Not All Gold Coast Fishing Charters Are Equal

This article presents some key information that you need to know if you are in the market for a Gold Coast fishing charter experience. In fact, the guidelines presented here are generally applicable to any fishing charter operation in Australia, aside from Gold Coast fishing charters.

Before divulging the differences between Gold Coast fishing charter operators, let’s be clear about what is common amongst them all. Charters are available every day of the week in the form of full day (nine hours) and half day ( five hours) offshore fishing experiences. They usually leave early in the morning but are also available in the afternoons. All the equipment including bait is provided as well as food and beverages.

When inquiring about a Gold Coast fishing charter, two key questions should be asked which will greatly impact your experience. Firstly, what type of boat will be used? and secondly, what style of fishing will be undertaken?

The kind of boat utilized by Gold Coast fishing charter operators vary between the larger fiberglass boats that have a single hull (mono hulled) to catamarans (dual hulled) and aluminum boats that are usually much smaller.

Amongst the Gold Coast fishing charter operators, which kind of boat should you go for? A larger mono hulled is preferred for those people where comfort is really important since they are more stable and better able to deal with less than perfect weather and seas. It’s true that many catamarans and aluminum boats can travel at higher speed but they do challenge the body in doing so.

A Gold Coast fishing charter operator may entice you as a customer by offering you a speedier trip with more actual fishing time. This is well and good provided you don’t have to see a chiropractor or the like the next day and that the skipper of the boat actually knows where to go to catch the fish.

A Gold Coast fishing charter operator may promise to get you out to the destination fishing reefs in record breaking time. However he probably would not be saying to you that the destination is some, close by, unproductive reefs. In the back of his mind could be thoughts of how much he can save in terms of his fuel bill.

Bear in mind that the Gold Coast area is a popular tourist destination and therefore, Gold Coast fishing charter companies cater essentially for those fishing for the first time and/or novices. If you are a person with a lot of fishing experience and/or have some particular target fish in mind, you may have to adjust your expectations.

Ideally it is best to book a full day Gold Coast fishing charter since this enables the skipper to provide more fishing options. Naturally, a full day booking allows for more time to travel to more distant less fished reefs.

Better still is to make an exclusive boat booking since you can then discuss your expectations with your skipper so as to tailor your Gold Coast fishing charter to suit your group.

Finally be aware that most Gold Coast fishing charter skippers are quite professional but “cowboy” operators do come and go. The best option is to find a professional skipper who has worked the same charter business for an extended period of time. These Gold Coast fishing charter skippers know where to fish and most importantly, they know their boats.