Booking a charter boat trip

Questions to ask yourself
First things first. What type of fishing do you want to do?

Wrecking, reef, general sea fishing and so on

Where do you wish to sail form
Sounds common sense but work out where you can get to , remembering your travel time as skippers often set sail early in the morning (6am - 8am ) . So when choosing where to sail from it is important as you do not want to have a three hour drive to your location if your charter boat trip sets off at 6am . Remember your safety as if you have a long drive and an early sail we strongly recommend that you book yourself into a B&B or hotel as tiredness kills

Choosing your charter boat
So have chosen where and what type of fishing trip you would like to do. Its time think about which charter boat to hire. Charter Boats cost from £200 to £450 a day to hire (individuals £20 to £50)

Most charter boats are licensed from 6 to 12 anglers (this means how many anglers are allowed to fish)

Note - individual trips can be booked through most skippers but are generally limited. You will find that it a case of ringing round and getting a bit lucky. Some skippers set aside dedicated dates just to take out individual anglers .Which gets the big thumbs up from www.seafishingonline.com

So how do you choose your charter boat ? A great place to start is to look at our charter boat section were you will find a large list of charter boats. Its worth ringing around the skippers and getting quotes

Always check that the skippers are full licensed and insured / they sail from the port you wish as there can be more than one place in the UK with the same name / they offer the style of fishing you are looking for and can cater for the number of anglers you wish to take

It is also an idea to ring or pop into the local sea fishing tackle shop and ask them if they know of any good skippers from your port, as word of mouth is a very reliable way of finding a good skipper

All skippers will require a deposit to confirm the boat and if you do not send off your deposit in time then it is only fair that the skipper will fill the date with another party. So be warned!!!

Organising your fishing party
Before booking your charter boat it is always advisable to make sure you can fill it. So if you have 8 people who are interested then make sure they can defiantly go on the date you are looking at booking

Once you have booked your boat then get the payment in full from all your party. The reason for this is that there is nothing worse than eight people saying they will go and on the day only six turning up. With less people on the day it will only mean that the other six people having to pay the extra (it is not up to the skipper to make up the short fall)

Always get payment from all your party well in advance!!! As if someone drops out and you cannot find a replacement then there space has been paid for (sounds harsh but its just got to be done) Remember to tell your group that if they drop out and a replacement cannot be found then they loose their money

Bait


If you are not wrecking then you will have to organise your bait for the day. This can be done two ways

1. Through the skipper - Although not all skippers do this, it is worth asking and you may find that you will do a little mackerel bashing on the way out. If the skipper does organise your bait then you will pay a little extra , which is only fair
2. Through a tackle shop - It is strongly advised to book your bait well in advance as phoning two days before is going to end in disappointment

For advice on what type / quantity of fishing bait to buy just ask your skipper as they are a wealth of information

Phone numbers
Always make sure that you have everyone's phone number (including mobiles) as if you need to phone anyone from your fishing trip you can. This sounds like teaching you to suck eggs but I have been on many trips were this has not been done

Tackle for your trip
Nearly all skippers will hire you or your group rods and reels for your trip (at a small hire charge) but you must check if end tackle is needed to be supplied by yourselves, things like hooks and weights. Make sure that you inform the skipper if you wish to hire tackle when you make your booking

If you have your own gear then the skipper will advise you on what end tackle and lead weight will be best for your trip

The night before the trip
Right it's the night before the trip you have the boat money safely store so you do not forget to take it. You have your bait and tackle sorted for the boat, what's next?

The night before you will need to phone the skipper at a pre arranged time to check if the trip is still on, as the weather can change. This is vital and the skippers decision if final. It is worth bearing this in mind if you are travelling down the night before to stay in a B&B that a trip can be cancelled at short notice due to the weather.

You've got the go ahead or not from the skipper, you now need to do what is called a "ring around "to inform all your group if the trip is on or not (this is why getting everyone's phone numbers is essential)

If you have never been out on a charter boat and do not now whether you might get sea sick then this is the time to start taking your sea sickness tablets, as it gives the tablets time to build up in your system. For information on sea sickness tablets go to your doctor or local pharmacy. Always better safe than sorry as a charter boat does not come back to port if only one person is sick

Remember you need to take your own food and drink for the whole day.

On the day
If its an early start then it's a good idea to do a ring around in the morning to check that everyone's up and also to get someone to phone you as well (people do over sleep it's a fact of life)

Once you get on the boat the skipper should show you where the life jackets and raft are kept. If he does over look this ASK , as it is very unlikely but if the skipper or boat gets in trouble it could save your life

Note - it is always a good idea to make sure you give the skippers number and sailing times to someone who is not going fishing

There will be a little time to steam out to where the skipper thinks will be the best marks to fish on the day. So use the time to tackle up and have a chat to the skipper as they are a wealth of information and will give you some great tips on what to use on the day

Now just have a great days fishing.

The above seems a bit daunting to a person who has never organized a trip before but its all common sense and is well worth it as with boat fishing you can catch some amazing fish plus boat fishing is very sociable