Me Capt Moonshine? in Hang Out With The USCG Licensed Captains Forum

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Me Capt Moonshine?

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Moonshine	Me Capt Moonshine?		Lead	[-]
Posts: 1096 05/02/11 11:20 AM - 6 Limits 2012 - 16 Limits 2011	Tags : None Many years ago when I was around 25 I gave the Capt thing a shot but did not follow through. I bought a self help kinda deal to study and prepare me for the real deal. I made it most of the way through it but then work got in the way and I gave up on my 6 pack. I had a couple friends go to Sea school and got theirs and they said they made it allot easier. Is this what some of you guys done? Some day maybe as I get older I may do fishing, shrimping and sight seeing trips as a part time guide service along with Pritchetts Custom Tackle and supply ( big dreams) . Kind of a small far off dream of mine. I use to make custom rods for about 10 years and want to get back into this allso. If I got to work when I get over 55 I want to make money doing what I love, not making cremators like I have been doing for last 23 yrs. My question is ruffly how much do I need to invest to get through a program and get my Capt licence. I want the licence for only inshore or near shore waters that includes I think no more then 4 people. I think this is the minimum one with the smallest size boat and used to be called a near-shore 6 pack or something? Once I got my licence how much does a fishing licence cost for captain to take people out per year for salt and fresh? I dont think it is cheep and is somewhere around a grand a year? Is this true... Do you guys have to purchase insurance for yourself and people you take out? Any help would be good thanks... You just got to go to know, crap another Jumbo just went under the boat.
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Frank		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 519 05/02/11 01:45 PM Captain USCG Licensed OAK HILL - 2 Limits 2011	Captain Shawn summed up the costs in Fishinbro's post: "To break things down a little better for you what it cost from start up, to yearly expenses.. 1) Test - $500.00 2) CPR/First Aid - $80.00 3) Drug Test - 80.00 4) Testing fee's $120.00 5) U.S.C.G Application Fee - $150 6) Joining The Drug Test Program $50.00 a year 7) The Books that You Need To Carry On you At All Times - $70.00 8) Fishing License 4 People ( $201.00 a year) 6 People ( 401.00 a year) 9) Insurance Is Around $900.00 A Year 10) If You Plan On Fishing Merritt Island Refuge Waters $350.00 Your First Year, $250.00 After That 11) Advertising And Website Close To $2000.00 To Start ( If you do it right ) and $300-$700 a Month 12) T.W.I.C Card $150.00 12) And Here Is The Best One, Boat, Gear ( mine was about $30,000 ), and all the up keep...... hope your ticker is good... There is no such thing as a "part time Captain". And if you can't produce day after day with good results, you pretty much loss everything. That's why you see most of these part time Guides drop off the map in less than two years.... If you want to fish for a living understand that it's a HARD living and you better love what your doing. Your on your own for health insurance also." "Fish like the next cast will produce a trophy of a lifetime, and shrimp like they are getting ready to bust loose any second!" http://hstrial-FranksMobileM.homestead.com/
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Moonshine		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1096 05/02/11 02:54 PM - 6 Limits 2012 - 16 Limits 2011	Wow Frank sounds so easy and cheep.. If it is so crazy hard and costly why do people do it at all? My love for the water and our sports is unmatched but I do understand how hard it can be to get people on the boat you do not know and have limited knowledge, plus all the money you just dump into one day to get on the water. Also you just don't get along with some people, add a tough slow bite day on the water and this could be a real pain and not fun and beyond work and a quick trip to the pour house.... Still there are people who do it and make a decent living at it along with other part time work. There must be a secret somewhere.... With the numbers you gave me above it looks imposable for a part time Capt. As I also said above it is just a dream at this time.... Thanks for giving me such good hope.. Anyone else?? You just got to go to know, crap another Jumbo just went under the boat. Last Edited By: Moonshine 05/02/11 02:57 PM. Edited 1 time.
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duckbone		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 37 05/02/11 05:34 PM Captain USCG Licensed PORT CANAVERAL - 2 Limits 2011	Thats about it they fee and redtape you to death to keep people from doing it. The only way to make any money at it is have no overhead, low expenses and fishing that the weather won't blow you out like inshore fishing. It will also take you years to build up a clientel base enough that you can count on fishing enough days a year. The secret is to be versatile and be good at many types of fishing so you can go and produce when it's cold and blowing or dead of summer when it's scorching hot. You can't just rely on sitting on a pushed up school of redfish or soak ladyfish all day. Be able to take people freshwater fishing too. The extra effort is what it takes to earn a reputation. You can't stand on the platform all day and tell stories. I ran charter boats offshore because thats what I loved to do but in the end we were cost, redtaped and regulated out. If I wanted to make a living I should have fished inshore. Like I said the only way to do it is have no overhead. Gas prices alone will kill you. It is a 24/7 job.
