I recently obtained a job as a deck hand working up in Sitka, Alaska. I am looking for some advice and tips in making my summer as profitable as possible, while giving the customers the best fishing trip and service possible. For example, if any of you have any memorable stories of remarkable service from a deck hand I would like to hear why it was so good and what they did. I know that there are a lot of fishing guides and former customers on the board so I would be greatly appreciative if I got some feedback.

Also, if I have access to the internet up there I will post reports and pictures of all the big Chinook that are caught.

King Killer

always have a good supply of hooks baited up hate to wait for bait with a hot bait on have a extra pole ready to go have tip your deckhand sign where it can be see you will be ask the same question over and over always answers politely treat the customer like you would want to be treaded do not show up half drunk or hung over have fun and so will your customers

Larry hit the nail on th head for the most part. While I get to play deckhand too on all my trips, since we have several halibut boats that our guests go with up north ... I get the feedback from that as well.

Never show up half-drunk, always try to be on time ... this comes from someone who always run 5-7 minutes behind in my entire life I just plan that into everything I do!

But you certainly don't want to be holding the boat up for 45 minutes when the tide is waiting ... it waits for no one!!

Try not to play favorites with mixed parties, even though you may want to ... that's just human nature ... you'll click with some people, others you won't, no different than meeting someone on the street.

People DO take notice of how the deckhand does ... work hard, it's a reflection on everyone and will affect everyone's tips & contniued business in the future. Your Capt. will probably recognize it.

Read your guests ... some won't say Gosh ... others will tell jokes that will make Popeye blush ... your talk & such should be within their comfort zone.

All this being said, and you're not going to have quite the position I do as owner and many years in the driver's seat is that you you don't have to allow your self to be treated like dirt either. Maintain your dignity.

You'll likely meet some people this summer that go through life looking for somethibng to ***** about ... they won't be happy no matter what. Don't take it personally and draw the line the best you can in a professional manner

Most of all, have fun ... and get your sleep!

I don't know if this is the right thing to do or not but I've always tipped the Skipper and let him decide what the deckhand deserves. I definitely let the Skipper know how I like the deckhand and what % I think he deserves of my overall boat tip. If you are lucky enough to fish for someone who has been running a boat for many years realize that he is your mentor and listen to him.

It's all about energy, enthusiasm and attitude.

Energy: Being ready to fish hard all day long! Not hungover

Enthusiasm: Although it may be your 30th day on the water in a row it's June 12 and I'm stoked and ready to rock!!!

Attitude: Everything's great. Clients who've paid $2000+ for three days of fishing don't give a rip about who's pissing who off. Leave the town/lodge/boat politics on shore.

Pretty easy actually but very few really pull it off.

See you on the 12th

Good Luck!

One thing that I have learned in getting the opportunity to guide is interacting with customers! You will be spending as much time with them in the boat as the buddies there out with. This doesn't always mean you have to have a motor mouth either...alot of customers will engage in deep conversations with the people there on the charter with and thats what they want, and you dont want to interfere during those times.

Keeping them fishing is super important. Anticipate their needs. If they are doing something wrong while fishing...coach them...the others will overhear you and catch on to your advice and experience.

Just know your part and HAVE FUN...

One deck handI fished with MANY years ago was just awesome. I let him know ahead of time that all I needed was a bucket of bait nearby. I had all of my leaders pretied, my own weights, and gear. I told him I'll holler when I need a net, and other than that stop by to say hi and talk.

He listened to me, watched what I was doing, saw I knew how to catch fish, and kept my herring bucket sufficiently full all day. He also netted 8 of my fish, including 6 kings, prior to the days of the hatchery fish issue. Only the little old lady in the pink rainsuit next to me caught more fish that day, she had 9.

Get to know your people, some will come back time and again, and ask them their experience level and how much help they would like. Even if they don't need help, make sure you talk with everyone. Different strokes for different folks. Only intercede when needed, and be prepared for endless BLAH BLAH BLAH. Finally, smile and don't browbeat people for tips. The "Tip your deckhand" sign is all you should need if you do your job right.

I remembered that deckhand from my trips that summer, and I recently financed the purchase of his second charter boat. It can be a stepping stone to a carreer.

Wow! some great prior posts here. You want to make money right? The customers have the money right? You will have to earn it from the customers!! So....Customer Service is key. Happy customer....just like a drunk customer....pays lots of tips.....so... no, don't get 'em all drunk....make them happy.

