My husband was wanting to go fishing. Can you tell us any info on that. We weren't sure on what is a good rate and ........everything else.
Hey Tip~
There are many, many charter fishing operations in PCB. When we were at the marina one evening, I saw several folks just walking up and down the docks speaking to different guys about renting. I guess maybe they rent cheaper that way. I remember some previous posters having trouble with born to boogie charters.. I did a google for panama city beach charter fishing and got dozens of hits. Only a few gave out their rates online, however, so here's an example:
Jubilee Charters.... 5 hr trip (7-12 or 12:30-5:00) - $50 per person
6 hr trip 9-3 $55 per person
8 hr trip 8-4 $60 per person
Riders (non fishermen) $20 per person
I guess this rate is per hour, which explains why I'm not a fisherman! Way too rich for my blood!
I'm sure you'll get a lot of good help on this subject; just wanted to get you started!
party boats normally cheapest....charter or guide depends on what you want and how many people go
here's a list from half hitch tackle
http://www.halfhitch.com/PcBoatList.asp
the queen fleet (gemini, oceanm etc) has been in pc for a long time
here's another list, some of which are dupes
coaches
i think the rates you have are for the time specified, not per hour....from the lists i looked at, the jubilee is a party boat not a charter boat....most rates are quoted on a 1/2 day or full day basis, not per hour
i looked into going on a charter last year...a lot of boats are looking to fill out their charter and you can go with them...they will put you with someone you don't really know and the cost, imo, was pretty pricey....$400 to 500 for 4 people for the trip
Here's an email I sent my sister when she was asking me about deep sea fishing:
Go to the docks soon after you get there in the late afternoon and talk to the charter companies and then look at the boat they want to put you on before you pay...There's No refunds! Don't think the boat on their flyer will be the one you actually go out on. You pay for the boat, not per person. It looks like they're around $125 pp based on 6 ppl on the boat for 6 hours. That's $750 total divided by 6ppl = $125 each person for a 6 hour charter. Don't go out on one those bay type boats with no AC.
Here's a couple links for deep sea charter fishing:
http://www.thebeachloversbeach.com/do/watersports/listings.php
http://www.panamacitybeachfishing.net/
http://www.captandersonsmarina.com/charters.htm
Group deep sea fishing: You MIGHT want to try one of these for your 1st time to get your feet wet...cheaper, and they allow riders for a discount.
http://www.jubileefishing.com/treasisland.html
http://www.jubileefishing.com/jubilee.html
http://www.captandersonsmarina.com/deepsea.htm
Hey, thanks JTborl for explaining that one to me! I had no idea how they determined the rate! I knew Tip71tam would get some real experts on here to help!!
And Arewethereyet.... did you know that the medicine used in that little round patch people put behind their ears for motion sickness is also a truth serum??? OH THE POSSIBILITIES
;-D
like AWT yet said, the boats really don't look like the pictures....when i looked at some last year, there was no way i would have gotten on a few of them.....to me that the boats by capt andersons and the boat yard seemed to be in better shape than the ones by the treasure ship, but just my opinion
coacheswife, You mean a patch + an ear = truth. Wow, I didn't know that! Hmmm....My little wheels are turning now...
A few years ago I took my son deep sea fishing in Destin. Being this was our first private charter outing, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Being a newbie at this, I just assumed we were getting the pretty boat on the brochure...Not! The morning of our trip, I was surprised to see we were going out on THE junkiest boat in the harbor. Keep in mind, at this point, there are no refunds and they were paid in full the night before. Then there was the captain - what a treat he was...some old grumpy. crusty ol' salt. I should have known what we were in for when as soon as we get there, the 1st mate comes up from the engine bay covered head to toe with diesel fuel. And he was wreaking of it too. Said they had a "little" problem down there. I'm thinking...Oh No! So, unfortunately we had the pleasure of smelling those diesel fumes the whole trip. FYI: diesel fumes + heat + motion sickness is NOT a good combination! Then half way into our trip, the AC breaks down...and it was HOT that day with NO breeze in the gulf! Sweet!!! We figure what else could go wrong...well guess what...the fish finder breaks! Huh??? How are we going to fish without a fish finder??? I'm ready to kill the captain at this point. Well turns out the ol' captain bailed us out and found some old cars and what not that were dumped in the ocean years back as an artificial reef using his GPS, that had lots of Red Snapper hanging around them, so the day turned out OK...fishing wise.
But I learned my lesson: inspect the boat before you pay. Most of those big outfits have numerous boats in there fleet, and many aren't listed on the brochure as they are part timers...that fill in during the busy months. So buyer beware!
I've gone a couple times since and the best advice I could give is try to find a good caption and boat. Typically, the bigger the boat, the faster and smoother it is. Fast is a good thing as you don't want to spend most of your day getting to and fro your fishing spots. A good captain is a definite plus as he will know where all the good "secret holes" are to fish. Definitely pick out a boat with AC in the cabin...definitely! Go visit the docks when you get in town early evening after they come back in (around 5 pm) and check out the boats. Talk to the charter cos to see which boats are available and then check out those boats - before you pay. Do this as soon as you get there and book asap as they book up fast. Then you need to decide if you want to go 1/2 day or a whole day. Typically, the longer you go - the further out they go - the better the fishing. The further out you go, the less those spots have been fished, which equates to more fish, hence better fishing. But the longer you go, the more it will costs. Most charters are 6 ppl, so you'll need to split the charter with others. The charter company will handle that if there's less than 6 in your group. You could get a boat to yourself, but it's very expensive, as you pay for the boat, not per person. What ever the boat cost, will determine what each person has to pay; the less people on the boat, the more each person will have to pay. I'd also wait till you get there and watch the weather reports as opposed to booking in advance.
Then you need to decide if you want to bottom fish or troll. Bottom fishing you get Red Snapper, Grouper, Amberjack, etc. - good eating fish. Trolling you get game fish like King & Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, Tuna, Mahi-mahi, Wahoo, Barracuda, etc. - fun fish to catch, but typically only one fish at a time so everyone takes turns fishing. When bottom fishing, you sit in one spot (hopefully where the fish are), but everyone gets to fish at the same time. I prefer to do a combination - some light trolling heading out as far as we can go to bottom fish.
The 1st mate will clean the fish when you get back - tip him say $20+ if he's helpful while fishing. Take a disposable cooler with you and he will ice down your catch to take back to your condo. When you get back to the condo, take out the fish you plan to eat there and immediately put the remaining fish in a big freezer bag, fill it with water and freeze it. Your fish will stay fresher that way. You can take your fresh fish to a restaurant and have them prepare it if you want. I'm not sure which restaurants do that in PCB, but many do in Destin.
Last tip: Don't forget to take your Dramamine that morning, maybe one the night before as well.
Good Luck!