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Moonshine		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1096 05/02/11 07:50 PM - 6 Limits 2012 - 16 Limits 2011	Thanks Duckbone on the reply man. Here is the deal, I am not a one kind of fish or place person. Over my 45 years on the water I have learned the hard way what kind of fish come in or out of season in fresh and inshore to offshore brine. From bass,specks to bluegills to flounder to reds, Snook to ditch tarpon, beach Tarpon to cobia to kings and bottom fishing. Oh yea I guess I know a litte about some bug-infested canal too. Next and this is a biggiee, I have notived in my years as a florida Native allot of north or overseas folks come down not to just fish or shrimp but to sight see the water. Man those guys I see in air boats and kayaks seem to do well and get 10 short trips or more a day just taking people out to see gators weeds birds and manaties they get 50 bucks or more a 1/2 hr each person. This seems to be the money ticket..... No need to get fish to bite when they dont want too, no gear to maintain and bait to round up or supply. They just jump in and you take them for a 1 or 2 hr ride and injoy a nice day on the water.... They take lots of photos and you explain what you see along the way.... These short sight seeing trips look like the money ticket and for a extra fee we can stay a few hours and try some fishing? Anywho sounds good in my head kinda... I would also like to start my own custom tackle supply for shrimping and fishing. I would love to have my own line of custom rods along with jigs, sinkers, molds, cast nets and hard to find custom metal fishing gagets along with a good supply of quality shrimping stuff like nets, lights and other stuff. If I am going to dream might as well dream big. Most all big sporting good stores started as a dream; just look at Bass Pro, Dicks and Gander mountain. I think these guys were just like us and loved the water and seen an opertunity and need. If I dont die in the next ten years I may give this thing a shot... Thanks again Duckbone and Frank for the advice. Anyone else? You just got to go to know, crap another Jumbo just went under the boat.
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CaptLeeNoga		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7778 05/03/11 08:28 AM Captain USCG Licensed NEW SMYRNA DELTONA	I was just going to say, "Find a Niche" and you beat me to do when you started talking yak and airboats. I went to school in June 2007 and then got a letter I won my disability case and I was not allowed to make money. That was fine, I knew this could be my outcome but still forged ahead for my OUPV/6 pack. They went around the table asking what we were going to do once licensed and my response was, "Do good things". I never planned to charter. Mosquito lagoon has lost over 75% of their guides compared to just 3 years ago. But that is always every young buck's target, either that or Port Canaveral, Sebastian, wabasso areas. I wanted to "give back" and felt having the license would give me credibility. As a woman, I have a little more incline to climb in the world of angling. So, I used this license as a little vasoline. The hardest part of making money is getting the word out you do this. The common means used to get the word out are already monopolized by other charter boat operations. This recession has hit the charter business hard....the economics affect it as well. This is my attitude, get your license. Pay for the class at Adam's marine, take your test, get your CPR and First aid class [done during course],, pay your $120 and take test, get your TWIC card. You do NOT have to register your boat commercial, you DO NOT have to get a fishing license to cover all the passengers, you do NOT have to have insurance. But, these things are a "plus" for the unforeseen things and no liability risk. You can do this in stages, you do not have to bankroll this ALL at once. Your license is renewed every 5 years, so is your TWIC card [security clearance to be at the ports] To get Captain's license your looking at $1100-1200 bucks.[course, tests, twic, cpr, drug test, test fee etc]. Many do charters on their clients boats, or require their clients to have a fishing license, and blow off insurance and hope the charter does not fall out o f boat or does not fall. Those that take the course and then do nothing with it are called, "Paper Captains". But, there is more to being a Captain than chartering...chartering is one aspect but many get it and do not charter. Folks think that is the only thing folks get it for....so when folks know your a Captain they ask you about your "charter" service...
