Fishing Guide
A fishing guide is on board for one reason: the owner or charter guests want to catch fish, and they want someone who knows how. You rig the tackle, read the water, run the cockpit and look after the boat and gear. Most of these jobs sit on yachts that carry a dedicated sportfish tender or travel with a shadow boat.
The jobWhat fills the day
The work is practical and hands-on. You maintain rods, reels and terminal tackle, rig baits and lures, set spreads for trolling, and choose the right technique for the day, whether that is bottom fishing, jigging, popping or chasing billfish. When a fish is hooked you run the cockpit: clearing lines, coaching the angler, wiring or gaffing, then tagging and releasing or preparing the fish for the galley. Between trips you keep the gear salt-free and the freezer stocked with bait.
With guests aboard, your day follows the fish and the guests' energy. A keen owner might want a dawn start and eight hours offshore. A family charter might want two hours of light tackle off a reef with children. When guests are off, you work as part of the deck team: washing down, tender maintenance, watches and helping with water toys. On a 45m yacht you will likely be a deckhand who fishes. On an 80m explorer with a 12m sportfisher in the garage or a shadow vessel, fishing is the full-time job.
Owners and captains hire people with real sportfishing history, not hobby anglers. The strongest candidates have worked as mates on charter or tournament boats in Florida, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cabo, Cairns or the Azores, and can show catch records, references and photos. Yachting tickets come second but still matter. You need STCW and an ENG1 to sign on, and a powerboat or Yachtmaster qualification makes you useful as a tender driver too.
Progression tends to run towards running the boat as well as the cockpit. Good fishing guides add Yachtmaster Offshore and engine courses and move into chase boat captain roles, where they command the sportfisher or shadow boat for the owner. Some go back to the sportfishing world as captains of large private convertibles. Others stay on the deck ladder and use the specialism to stand out when applying for bosun or tender captain jobs on yachts with fishing-mad owners.
Skills captains look for
- Bait and lure rigging
- Trolling spread setup
- Cockpit and leader work
- Tag and release handling
- Reel servicing and tackle care
- Tender and powerboat handling
- Fish handling and filleting
A day aboardOwner trip, 60m motor yacht with 12m sportfish tender, Seychelles
Check the weather, swell and sea surface temperature charts, then talk the plan through with the chase boat captain.
Load rods, fresh rigged ballyhoo and teasers onto the sportfisher, check drag settings and fit the harnesses for the owner and his son.
Run out to the drop-off and set a five-rod trolling spread along the current line where birds are working.
Sailfish raised on the short rigger. Coach the son through the fight, wire the fish, tag it and release it alongside.
Switch to light jigging over the reef edge for job fish and wahoo the chef has asked for, then bleed and ice the catch.
Back at the mother ship. Lunch in the crew mess while the guests eat on the aft deck.
Fillet the catch for the galley, rinse every reel in fresh water and wash down the sportfisher cockpit.
Respool two reels, retie leaders and rig baits for tomorrow, then log catches and tag numbers for the owner's records.
Off watch. Dinner and an early night ahead of another first-light start.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Charter tips are shared with the crew and can add a month's salary per busy season. Guides who also drive or skipper the sportfisher command the top of each band. See the Bosun & Deckhand salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- PDSD
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
Gets you hired
- RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
- MCA Approved Engine Course (AEC)
- IGFA Certified Captain or Observer
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- Elementary First Aid
Visas
- Schengen visa
- US B1/B2 visa
Where it leadsA typical career path
Bosun & Deckhand jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Can I get this job if I've never worked on a yacht?
Yes, if your fishing record is strong. Plenty of guides come straight from charter and tournament boats. You will still need STCW and an ENG1 before you join, and you should expect to pitch in on deck work.
Do I need a captain's licence?
Not to work the cockpit. To run the sportfish tender or shadow boat you will need at least a powerboat qualification, and on larger boats a Yachtmaster Offshore or equivalent licence for the flag and the area.
Is the work year-round?
It depends on the owner. Some yachts hire a guide for a set trip, such as a month in the Seychelles or Panama. Owners who fish everywhere keep a guide on permanently, and that person works as deck crew between fishing trips.
What do owners care about most?
Results, safety and how you treat their guests. They want someone who can put a beginner on a fish as patiently as a seasoned angler, follows local rules and release practice, and keeps very expensive tackle in perfect order.