter. Spanish, cobes and tuna are kept generally for consumption that night. Maybe the odd golden snapper or black jewie but other than that its chucking lures at acres of fish. I have on video somewhere a estimated 50 to 60 kg spanish (thats right no bs) cutting a whole 10 kg long tail tuna in half in a bite. it was like a scene from a horror movie , i have never seen so much blood. We entered a tiny creek to look for some queenies one day and a 200kg groper took up residence under our dory. We hook a fish and big mumma would go nuts and smash our hooked fish. Greedy gutz ate about 10 fish in an hour so we left as the yank i was fishing with had 2 fly rods broken by the fatso. Truly unreel fishing. Perhaps the greates mixed species, light tackle fishing on earth.