[loonzter]

Is this a new trend I see happening with party boats? are they now charging extra for bait? BYOB, will we have to start bringing your own bait? I fished the Capt Al in the Fall for Blacks and found you had to pay extra for Green crabs, now I read a post regarding a P- boat in freeport that charges extra for worms. Clams still seem to be provided at no extra charge. Whats your take on it?

 

[baywatch]

BYOB

I always though that BYOB was referring to booze.
Don't fish Party boats and now this even gives me a better reason to stay off them.

Do they really do this on P/B? If so they have got a lot B**** doing that.

 

[Captneilf]

loonzter

Hi,

I have no info on this. However, let me throw in my thoughts on why this might be happening.

Like everything else it usually comes down to money. I have heard owners say they would like to raise their prices alittle BUT the other boats in a port will not go up in price and there fore the least expensive boat has an advantage to attract fares. I have also heard this same talk in reference to near by ports charging less and getting more customers OR not raising their prices in fear of loosing their customers to the other port.

Have you checked the prices of diesel fuel down on a dock in the last month??
How about over $2.00. Fuel adds to the price of the fare.

Now if P boats are charging for the more expensive bait and they still supply clams, squid etc then they are giving the customers a choice. You don't have to buy the hermits or green crabs or whatever. You can bring your own. This way the p boats can keep the fare at the same price.

I personally like to pay the fare and not be asked to pay additional $$$ during the trip. The mates don't like to have to ask you for rig or bait $$$ either. It usually ends up hurting their tips.

Just my guess on why.

 

[baywatch]

Fuel

Hi Vapt Neil,

Got to disagree with the reason of fuel.

Most places have a fuel truck come to the dock and usually service the whole fleet. I do not know how the Star does it but fuel may be a little higher for them but not what we a re paying at the pumps.

From what you have stated it sounds like a real cut throat bussiness. In other words cheap fares but pay for the special bait once you are out on the water is a little low.

If they keep that practice up they will nobody at the rails and they won't have to worry about fuel.

 

[skatemaster]

Most partyboats have been charging for worms since I have been around (a long time). And unless blackfish is the primary target, they they often charge for crabs too. Nothing new. Other the other hand, I think that the Bunny Clark provides shrimp for bait, without a surcharge. A lot (but not all) boats charge for rigs, sinkers, jigs, etc. too. Just about all also charge for food and drinks, though that's not true of food on the west coast. I'm sure that some boats will see fuel surcharges this summer.

I'm all for POP (pay one price).

On any partyboat, the sharpies often bring their own bait.

(This post edited by skatemaster on 04/05/2003)

 

[Captneilf]

Baywatch

Hi Bill,

Yes, at some docks a fuel truck is allowed to come to the boats. There are places where this is not allowed or hoses won't reach that far.

How does $ 2.14 a gal for diesel at the dock sound? That was on Thursday!

 

[TRADEnFISH]

I remember fishing for flounders on the Capt. Lou many years ago and he supplied everything but worms. He sold them like a bait store would.

 

[Captneilf]

Hi all,

P boat owners are just like any other business owners. Each owner has his or her way of doing things.

First and foremost is survival. If you can't pay the bills you go out of business.

If each of us had the opportunity to work on several boats and in different ports you would have a better understanding of these things.

I have found that customers who bring their own equipment, rigs and even bait usually take better care not to lose rigs and not to waste bait. You would be amazed how fast a bag of 10 oz sinkers empties when they are included in the fare. Diamond jigs also. I could tell you lots of stories but would take too long to type.

Over the year I have cut bait that customers brought with them, especially fluke fishermen.

We as fares have to decide which boat, captain, mates, port, type of fish and even type of customers to chose on any given day.

 

[614048]

Virtually all of the party boats I have ever fished in over 20 years charged for worms and for crabs. But the price charged on the boats was almost always less than at local bait stores. One of the captains I spoke with said what they charged just covered their costs of buying and storing the bait.

I have never seen a boat that charged for either clams, bluefish bait or fluke bait though.

 

[Savvy18]

I'm not party boat bashing here because I know it is a tough business to run. However, if you think about it, it gets more expensive every year to be a fisherman too. Rods, reels, line, bait, party boat fare, pool and tip all add up to big bucks. If you figure a customer fishing from a party boat (any boat) once a week for eight months at an average of $40.00 a fare you are looking at $1,280.00. Now you want to add in the "new" bait expense for that angler. I think $10.00 per trip is a fair number. That comes to about $320.00 for that same person. Can't forget about the pool and the tip. You can add on another $10.00 which comes to $320.00 extra. You are now looking at an average (per year expense) of around $2,000.00. Figure you have been party boat fishing for 10 years. $20,000.00 could get you a pretty decent boat!

