# Being a mate on a boat



## blane tankersley (Jun 2, 2008)

*I was wanting to know if being a mate on a boat is the best way to learn the basics of saltwater fishing? How much they usually make?*


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## sailfish23 (Mar 24, 2008)

good luck finding a boat to be a mate on and yes u learn a *LOT* of stuff from being a mate!!


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## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

I think you have to know before they will hire you. I may be wrong but anytime I was on a charter the mates know their stuff!


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## ishmel407 (May 7, 2008)

I worked on charter boats from the time I was 14 till I was 20 and it is some hard work and used to be a long time in between days off but they dont fish as much anymore so that has kinda gone away. You do learn alot and see alot of nice fish caught. I used to get paid 50 dollars a day plus fish cleaning and tips. I would clean about 200 to 300 ounds of fish a day and then would get a 10 to 15 percent tip. So I made 150 to 300. Most the time it was around 175 or so. But that was 10 to 15 years ago. 5 in the morning till 7 or 8 at night does not add up to alot of money per hour. When you add it all up not really alot of money but the experince is priceless.


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## ishmel407 (May 7, 2008)

> *Earlytimes Too (6/2/2008)*On the island in Orange Beach Saturday afternoon and saw a big 48- 60 foot boat come by on its way to OB Marina with the front end of the boat smashed in. The front lip of the big fishing boat was crushed back along with the whole front end. Did not catch the name of the boat but it is docked there at OB Marina next to theSea Spraywe could clearly see the damage as we past right by it as we made our way through the canal back to the house. That guy hit something hard, anyone know the story on this?


The first boat I ever worked on was with the fellow they are talking about above. We worked on the same head boat together. Really really good captain. Won alot of tournaments and is a great fisherman. I guess shit happens to all of us. Have not heard the story yet from him but I am sure something else happened or someone else was driving. But I guess theres another story for the mate to tell


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## blane tankersley (Jun 2, 2008)

*Thanks:bowdown*


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## fishNhuntNfool (Feb 19, 2008)

You should first find a mate that will allow you to clean the boat when they come in. They will usually pay $20-40 per boat. Once you prove that you are willing to work andand are responsible they may may start getting you to go on the trip to help them out and there you will learn the basics ( regulations, safety. dehooking, knots, rigs, tactics, and fish ID). It is very difficult to just jump right onto a boat and start deckhanding with know prior knowledge. Because you do spend alot of time on the water and catch alot of fish, being a mate is a great way to learn aboutsaltwater fishing. Once you get the basics and spend some time on the water you can go to Captains and see if they are looking for a mate. Try the head boats first, they sometimes go through deckhands often. Eventually you would want get on a Private Charter and you start making some good money. I work on aPrivate Boat here and fishing is still going strong, We areaveraging 5-7 trips per week.The money on headboatsis around 150-250 sometimes more or lessand privateboats $250-$450. It all depends on the customer. Your pay is mostly gratuity. Its hardwork and really takes someone wholoves fishing and is willing to do more than justfish.Good Luck


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