Thread: If you had to choose...

If money is not an issue, a charter with some friends during snapper season.
But since money is almost always an issue:
A charter cost minimum of $150-200 for a decent 8-10 hour trip (don't mess with a 6 trip, that is 4 hours of riding and 2 hours of fishing), plus tip & fish cleaning, you are looking at $250, easily.

I can fish inshore from my boat and fish the pier all season for $250.00, and that includes bait and gas plus I am in control.

Dang, I do miss SoCal once in a Blue Moon.
Coming out of San Diego you could be fishing prime areas of the kelp beds, or at the Islas Coranados, in only 30-45 minutes.

I refuse to Snapper fish on a charter due to the costs and two fish limit.
Yep, 6hr boats suck unless you're going to be inshore fishing.

Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

Yes'sir, I love Fall and Winter surf fishing at Ft. Morgan.
A beautiful day spent surf fishing, being lazy on the beach with sand between the toes, blue skies, sunshine and a breeze, watching my kid(s) have fun fishing and chasing birds...
Having a Yankee (no offense intended) family member call to gripe about snow, while I'm wading out to cast in shorts and a t-shirt...

A bit of heaven, even if fish aren't caught.

LOL! No offense taken Chile.

love the piers and people....but also love the bluewater offshore too....but won't be doing as much as I used too.....OH well
bang for the buck.....you can't go wrong with the pier

I'll take the pier. I ran a charter boat for 15 years and have no desire to go back there. A fast boat to the rigs where you can tie up and drift for kings and other species would be nice and it's good to be able to go to a school of fish instead of waiting (and hoping) for it to come to you is a good thing, but on the pier you don't get beaten up with choppy seas and nobody gets seasick, plus you can leave if any of the company gets disagreeable.

It has been some years ago, but I enjoyed going on head boats down in the Keys where, with some observation and pointers from the regulars, I learned to drift fish for yellowtail snapper. It's also a blast to watch the tourists and fun to drop live bait down on the reefs---my buddy and I won several pots catching grouper, but of course we don't have the close in reefs here like down there.

BDL a head boat is a term for a party boat that will take a lot of people out, it depends on the size of the boat. A charter most often is a smaller number of folks, like 6 or 8. Charters give you a lot of attention and the good ones will almost always catch fish. Head boats can't give the same attention due to the number of folks on them. I can say that I have had good experiences both ways, I do some head boats out of Key Largo a few times a year mainly when it is cold on the Gulf Coast. Also I have done a lot of boat and pier fishing, including some pretty big tournaments, but I just have developed a preference to fish the piers.

Originally Posted by BDL1969

Would you rather go fishing on a charter, or fish from the pier? Want to hear from both the regular Pier guys and visitors as well.

Brad

Brad, if you have never been off shore, you will enjoy it. I would definitely pick charter vs a party/head boat.
Personally, if I could only do one or the other, I would opt for the pier.
If you ever get a chance to go off shore overnight, do it!

If you do an overnight, remember that lots of folks who aren't bothered by seasickness during the daytime get sick at night---it's a matter of balance perception when you can't see a horizon. I've spent thousands of hours on boats in the Gulf and elsewhere and have NEVER been seasick, but I have felt queasy on occasion at night.

Originally Posted by FinChaser

Brad, if you have never been off shore, you will enjoy it. I would definitely pick charter vs a party/head boat.
Personally, if I could only do one or the other, I would opt for the pier.
If you ever get a chance to go off shore overnight, do it!

Agree - everyone should do it at least once. My sons and I still talk about the time we tore 'em slap up.

Originally Posted by Haywire

If you do an overnight, remember that lots of folks who aren't bothered by seasickness during the daytime get sick at night---it's a matter of balance perception when you can't see a horizon. I've spent thousands of hours on boats in the Gulf and elsewhere and have NEVER been seasick, but I have felt queasy on occasion at night.

Like I mentioned previously, my wife manages a company that does overnight sailboat charters on Lake Superior, among other things. She agrees with your comment Haywire about not necessarily feeling seasick during the day, but at night it can be different.