5.Boats and Boat Fishing

This book is written for the average man, the man whose pay is neither much more nor much less than the next fellow's. And the average man can't afford to buy, operate and main­tain a motor-driven boat just to go fishing.

But that doesn't mean Mr. Average Joe can't go out on thewater to catch a fish. Scattered around the country there are boats of all sizes, shapes and styles that are available to him for an hour, a day or a week. They're there for just one reason—to take Mr. Average Joe and his family out on the water any time they want to go, at prices they can afford to pay.

In every progressive seaside city, town or tiny hamlet— every place that recognizes the importance of the fishing family to its retail economy—you'll find the liveries that make those boats available. In the larger, wealthier places you'll find them tied up in bright and fancy marinas, in the smaller places you'll find them moored in modest but convenient berthing spots, in the in-between places they'll be tied up to small but sturdy piers.

They're all fishing boats: rowboats, dories, skiffs, outboards, mooching boats, party boats, open boats, spin fishers, charter boats, sport fishing boats, big game boats, U-drive boats, guide boats, offshore barges with nautical taxi service to ferry you to and fro.

Let's look at them one at a time, calling them by the name that's most commonly used around the country. We'll see what they'll cost, what's good about them and what's bad about them, how you should use them and how you should notuse them.

Rowboats and Outboards

This is the boat fishing combination you probably will use the most. It's the most economical, you're the skipper and you can go where fancy dictates, you can run up on a sandy beach for a swim and lunch or just to stretch your legs. You cannot do these things in any other boat you can hire for a day. Not at these prices.

A rowboat without the outboard costs from two to five dollars a day, depending on where you are, size of the boat, weekday or weekend.

But for family fishing, be wise and consider the outboard a must. Venture out with only oars to propel you when you're alone or only Andy is with you, and then only when the water is placid. The kicker should rent for from five to ten dollars a day. It ought to be seven to ten horsepower. Don't settle for any that's less than five.

Never leave the livery without first taking the necessary safety precautions. Here are the musts of rowboat-outboard fishing.

1. Rowboats are usually from twelve to sixteen feet long. When Mother, Andy and Peg are with you hire no less than a fourteen- or sixteen-footer, preferably the latter.
   
   
2. Make sure the livery gives you a spare can of gas and make sure the motor tank is full.
   
   
3. The Coast Guard says each person aboard must have a Coast-Guard-approved life jacket or buoyant cushion. The boat station must provide them. See that it does. Make the kids wear their jackets no matter how much they holler.
   
   
4. Take a long length of clothesline with you. Kids being kids, it might turn out to be a lifeline.
   
   
5. Don't move around in the boat. Don't stand up, either. Dad sits in the stern manning the tiller, Mother sits in the bow and handles the anchor. Andy and Peg share the center seat.
   
   
6. Don't go outside, meaning even two feet out to sea. Stay within the shelter of land.
   
   
7. Don't ever take a fifth person with you. In an emer­gency, you'll have your hands full taking care of four. A rowboat wasn't built for five and you're more apt to have an emergency.
   
   
8. Don't cast. Flying hooks are dangerous to people around you.
   
   
9. Take along a first aid kit.
   
   
10. Be sure to have a pair of oars. Something could go wrong with the motor.
    
    
11. If a sudden storm comes up get onto the nearest shore fast, whether it has shelter from rain or not. You may get wet but you'll be on land.
    
    
12. If you go ashore for a lark, allow for a changing tide when mooring or you may find your boat high and dry.
    
    
13. If you or anyone else falls overboard, cling to the boat. Don't budge from it, no matter how close by that shore seems to be. You may be a good swimmer but you can't stay afloat as well as a boat.
    
    
14. Learn the rules of safe navigation; they're available free at any Coast Guard station and lots of other places. And obey them. You may not own the boat but you're responsible for the safety of your family.
    
    
15. Always remember this when on the water: If you're careless there can be no tomorrow.

Party Boats

This you ought to do at least once—go party boat fishing. It can be just that—a party—for it's the closest thing to pier fishing afloat.

A party boat, or open boat or sportfishing boat, is open to all, some with advance reservations, most without reservations. Have your family with you? So does that fellow over there. Peg want a girl to talk to? They'll find each other.

Some party boats go out to sea for the bigger fish, some stay inshore for the smaller bottom fish. Wherever they go, they're safe. The boat is Coast Guard-inspected, the captain is Coast Guard-tested. The mate probably is a bright-eyed college boy earning some wherewithal during the summer, but wise to his duties.