1) The customer is always right, even when they are wrong....remember that.
2) The customer will want you to serve them...not kiss their arse....well maybe...but usually not....keep active....like the waiter that keeps the glass full of water and napkins on the table....keep them with bait. Have a towel ready, if they handle a fish, they will want to wipe their hands.
3) Tell your customers how well they are doing. They like that, even if they are doing it wrong. Say something like, hey, you are doing a great job of jigging, good motion, etc...can I give you a tip to keep the bird nests out of the reel, if you put your thumb on the spool as the line goes out....you get my drift.
4) Customers like stories, but they don't like braggards. I did this and I did that.....humpff.
Mrs jones was on the boat last thursay and we helped net a 49 pounder she caught. nice fish. i hope we can get you into one as nice.
5) EXCEED the expectation.....you don't want to take someone out after telling them how hot the fishing has been and then catch nothing. It has happened. Always leave them with a little doubt. We have done pretty well the last week or so....hope the bite keeps up. We'll try our best to get you into the fish.
6) BE HAPPY!! Pat them on the back. Wow, you sure did a great job of landing that fish. It is a niceone. contratulations.
7). How can I help you?.....continuosly to all of your customers.....how can I help you? Did I say continuously?
8) Do it better than everyone else! Even if you are the new guy....learn fast, and do it better than everyone else. It is customer service. don't ever forget it!!.

Good luck and make lots of money!!

Steve

Thank you for all of the great advice that you have given me. I copied all of your comments and plan on studying them until they are second nature.

I came up with another idea that I just wanted to run by all of you. I was thinking about taking a tourist guide class to learn about Sitka and its history more. I thought that the customers might be interested in the local area and the wildlife that they are seeing.

If this sounds like a good ides I would be thankful to hear some feedback.

Thank you

King killer

King Killer,

I fish as much as anyone , however I am in the military and so much of my fishing is dependant upon guides/charters. I will tell you that a charter trip is similiar to a hair cut for me " being in the military" I show up and if the "sides" get trimmed and I walk away with a "it'll do cut", I say screw it you can make it on your salary, however there is one Barber : and she's cute who gets a tip of 3-5 dollars on a 7 dollar cut regularly simply because she stands there and asks every possible question, and makes you feel like you are her soul interest during those 15 minutes and she never cuts you short even when there is a wait. when you are working you are not being paid to be hung over or unknowledgeable about the job or worse yet RUDE because your tired of peope not knowing what they are doing. THATS WHY PEOPLE HIRE CHARTERS!! learn as much as you can, when a customer say" why does the hook look round?" have an awnser and better yet, know enough that your awnser will be backed up with a fish because of it shortly afterwards good luck bro that would be my dream summer.

Take care of the kids...as Dad's good time will, to a certain extent, be dependent upon his 12 year old son having a good time...and everyone enjoys seeing kids catch fish. Anyone who doesn't isn't going to have a good time at all.

Offer to take pictures, so that the families and buddies can all be in the pictures...with or without fish, but especially with. When Junior catches a fish, offer to take a pic of the proud angler, and his proud Papa, immediately, before the adrenalin rush that provides the best smiles peters out.

Try to intuit the amount of hands-on they need...some folks need to be shown every single facet of what they are doing...others may take offense at you telling them something that they already know. This might take a little bit of time, but start figuring it out as soon as you all meet on the dock, before you even get on the boat.

Be a tour guide and a teacher, too, not just a bait boy. Point out sights...and for God's sake, keep an eye out for whales! Let them know not just what to do, but why they are doing it, and why it works for the particular fish you are targeting that day.

Have fun, and they will have fun, too...

Good luck!

Fish on...

Todd

It has always annoyed me how tight people can be with tips on saltwater charters, even when the deckhand works his ass off. It seems to be a timing issue. If you can get someone to give you their tip when you are handing them their fish in plain view of everyone on deck waiting for their fish, it seems to get the ball rolling.

Get an early start now by having your friends call you the official "master-baiter" three or four times a day, you'll hear that more in the next summer than you'll care to remember.

*Stay away from politics and religion, those are usually a dead end street.

*Don't accept any of the beer or booze you'll be offered while you're fishing, they create a liability the boss doesn't want to deal with.

*Try to have everything ready before you need it. Some salmon bites get fast and furious and the faster you can get a line back in the water, the better your day will be. Unless your boss tells you otherwise, get the hook out of the fish and the line back in the water before you deal with any pictures, bonking the fish, cleaning up, etc.

*Any chance you get to learn about the nature/history of where you're fishing will be an asset, there is an endlesss flow of questions regarding the nature, geography, and history of your area.

*REMAIN UPBEAT. That's much easier said than done a lot of the time. By the end of August you'll start having days when it feels like the world is out to get you. Bad weather, pissy captain, no fish, unhappy customers, sometimes everything all happens in one day. The customers stay happy as long as the crew does. If it shows that you've lost faith or don't want to be there, then they will quickly do the same.

*Remember that you don't have to talk people's ears off to have them be content. Some of the best deckhands I've know communicate with no more than a smile and one or two simple questions.

*Be encouraging. Fishing techniques as simple as how to hold the rod or set the hook can be very difficult for some beginners to grasp. All people thrive on praise, and generally you can't give too much.

