I’m turning the big 50 on Labor Day weekend. So I’m taking the wife and our three boys out on a chartered fishing trip that weekend out of PCB. I’ve done the party boats before but never a private charter. Looking online, they offer all kinds (4. 6, 8 hour, etc…). Not knowing how the family may or may not like it, will a 6 hour trip be long enough? I don’t want to get them all bored to death and ready to come back in. Also who all gets a tip and how much?

Pm CAL. Think he can answer all your questions.

Tip the deckhands. Amount would vary depending on length of the trip and how hard they worked for you. On a 12hr trip I would say 3-500 per deckhand.

6hr is probably the minimum to actually get a little ways out, but if sea sickness is an unknown, may be the best bet. 8 is a good length. We did a 12hr last Sunday, and it makes for a long day unless you are serious about it.

Break out your wallet. An go with a trusted source! Lots of screw jobs out there!!!

Your kids been offshore before? Last time I did this, I had to abort the trip about 1.5 hrs in cause my youngest was puking her guts out. The captain had a short day with us.

6 hour minimum. Get everyone a sea sick patch to go behind the ear. Any urgent care can prescribe them. Deckhands get tipped 15-20% of the total charter cost.

Yeah I tip 20% of the charter cost and if it’s your kids first time out 4 hours is probably going to be all they can handle. Pulling a few good fish up from 100 ft and possibly fighting a shark on a slow reel and they’ll be toast

1) Before stepping on the boat give the kids some Dramamine, and anyone else that may be prone to motion sickness.
2) Make sure they keep their eyes towards the horizon, not the floor of the boat and under no circumstances let them go below deck if they are acting even a little queasy.
3) If you like to drink and fish, drink lightly until you are on your way back to the dock. You'll enjoy it more and most likely catch more.
4) Your deck hand is going to have a few extra hours invested in this trip. I like to tip him some when the boat leaves the dock with an understanding that he will be well paid well for a job well done. A tip to the capt, can make for a better day also. It's already costing you a small fortune so why not increase the odds of having a great day?

You want to do inshore or offshore? Inshore gets you out out there further than you think and offshore is a lot more expensive.

6 hours should be good...

Well, it has been a long time. The last time we went we caught our limits in about two hours. When you look at the cost versus what we brought home - it didn’t seem worth it.

You have to look at it as an experience. You'll never catch enough fish to satisfy the cost. Seems 6 hour offshore trips are about $1500 right now. I started with my son doing near shore 4 hour trips. The near shore seems to be around $500-$550 for a 4 hour with 2 people. 4 people bump it to $600-$650 I believe. Check to see what is in season when you plan on going.

So the captain gets a tip too? I assumed the deck hand(s) did but didn’t know about the captain. I’m not worried about the cost or how it averages out for the price per pound for what we end up with. It’s an experience thing with the family. The wife wanted to send me on a paid hunt, wherever I wanted to go, but I wanted to share the experience with the family.

KEEP in mind once that boat leaves your time starts. Depends on how far they go out. The further out takes more time off the clock..

Captain doesn’t typically get a tip unless it’s an inshore trip. If there’s a deckhand, tip the deckhand.

I'm sure someone else mentioned it but make sure, whatever you do, to have all of your party on some strong, anti-seasickness med. Personally, I used the patches behind the ear, prescription Scopolamine. It works great but is pricey if your insurance doesn't cover it. Being Seasick is about as miserable as it gets and they just tell you to suck it up when others have paid to fish.

Most of the time I walk away with 20-30lbs of fish just for me.... so the cost is relative. Price out some Snapper at the seafood market and let me know if that's a good deal. I fish on my own but you usually can fish 6 on a big boat and cost about $300 plus some tip.

Is Geno still running trips out of PCB?

Also keep in mind snapper season is closed and fishing sucks during the dog days of summer.

When did snapper close?