A Day in the Life of a Charter Boat OperationReport Date: July 3, 2013It's a sunny June morning and depart with a fun loving group of Guys in town for a Bachelor party. The live bait at the marker was easy pickings and the guys had fun out fishing each other with the sabiki rigs. After getting our load of livies, Captain John shot off to the edge of the gulfstream and put out the baits. All the conditions looked good, but no bites. He watched as a fellow charter boat eased in just outside of him. They had multiple anglers hooked-up with dolphin (mahi-mahi). That boat's captain invited John over. The crew pulled in the spread and readied casting gear and baits. Once there, the mate chummed with bait chunks and it didn't take long before several of the guys hooked-up on dolphin. Our guests had a ball learning bailing the dolphin. One after another, the anglers would hook a fish while the others brought in their mahi. It wasn't long before the decks wee bloodied and covered with fish. Eventually, the bite died down, but not before we approached our limit. A tired and thirsty group headed in to the dock for a fresh lunch of grilled and blackened fish with sides and lots of smiles.
One short hour later, our afternoon charter guests arrived – a young couple. Again, the Blue Waters II was headed back offshore. Conditions had totally changed. The well-defined edge holding the fish was gone. So, the crew switched over to a trolling spread. Immediately, we had several hits but couldn’t get any of the fish to the boat. That was when our female angler confessed - she had never caught a despite previous opportunities. We were more determined than ever to change her fortune. Soon, she was solidly hooked-up with a huge bonita. The fight was on with a light tackle rod and reel. Finally, the fish surrendered and was in the boat!
Captain John
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