# Party Boat Charter Question



## oops1 (Apr 27, 2012)

I swore off party boats on my last trip but am thinking of giving it one more shot. Saw a Guy on the last trip with his own live bait bucket fishing in the back corner of the boat. He limited out on just about all targeted species. Is this common? Can you pick your spot, bring your own gear etc? How do you keep your bait alive in a bucket? Anyone have any experience / success doing this?  Thanks in advance.


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## Mak-n-Memories (Apr 27, 2012)

It depends on the rules of the boat. On the boat I worked the Capt. didn't mind you bringing your on tackle and bait. It was first come first serve on getting a spot to fish. My advice is call ahead and speak with them and find out there rules. Also keep in mind what fish are in season where you are fishing. If your major species are closed you will not be able to keep most of your catch. You are fishing, you never know what they will bite if anything. Hope this helps you out. I would like to encourage you to get a group together and charter a boat. You will enjoy it a 100 times over.


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## jamessig (Apr 27, 2012)

You can keep a couple dozen good sized pinfish or pigfish alive in a five gallon bucket with a battery powered air pump. I've never been on a boat that won't allow you to carry on a five gallon bucket. Biggest problem in the summer is temperature, warmer water holds less oxygen than cold water. Most boats will have a raw water(saltwater) washdown hose that you can use to change your baits water. In the summer it's best to change the water every hour or so to keep baits cool and frisky. Pinfish and pigfish are very hardy and easy to keep alive, finger mullet and croakers will need more maintenance.  I often add a 2 liter soda bottle of frozen water to a bucket if it's going to be an extended time between water changes such as when moving fish and loading a boat before it gets underway and the raw water pumps are turned on. A lot of party boats have a community live bait well but any baits you put in are fair game for anyone else to use. If you use the boats live well, don't expect to have any baits after the first stop. Get a good quality air pump, Bubbles brand is worth the money and will run about 70 hours on two D alkaline batteries. A cheap pump will most likely die the first time it gets any salt water on it. When a Bubbles gets wet, and it will sooner or later!, take it apart rinse with fresh water, dry the batteries, dry the inside of the pump as well as possible, reassemble and it will run. I've had one continue running for several minutes while accidently immersed in salt water, pumping salt water. As soon as I realized it was under salt water I removed it(still running),drained it, couldn't rinse it because I had no fresh water at the time, put it back together and it ran for the next hour until the batteries shorted out. I always carry a spare pair of batteries so I replaced them and it ran fine for the rest of the day no problem.  Although I continued to use it for several months, it's efficiency dropped off and I replaced it. 
At the end of every trip, disassemble it, drain it, rinse with fresh water inside and let air dry preferably overnight. A spritz of WD-40 probably wouldn't hurt. Reassemble and store away.  With a little care it will probably give years of service. I typically use my pumps often so I don't remove the batteries, but if it's going to be some time between uses I wouldn't store them with the batteries inside.
Like Recurve said, keep in mind what species are open. If AJ's or grouper are open, it's probably worthwhile to take some live bait. Although red snapper love live baits they aren't picky and can be caught on most dead/frozen baits. Big live baits might result in the chance for bigger red snapper though. Triggers and mingos are easily caught on squid. I like medium sized live pinfish whenever there is the possibility for scamp.
I will usually take some of my own frozen bait on party boat trips to increase my odds for some better fish. A bonito or two cut into big chunks or some northern mackerel fished whole might be more interesting to bigger quality fish than the little pieces of cut bait most party boats supply.


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## oops1 (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks guys...I appreciate all the advice! I'll be looking into the bubbles aerator...that would be an asset on the pier as well. Thanks again.


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