Now I remember why I rarely fish on party boats...not the only reason, just one of the better reasons!

 

[614048]

Trust me on this one, it costs way more than $2,000 a year to maintain and run any kind of a boat. Shoot, running a twin OB boat burning 15 gallons an hour will only have 70 hours of running time at $2 per gallon of gas before you spend $2,000. Now if you were to take your friends out and have them buy all the bait, gas and also pay the marina fees you would be onto something.

I could save a bundle by giving up my boat and taking 2 or 3 party boat trips every week instead.

 

[leakyrivot]

It's still economical

Savvy,

Just owning a 20ft. trailered boat costs you close to 2k a year.. even if you discounted maintainence there's fuel, registration, misc. insurance, & bait. I'm pretty cheap about it & I pay at least that.. I'd actually rather not calculate it exactly.. most of us supress these thoughts, it's a neccesity, this is fishing we are talking about ..

If you considered the cost of a larger boats fuel and/or upgrades & maintainence, marina fees etc... I'm sure there's pleanty on this site that pay 20,000.00 a year for boats under 30ft., not even counting money they owe on the boat itself.

Jon

 

[Miss Beryl Charters]

BYOB

Hey Loonz,
I can't tell you what the deal is on
other boats, But on the Capt. Al,
during the blackfish season, they
do charge for crabs. But they only
charge $1. per dozen. They do it because
some people tend to be pigs with the bait and will go through tons cause its "free". At only $1. per dozen, I think that is fair cause Capt Al keeps the fare as low as possible (at last was $37.) for a full day of fishing. So I dont have a problem with that at all.

 

[seaslug44]

My sources tell me that we might see a hike to $9 or $10 a dozen for sandworms by next year. That'll be almost $1 a worm!

 

[skatemaster]

Don't forget that green crabs are the next shellfish on the menu. Guess that we will all be fishing with artificials soon

 

[Savvy18]

SeaJay & leakyrivot,

Not sure what types of boat you guys are running. I know it is big bucks to own and maintain any kind of boat these days. I was not suggesting that every party boat customer should go out and buy a boat. Merely trying to show that not only does the party boat owner have an increase in operating his vessel, the average fisherman (woman) also has an increase in expenses every year. It is not cheap to go on a party boat every weekend. I happen to be very lucky to have a friend that owns a 20' boat. We have a good deal worked out that whatever the boat needs over the course of a season we split in half. Since his motor is brand new (Yamaha), repairs are not an issue. Bait and gas are split up with the rest of the crew and usually runs each of us $20 a trip.
That is not a bad deal at all. I guess I am just spoiled. It seems like so much money to me to spend $60 on a single trip and sometimes come home with nothing to show for it.

I could be nuts...just my opinion!

 

[MakoMike]

Savvy,
You should kiss your buddy the next time you see him. (I won't tell his wife )

 

[baywatch]

How come

Hi Dr...how come the hike?

 

[624435]

All party boats supply bait. Included in the fare, clam, squid, mussel, spearing, or fluke belly, depending on the species sought. All that is supplied WILL catch fish. When a boat charges for bait, is is an OPTION for you to purchase that particular bait. One type of bait will always be supplied with the cost of a fare. If a boat charges extra for worms or crabs, what's the big deal. For blackfish the boat will usually have green crabs or clam included, but if you think they will supply you with whites or hermits for no extra charge, you are out of your mind! If you think a boat is going to feed you worms or eels for an entire trip, you are out of your mind. The abuse factor comes into play here as well. The crew spends a lot of time preparing bait, shucking, and cutting clams, opening mussels, cutting squid, hanging and pulling bags of crabs to make sure they are all alive, and what does the customer do, fills a bucket of clams, reels up after thirty seconds and changes bait,and on each move, goes back to the table and grabs more,on top of what he already took(enough for three people for hours) only to cook in a bait bucket, which at the end of the day he feeds to the birds on the way home. Or in the fall, while a boat is blackfishing, a customer fills a bucket with crabs and then proceeds to cut the legs off of each and every crab in the bucket, as well as cut them all in half, only to see that the guys catching the fish are using whole crabs. Well what does this JACKA$$ do, he goes to the crab barrel and complains that what is left is all dead. All boats supply bait, if it gives you one type and charges for another, what's the problem. Do you hear this kind of b_tching and moaning on a boat that is jigging for bass, or blues, or cod? Do you expect to be given a jig or teaser every time you need a rig? Don't even get me started on rigs/tackle. Should a boat supply you with tackle as well?

 

[618563]

if they hand out the expensive baits for free, then people will steal them...seen people steal eels all the time from the party boats..