Trips and pricing
Every trip includes the gear, the bait, the fuel, the licenses and cleaning your catch. The only real decision is whether you want a seat or the whole boat.
Pompano Beach fishing charter prices
This is the whole price list for a Gradyful fishing charter, and there is nothing hidden underneath it. Every trip leaves from Pompano Beach, ten minutes from the reef edge.
One flat price for the boat, whether you bring one person or six. If you have four or more, this is almost always cheaper per head than buying seats.
4 hours · departs 7:00 AM, or 12:30 PM if the morning is open
$700for the whole boat
Works out to $117 each with six anglers
The boat is yours. Bring one guest or bring five. The price does not change.
6 hours · departs 7:00 AM
$900for the whole boat
Works out to $150 each with six anglers
Our sweet spot. Enough time to run offshore, work a weed line, and still be back for lunch.
8 hours · departs 7:00 AM
$1,100for the whole boat
Works out to $183 each with six anglers
The whole program. Run offshore, fish the wrecks, drop deep, and work a spot properly instead of watching the clock.
Work out your price
Anglers
Hours on the water
Best value for you
Shared seats, three-quarter day, 6 hours
$900 $225 each
Everything is included in these numbers except the mate’s tip.
For most people, yes. A party boat puts twenty to forty anglers on the rail for fifty to eighty dollars a head and everyone fishes the same patch of bottom. We take six, target the species you came for, and change the plan on the water. It costs more per person, and it is not the same day out.
| What you are comparing | Gradyful | Party boat |
|---|---|---|
| Anglers on board | 6 maximum | 20 to 40 |
| Who decides where you fish | You and the captain | Whoever booked first |
| Room to fight a fish | The whole cockpit | Your two feet of rail |
| Tangles | Rare | Constant |
| Target species | Whatever you came for | Whatever is under the boat |
| Your catch, cleaned | Included | Usually a separate fee |
| Price per person | $117 to $275 | $50 to $80 |
Doing the math
If you are four or more people, buying seats stops making sense. Here is the comparison, side by side.
| Anglers | 6 hr shared, total | 6 hr private, total | Better value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275 | $900 | Shared seats |
| 2 | $550 | $900 | Shared seats |
| 3 | $825 | $900 | Shared seats |
| 4 | $1,100 | $900 | Private boat |
| 5 | $1,375 | $900 | Private boat |
| 6 | $1,650 | $900 | Private boat |
Four anglers is the tipping point on a Pompano Beach deep sea fishing charter. At four people the private six hour trip is $900 against $1,100 in seats, so the whole boat costs less than four seats and you get the whole deck.
Included
Quality gear, rigged and ready. You do not need to bring a thing.
Live bait on request. Ice and a cooler are already on board.
Our vessel license covers the saltwater license for everyone aboard. A couple of species carry their own tag, so just ask.
No fuel surcharge and no crew fee tacked on at the dock.
Cold drinks are on us. Bring your own food and anything stronger.
We fillet and bag what you keep before you leave the dock.
Not included
Gratuity for the mate
Customary is 15 to 20 percent. Cash is easiest.
Food
Bring what you like to eat. There is a cooler for it.
Alcohol
Allowed for guests over 21. The captain has final say on the water.
A deposit holds your date. Cancel more than seven days out and it comes back to you. Inside seven days it does not, because that date was held for you.
See the 35 foot Tiara you will be fishing from, or check what is biting the month you are coming.
The day itself
Nobody tells you this part, so here it is.
Park, meet the crew, stow your cooler. The mate walks you round the boat and shows you where everything is. Five minutes, not a lecture.
Ten to twenty five minutes depending on what we are chasing. The mate rigs while we run, so lines go in the moment we stop.
Most of the day. Trolling, drifting the reef, dropping the wrecks, or sitting on a weed line. If it is not working after a fair try, we move.
Fish in the box, gear stowed, cold drink. This is when people take the photos that end up in the reviews.
The mate fillets and bags your catch while you settle up. You drive away with dinner.
Common questions
On a shared trip you pay per seat and fish alongside up to five other guests. On a private charter you pay one flat price for the boat no matter how many people you bring, up to six. If you have four or more people, a private charter is almost always the better value: six anglers on the six hour private trip works out to 150 dollars each.
Six anglers maximum on every trip. That is a United States Coast Guard limit for a six-pack charter and it is also why the fishing is better: six rods fish cleanly, twelve do not.
Sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat, soft-soled shoes or sandals, any medication you need, and your own food. We supply water and sodas, all the gear, and a cooler with ice.
Rain and cold are not reasons to cancel. The wind and the marine forecast are what matter, and Captain Shawn makes that call. If he cancels for weather you are not charged, and your deposit either rolls to another date or comes back to you, whichever you prefer.
Cancel more than seven days before your trip and your deposit is refunded. Inside seven days the deposit is not refundable, because that date is held for you and turning it around at short notice is not realistic.
We would rather you did not. The boat is set up with matched gear for the way we fish, and loose personal rods on a moving deck become a hazard.
Yes, for guests over 21. The captain can end a trip at any point if he decides someone's behavior is no longer safe.
Check a date
No booking engine, no call center, no back and forth with a receptionist. Tell him the date and how many people, and he will tell you straight whether the fishing is worth your money that week.
Prefer email? captainshawn311@yahoo.com