The price for the day will range from three to ten dollars a person. It will probably include bait, but not necessarily. The boat may have a daily pool, or maybe two or three, at fifty cents or a dollar a head. You're free to enter or not. One pool can be for the biggest fish caught, another for high hook—angling lingo for the fisherman who catches the most fish—and a third for the first fish caught. A party boat pool may be a mild form of gambling, but it lends conversational fun to the day.

The boat will have sanitary facilities, a cabin and a table if you want to go below and rest or eat your lunch. But don't be surprised if some men who came aboard to try their luck fishing also decided to try their luck at pinochle. The larger party boats have snack bar or canteen facilities and virtually all of them at least have a soda box.

The party atmosphere takes over almost from the moment you step aboard. You stake out your spot at the rail—the stern is best if you get there first—rig up your lines and settle back to enjoy the run out to the fishing grounds.

On a party boat you run into the one situation where your spinning outfits may be a liability. Your tackle will handle any fish you hook into during the day. But your tackle, being light, gives you more sport and action—meaning that when the fish takes the bait he is able to run more.

That's the rub. The party boat may be so jammed with lines the combination of light spinner and scooting fish may cause an underwater tangle that could, at the very least, get you some dirty looks. If there are not too many people aboard, use your spinning outfits; otherwise talk to the mate or the captain about using some of the outfits they have aboard. There may or may not be a small charge.

When you catch a fish it's best not to swing him over the side. Just holler "Net!" and the mate will come running.

That young fellow also will be happy to clean your catch for you on the evening run home from the fishing grounds. But it isn't part of his job. He's a college kid earning some extra money and he doesn't enjoy cleaning fish anyhow. So slip him a tip.

Charter Boats

Now we're getting up into the money brackets. A charter boat is a boat that you reserve to take you anywhere you want to go at the price the captain wants you to pay.

That price averages out to about one hundred dollars a day whether you go alone or with a group. But it easily can be double that amount. And there'll be a restriction on how many people there can be in that group to help share the cost.

Charter boating isn't for families—certainly not as a steady diet—but it is the best way of all for a gang of compatible guys to get together for a day on the water, share and share alike.

The destination usually is an offshore fishing spot, maybe in pursuit of bluefish, yellowtail, cod or red snapper; maybe in pursuit of tuna, shark or sail. But of this you can be sure, the bigger the fish the charter boat is after the fewer the fishermen. That's the way it has to be.

Charter boat skippers are the kings of the saltwater fishing fraternity. What they don't know about deep sea fishing and offshore water and weather hasn't been written yet. Just tell him what you're after and leave the rest to him—except for the catching of the fish. That's your job.

Today's typical charter boat has just about every device known to man and science for making your day at sea a day of safety, comfort and almost surefire success. Range finders, fish finders, ship to shore radio and telephone, direction finders, comfortable fishing chairs and sturdy fighting chairs for the big gamesters, and bunks for a little snoozing.

Guide Boats

A guide boat falls into the charter boat field, but on a smaller and far more specialized scale, for the fisherman is reserving the know-how of an expert on the whereabouts of a given fish more than he is renting a boat.

The vehicle might be a rugged inboard, an outboard launch or a pole boat stalking the Florida flats for bonefish or probing the mangroves for tarpon. Most mooching boats or spin fishers are guide boats whose skippers know the where and how of West Coast salmon.

U-Drive Boats

This is the newest thing in boating—mostly for pleasure cruising, but also for fishing—to hit the water in years.

The U-Drive usually is an inboard cabin cruiser of sizes from twenty-two feet on up. They have everything a family could want for a day or a weekend or a week of vacationing. Their cost is generally from about thirty-five dollars a day on up. Gas and incidental things like that are extra.

There's one mighty important thing to check. How are the battery and the battery cables?

The Coast Guard has made a lot of rescue runs because of U-Drives with dead batteries. Seems the first user runs the battery down and the livery all too often doesn't do a good job of charging it up again before passing the boat on to you. They also do a nice job of making the boat household-neat before renting it to you but somehow often forget to scrape those cable contacts.

Barge Boats

This is the Hollywood touch in offshore fishing and you'll find it only in Southern California.

The barge boat is a fishing platform that's firmly anchored two or three miles offshore and over a fertile feeding ground where the fish are plentiful. Boat taxis ferry the fishermen from a landing in a nearby town to the barge and back again, usually making hourly trips.

And it's inexpensive—from about $2.50 to $5 a day for everything. That includes ferryboat ride, tackle, bait and fish galore.

When it all began, barge fishing was just what the name implies—fishing from a barge. Today only the name is the same, for "barge boats" now are usually motor cruisers, yachts and sailing craft with rakish lines and practically all the sea-going comforts known to man. Many so-called barges are floating fishing resorts.

In fact, families have been known to spend their vacations aboard with their own private staterooms and three hearty, sea-going meals a day.

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