*Phrase your commands as suggestions if you can. People don't like to feel like they have someone telling them what to do. If you get a chance when there's nothing going on, grab a rod and demonstrate to them what you want them to do, don't sit over their shoulder and give orders while they're trying to fight a fish. There are of course exceptions to this, if they have their thumb jammed onto the spool when the line's about to break, yell and them or reach up and pull it off. They might be taken aback at the time, but most will thank you afterward.

*Captains, especially owner/operators, want their boats to be impeccably clean. If you're working on a larger boat that's miserable to clean, you might ask your captain if he'd allow you to hire a boatcleaner or share the expense of one with you. 28' aluminum boats aren't too bad to clean, but a 55' Delta can take hours.

*Don't be afraid to show the customers your personality. Generally you'll get a sense pretty quickly of what a certain customer considers acceptable.

*Listen to what people say, you'll have six new people on the boat a day who all have a myraid of different life experiences and skills that they can share with you. I've had people commit to me their deepest secrets in 12 hours just because they feel comfortable talking to me.

*Be kind to your captain and he'll be kind to you. He can make your summer the best or worst you've ever had. You work for him, and no matte how much a friendship you build with him he expects you to follow his orders un-questioningly.

Most of all have fun, everyone that comes on the boat envy's what you've got going for you. Each run of the mill day out there for you is the trip of a lifetime for them. Try to remember that the same things you see and do everyday are new and exciting adventures for the customer. Feed off their excitement and don't be afraid to appreciate those things with them.

good luck
david

im getting ready for summer #2 up in larsen bay.. sounds great right.. well no i'll be at a fish cannery.. id much rather be out seeing fish caught and not 300,000lbs of pinks

have a great summer..

one upside to larsen bay is all the polish girls.. mmmmm

King Killer:
By your actions of requesting info on this board it sounds like you ALREADY have the #1 requirement, and that is simply a STRONG DESIRE to make it work. You'll do great!
Good luck.

Killer-

After all of the great advice, I would like to offer a tiny droplet of wisdom....

Act as nice, helpful and friendly as you can, then some more. You don't have to BE nice just ACT nice!

But, after that don't take abuse (per Bob). Remember what an old Salty Bar owner once said:

"The customer is ALWAYS right; Until the bartender decides they are NO LONGER a customer"

And, being the new guy, perhaps find a clever way to hint to the inevitable attitudinous co-worker that Arrogant deck hands and condescending skippers suck (or vice vesa)! Your team-mates' demeanor can also affect YOUR tip.....

You'll do great!

Well, I don't have any advice to give on this topic, but since everyone is giving such good info, I have a question. A buddy and I are going to Ketchikan for a week in June and are going to do two full days of halibut/king fishing. This will be a first for the both of us, and it looks as if you are all experienced in one way or another regarding charter fishing, so, what is a good $$ amount to tip without breaking the bank and without being cheap. Certainly, we are going to need help, so want to do a healthy tip, but I just have NO idea on an amount when it comes to this. Any advice would be helpful.........:-)

Typically, $25 per person per day. Which charter are you fishing with??

If people ask I tell them to tip the same percentages that they would at a restuarant, 10-20%. Just remember that you're paying for a CHANCE to catch a fish, not paying to catch fish. That being said, you should have a good trip and end up with more fish than you know what to do with.

good luck,
david

Take the Tourism class.

I don't recall his last name but there is a local tour guide who does it for his love of Sitka and his Tlinget heritage. He works or owns a auto repair business in Sitka. His name is Larry. The local Visitors and Convention Bureau will be able to tell you his name. Take his tour if you can.

Also meet Mary Jo and Bill McNally at the Fly-A-Way fly shop.

They are great folks, and can tell you about saltwater fly fishing as well as the local fresh water and roadside fishing.

Since you seem to have the right attitude, introduce yourself and tell them I don't know you but you had asked for advise on a bulletin board and I suggested you contact them.

I should warn you that that my name and $1.75 plus tip will buy you a cup of coffee in Sitka or any place else, depending on the coffee price.

Incidentally Bill runs fly fishing charters for Chinook, running off a downrigger because of the needed depth, but with saltwater weight fly gear, hold on.

I went fly fishing for rockfish with him and it was a hoot.

Be the best deckhand you can be and get as much sleep as possible. (Which won't be much.)

Sebastes AKA Doug Wilson

AkKings ~ We'll be fishing with First City Charters, Jim Moody is the Captain. Thanks for the info on what to tip. It's all very helpful. My wife and I had been planning this trip since early last summer, so we've been pretty anxious for it. But, we found out a few weeks ago that she's pregnant, so she decided not to go. The idea of being out on the boat for 8-10 hours at 5 months pregnant didn't sound very tempting to her......as well as the Captain. So, I had a friend of mine say he'd step in and pay the other half. She's pretty bummer about not going, me too. But, pretty damned exciting for us at the same time.