Charter captains feeling pump's pinch

Thu, Aug 28, 2008    to del.icio.us

Editor's note: This is part of a continuing series of stories on how the price of gas is affecting life in the Tri-Cities.

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It may cost a bit more to charter a fishing boat in Grand Haven this summer, but good weather and big catches have kept customers hooked.

The 15 charter fishing boats at Chinook Pier charge different rates — but through booking agent Amanda Butts, the cost is $450 for a four-person, six-hour morning trip. That's up from $430 a year ago.

"We did increase our prices, but nothing out of the ordinary," Butts said. "The fishing is fantastic, and that's why we're up."

Many of the charter fishing captains have added a fuel surcharge on top of their base price, several captains said.

Shrimp Boat Charter Captain Bob Swantek said his $20 fuel surcharge helps a little, but doesn't come close to covering the cost to power his boat, which gets about a half-mile per gallon when cruising.

"Nobody balks at the surcharge because they understand how it is," said Swantek, who has spent the last 23 years chartering his boat. "I hope gas gets settled down — but if we have to keep raising rates, we will."

Graybar Electric employee Curt Helsel of Grand Rapids takes customers out for a charter fishing trip each summer. He said the price increase wasn't enough to change his plans.

Helsel said he comes to Grand Haven because of its professional captains and proximity to Grand Rapids.

"It's a great time of year, the fish are close, we get big catches and Chinook Pier does a great job," he said. "It's an alternative to playing golf."

Swantek said the profits from one charter trip used to be able to fill his gas tank — now it's not even close.

Chip Klein, captain of Hit Man Charters for the past 31 years, said he paid $4.35 per gallon for his last fill-up. He expects to spend around $14,500 on gas for the season, up from $10,000 a year ago.

Klein said some boats spend twice as much per season in gas, but he saves money by spending more trips close to the pier.

"If I can catch them at the end of the pier, that's where I'm going to do it," he said. "But that's where I'm good at it."

All of the Chinook Pier boats are booked once a day, but Klein said he'll often be booked for morning and afternoon trips this time of year.

The charter captains don't have much to worry about for at least a month, because the peak fishing season is just around the corner — in late August and early September.

"One of the nice things is we have a lot of fish that run up the Grand River when its spawning time, which is right now," Butts said.

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Butts said the boats typically run 100 to 130 charter trips each season from May to October.

Although captains like Swantek and Klein will be watching gas prices closely during the off-season, they're confident their loyal customers will come back for more next summer.

"We've already got several booked for next year," Swantek said.