Tips on Booking a Charter Boat Trip from a Veteran Captain

Phil Anderson with a freshly-caught Pacific Salmon

As we get into this last month of the height of fishing season in Westport, it’s a great time to book that last trip to stock up on fish for the fall (and get in one last time on the water!). 

To help inspire you to get back out on the ocean, we talked to Phil Anderson, the current president of the Westport Charterboat Association. Phil started his work on charter boats all the way back in 1970, working as a deckhand on a charter boat when he was just 15. He eventually worked his way up to captaining his own boat and did that until 1994, when he began working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, rising to Director from 2008 to when he left in 2015 to run a charter boat part-time. He finally retired just last year, but obviously still has a deep, abiding interest in sport fishing and conservation. Here are just a few highlights from our conversation. 

Captaining charter boats for as long as you did, what were the things that kept you inspired to keep doing it? 

One of the great things about fishing on a charter boat is having whole families or groups of friends come. Especially when they make it an annual event, and it really served to strengthen their friendship or their families. It’s just a really cool, bonding experience to do together.

I also love being out on the ocean and seeing the wonders that nature has to offer that you don't see anywhere else. Marine mammals, dolphins, blue sharks…we have an enormous species composition of seabirds. Watching the sun come up over the water. I’ve spent over 4,000 days of my life on the ocean, and I love everything that it has to offer, understanding that you need be careful and respectful because it can certainly bite you if you don’t. 

Watching people catch fish is also really an adrenaline rush for me. Whether it was a 10 year-old or an 80 year-old, being able to help people have that experience and watching the camaraderie between the people on the boat was amazing. Especially when people didn’t come together, but they became friends from interacting with each other on the boat. Even when some people would come alone, they’d end up being welcomed as a member of the crew and the crowd. That opportunity to watch people have fun and see the excitement on their faces when they see things out on the ocean they can’t see anywhere else. That got me coming back every morning. 

What do people need to bring and wear on a charter boat fishing trip? 

in Westport and Washington in general, most charter boats don’t provide food services on board the boats, so you have to bring what you want to eat for the day. Storage space is generally limited, so pack accordingly, but bring your lunch, bring what you want to drink…a sandwich, snacks, definitely water.  

As far as what to wear, the most important thing is for you to dress warmly. If it's 80 degrees in Seattle, I can guarantee it won't be 80 degrees on the ocean. In the summer, our midday temperatures are low 60s, cooler in the morning. I always suggest people dress in layers, where they can take a coat, a sweater, or a vest off if it gets too warm. You can always take a layer off, but you can’t add one if you didn’t bring it. Being out on the ocean can be miserable if you’re cold. 

Also, water-resistent shoes are important. I’ve seen a lot of people get on my boat with sandals on, and if they get wet, they dry off well, but there are some things on the deck of a boat you might not want on your bare feet, so probably closed-toed shoes are best. 

After working on charter boats for as long as you did, what are some of the things you wish people knew before they booked a fishing charter? 

People come with varying degrees of information—a lot of folks do a lot of research online before they go, but some are invited by friends or family and they come without doing any homework about what it’s like. 

The most important thing, probably, is that people need to understand that sometimes they’re long days. They’re leaving at 5 a.m. or earlier, and not getting back until 3 in the afternoon. If you're fishing for albacore, those trips are much longer, where the boats are leaving anywhere from 8 PM the night before to 3 o'clock in the morning and running out 40 to sometimes 60 miles. The last 3-5 years, the fishing has been really good, so the days can be much shorter, but people just need to plan. 

People also need to be aware that motion sickness is definitely a factor for about 10% of folks, and that they can do a lot to prepare for that. Don’t just wait to see what happens - there are medications you take the night before, patches…just see what’s available and you can make your day a lot easier.  Just don’t take too much dramamine - it can cause sleepiness. And be mindful of how you spend the night before. Some people go out and party the night before, and they…don’t do very well. Just do what you normally do, eat what you normally eat. Stick with your routine and you’ll probably do fine. 

What do people consider to be a “successful” charter boat trip? 

Some are just coming to take a fish home. And yeah, there's some of the other experiences that go with that. Those are great. Other people come and say, “Taking a fish home is a bonus, but even if I don’t, I’m not disappointed because of the experience I got a chance to have.” 

Fortunately, we have some really good fishing in Westport, whether it be bottom fishing, or albacore, or salmon, so there’s a high percentage of people who are taking home something for a dinner or 2 or 3.

In some cases, they’re taking home fish worth well in excess of what they paid to go on the charter trip. You might pay $250 to go on a salmon trip, and you bring home two 12-pound salmon…go to the supermarket and see what fresh King Salmon costs and you’ll realize how well you did. Same with rockfish and lingcod. So you more than get your money’s worth for a great experience.

Can you talk about what makes Westport different from other charter fishing spots in Washington and Oregon? 

Well, I think every port has a unique character about it, and that’s not to say one is better than the other. Westport has a long history and has gone through a huge transition, in terms of what it looked like in the 1970s compared to today. In 1978, we had 221 charter boats, and now we have about 25. We were also known as the salmon capital of the world for years and years and years, in large part, because not only did we have a lot of fish, but there were a huge numbers of of people going fishing here on those 200 plus charter boats. 

So we continue to carry on that tradition that many of the pioneers of our industry in the 60s and 70s began on boats that were specifically designed for charter fishing and would enhance the business in Westport. There are a lot of us working to continue that history and provide members of the public—families and groups of friends—with a really unique experience and a great day on the ocean. 

If people are interested in booking a charter boat, where should they start? 

Obviously, the web is a great place to start. Just search Westport Charter fishing and specifically halibut, salmon, tuna, or bottom fish and it’s going to bring up some options. Some boats do combo trips—they devote part of their day to salmon fishing, and they devote part of the day to bottom fishing. Those trips almost always generate something in your bag to take home with you. Bottom fishing is really good here—we've managed our stocks really well. And our salmon fishing has just been phenomenal. It's a rarity here this year that people haven't taken home their limits.

Also think about what size group you have and what you want your experience to be. Do you want to be on a boat with 16 people, or 5? Do you have people with mobility issues? A larger boat might make more sense for them. 

The Westport Charter Association also has a website where we have a list of all of our members and the charter offices and you can click on the link. You can go in, look at the boat, look at the price and make an educated decision. 

I’d also highly recommend asking friends or family who they might’ve fished with before. They can tell you about their experience—who they went with, how they liked it. 

So decide what you want to do first—that’s probably the more sure thing in terms of bringing a fish home. 

Phil and a friend with a big ol’ halibut!

Whatever you do, try it more than once. If you do it once and never do it again, you’re really not giving yourself a chance to find out what it’s all about. Because what I would hope is that they’d have a really good time. That they got to meet some new people and spend time with them, and just savor the opportunity to get out on the ocean and see what Mother Nature has to offer. 

---

We’re so grateful that Phil took the time to chat with us, and we hope he illuminated you enough about charter trips to get you to finally take the leap and book a trip for yourself! 

Check out the Westport Charter Boat Association to find the right charter for your needs, or you can also visit Experience Westport’s fishing page to find a charter and find accommodations while you’re there! 

Fish on!