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CaptainHenry		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 445 05/04/11 07:04 AM Captain USCG Licensed PORT CANAVERAL	Adams marine is where I did my course. They did the course, Test, First Aid. This I got for about $800. TWIC, Drug Test, and Medical examine requirements were additional. The boat or Captains fishing license is required for all "For Hire" trips, to be provided by the captain or business. If you intend to ever go past the Jetty's, you must have the near coastal license, which is good to 100 miles. The coarse for the near coastal is the same as inshore only, but you must prove the sea service for offshore. Insurance does not have much legal requirements, BUT, no one should run a For Hire trip without it. If you were to offer your services as a Captain of another persons boat, it cannot be a "For Hire", or Charter, unless that boat is a UPV boat, meeting all the requirements of such. You can act as a Captain For Hire, or even guide on a recreational boat, but there are limits. If fishing, everyone needs their own license. No "Fee" can be charged for the guest, other than your Captain /Guide fee to the boat owner. Sightseeing trips require all of the same legalities except for the fishing license. Federal Permits. If you ever intend to voyage past 3 miles on a fishing trip, Federal Permits are required. These go to a boat, not Captain. The Captain or someone onboard must also have a NOAA Commerce Card if they intend to catch Dolphin or Wahoo. For any Charter or For Hire trip, USCG-UPV requirements must be met. My USCG-UPV booklet is 48 pages long. Its not the same gear as the recreational boat! Any For hire trip in Florida must be on a Commercially Registered or Federally Doccumented boat. Commercially registration is easy and does not cost any more than regular registration. Bottom line, if all you ever want to do is offer yourself as a Guide, or offer Captains services on someone else'e private boat for them, Capt License, TWIC, Medical, Drig, First Aid, and insurance is the minimum you would want. Full fledge Charter Operations should take no short-cuts, even if its only part time. I only run my boat once, maybe twice a week, and consider myself 'part time'. I do not make any money off it, but it pays for itself, and the boat, and I get to go out on the water every week! Captain Henry ACME Ventures llc www.ACME-Ventures-Fishing.com "Wile E Coyote" 602 Glen Cheek Dr., Cape Canaveral Fl. 321-794-7955 Captain_Henry@ACME-Ventures-Fishing.com
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Moonshine		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1096 05/04/11 09:11 AM - 6 Limits 2012 - 16 Limits 2011	Thanks everyone for the straight talk. Again this is just a dream at this time. Some day I would like to give this a shot a nibble at a time. Sure seams the regs dont make it easy or cheap on any Capt..... Take care eveyone and thanks again for your time... You just got to go to know, crap another Jumbo just went under the boat.
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cudac30		#8	[url]	[-]
Captain's Mate Posts: 2214 05/05/11 01:56 PM Elite $300+ Member Website Donations - 7 Limits 2011	Hey Moonshine, are you going to forget us poor peons once you become Capt Billy. Hello from Eustis, Florida ....... "LOVE to live and LIVE to shrimp "
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duckbone		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 37 05/07/11 07:28 PM Captain USCG Licensed PORT CANAVERAL - 2 Limits 2011	The Eco Tourism thing is getting bigger and there is a market there for a really personable guy that can show people the history and real Florida. But you wouldn't have a repeat cliantel. Like I said be very versatile just like our fishing those of us who grew up here know. Alot of the stuff we do and take for granted because we have done it all our lives blows yankees away. I can't dork down enough to do that kind of stuff and show people junk even for money when I could be out fishing or hunting or something but that could be because I'm burnt out on it after so many years. Another thing about a shop, the stuff we would want and works great like specialized shrimping or fishing stuff won't be big sellers. It would be great to have a good shop like that but I just don't know about it being able to survive. Heck even all the freshwater bait shops have closed. You can't even hardly buy minnows anymore, reason being they have sprayed all the freshwater into deserts and the fish are all dead like the hydrilla. There is just not a big enough fishery to be a good market when people can just drag walmart or bass pro jigs around and you can't compete with them on costs. Nice dream and I hope you succeed but tough business row to hoe.
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CaptLeeNoga		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7778 05/10/11 03:16 PM Captain USCG Licensed NEW SMYRNA DELTONA	Yrs, it is a tough biz. We got Captains who "yak" and their client take their yak or his spare and follow him for a 1/2 day in Tomoka basin, and he claims to do well in this niche. I am told 75% mosquito lagoon Captains are gone or burned out and working in bait stores. We are starting to see bait stores NOT allowing Captains to drop off business cards. Apparently, there was some guy at a bait store and picked up a charter guide card, booked with the guide and got hurt, Captain had no insurance and sued the bait store from which the card came... WEBSITE T-SHIRT Store $UPPORT this site - BUY A SHIRT/CLICK HERE
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DanC		#11	[url]	[-]
Sea Worthy Posts: 84 05/25/11 07:42 PM	Moonshine wrote Most all big sporting good stores started as a dream; just look at Bass Pro, Dicks and Gander mountain. I think these guys were just like us and loved the water and seen an opertunity and need. Dicks started in Binghamton NY, the bigger city next to the smaller farm town I'm from. Just a smaller hunting and fishing store with clothes. My Dad and Uncle used to plow the snow off the parking lot for Dick, now look how big they are. Starts with a dream brother, what ever the dream maybe.
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