I have heard that it is well known rule that the captain of a fishing charter gets to keep any "giant" fish like Tuna, etc. Is this true, and why is this allowed if you are the one paying for the boat charter?
2007-01-31 10:54:09 · 4 answers · asked by photoguy1967 3 in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Fishing
In California Ive been fishin for 46 years on open party boats Ive won many jackpots and the captain has never taken my fish in fact they take your picture for the photo album on the boat and hand you cash tipping is 50 to 70 percent the cook on one of the boats gave me a 18lb halibut because of good tipping
2007-01-31 13:12:01 · answer #1 · answered by gaffingpoints 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm a charter captain here in Kona, HI. I have to tell you that the general rule out here seems to be that the fish stays with the boat, although it is starting to change a bit. A lot of companies will tell you that the income they get from fish sales to restaurants and markets are a way to keep their charter prices down. I don't think so.
On my boat, (No Mercy) we normally share all of the "eating fish" like ono, (wahoo) mahi mahi (dorado) and ahi (yellow fin tuna). The client is free to take all of the catch, or as much as they would like, and my crew and I eat the rest. We encourage tag and release of our billfish since the stocks seem to be on the downturn, but we'll bring them if a client wants to eat it or a trophy mount.
Where things can get dicey is when you've brought in a 150 pound tuna and the client wants a few steaks from it to barbeque. Restaurants and markets only buy whole fish. That 150 pounder can easily be worth $500 or more, but it's worthless if you cut into it to get those fillets. I don't have a freezer big enough for the other 75 or 80 pounds that'll be left over afterwards.
As a rule of thumb, the best thing you can do is have a conversation about what you want to do with any fish you catch with the captain before you pick a charter since there are no hard and fast rules and you don't want to be surprised.
2007-02-04 02:34:38 · answer #2 · answered by Jeff L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My fiance is a charter captain. He keeps the monsters he catches and the others if people don't want them. He doesn't just grab someone's big fish. That's bullsh!t.
2007-01-31 18:57:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its not true only if the people dont want them. Or if he catches it.
2007-01-31 21:11:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