Saltwater fishing career advice

[Mitch]

Hi all,

New here so bear with me .

I am looking at taking a career in fishing , ill do anything i can to get on a boat , i was just wondering if anyone has any advice as to how to go about getting myself on a boat in Melbourne . :/

If only i lived in Qld where these jobs are frequent. Don't hear about many deck jobs down here in Vic.

Any advice would be great .

[Bartnmax]

Damned hard one down here mitch. Unfortunately most charters are one man affairs. Either that or it's two guys working as partners. The charters usually aren't big enough to empoloy 'deckies'.
Probably the best bet would be to track down the pro fishing outfits & see if you can get a job working on one of their boats.
Damned hard work though. It aint as glamorous as you'd think.
Apart from that you could look at eventually getting your own business going or look at work in other sectors of the fishin industry.

Bill.

[Mitch]

Ahh yeah its what i thought.

Hmm , well maybe ill go around and talk to people face to face, it seems like the only way to get a job on board a boat is to ask around and find out for yourself.

Unless i move it's not looking good down here :)

Cheers for the info ill keep searching hopeflly i get somewhere
Mitch

[fisherman347]

Wow,Lol,LOL,well guess what Mitch,this could be your lucky day,i'm Murph Mitch,first of all welcome to TBX,also nice to meet ya Mitch.
Well Mitch,straight to the punch,so happens that i worked on 14,different trawlers over a 15 year period,most of those vessels however were from up north,Darwin,Wiepa,Karumba,Groote Island,la,la,la,however the last vessel i worked on,named Emprise Pearl,just so happens this Vessel docks down at the North Wharf in Melbourne.Thats were i got the job on that boat.Now the best advisei can give you as in to find out the next time that Vessel docks in Melbourne is to go down to the big Melbourne Market, in Footscray,go to the fishmongers,establish who takes fish off that vessel
i have mentioned,i'm sure it's Mc lauchlans,not sure on spelling,once you have found this out mate,ask them to tell you when the boat will be docking next in melbourne,pester the hell out of them,tell them how bad you want that job,there are also a few other vessels that dock there,but could not tell you the vessels names. However those few fishing boats dock on the north Wharf of Victoria Harbor,rite near the helipad.
I only did a couple of trips on that vessel,and mate the money was great,if you get onto them,they might give you a tucker run first.
A tucker run basically consists of you going out to sea for 10-12 days,they charge you no money feed you,& if you are keen eager,& show the crew that & work hard,they might pay you a little for your first trip,but if the crew are happy with you,& you are happy to work & can handle the conditions,they will keep you on.One thing Mitch,it's no place for the faint hearted & you never count the close one's mate.
Anyway Mitch as an ex pro fisherman,i wish you all the best in your venture,i have no regrets doing all those years of fishing,i have alot of fond memories,& i'd recommend any young bloke taking that job on,for i cannot think of a better experience.If you have any further questions Mitch
do not hesitate to p.m me & i'll do my best to help if i can,once again good/luck,kind regards Murph.....

[Mitch]

Hey Murph nice to meet you.

Beautiful sounds good to me . Yeah i thought that would be a good way to go about it , Go the the market that is - and find out where its all coming from etc..
Thanks for the very detailed response :) I appreciate that very much

What kind of fish were you catching ? What should i be looking for ? Is there seasonal changes ?

Thanks Murph , Legend.

[truebluefishing]

I have worked on various pro fishing boats all over australia and now own 2 charter boats, the best way to get a job on a boat is to walk down the wharf and ask for work, or you could try emailing various charter companys, trawler jobs are easy to come by, but they are hard yakka, charter boat deckie jobs are a cushier gig but harder to come by.

[fisherman347]

Hi Mitch,Trueblue fishing is rite in saying it's best if you go down and hassel the boat crew,(Skipper),for a job,**** i'm not to proud to sat that i slept on the stokes hill wharf in Darwin,for 5 days,& for that amount of time i hasseled every Trawler that come in till i got a job.The Trawlers that work South of Hobart,west of Straughn,ect,only do 10-12 day sea trips,When i started my pro fishing carerr with Lombardo's,Bluff Boats,there were no closure's back then,so picture 7 months on the water,then your in my park. But those fish markets,they basically sell what ever is in the Vessels Quota at the particular time of year Mitch,so in saying that you would be looking for,spiky Dory,silver Dory,Orange ruffie,Ling,It may still be a little early for Blue Grenadier,however a few might be starting to filter through,but if you can get to speak to someone at the fishmonger who knows when a vessel is coming down to unload,well get down there & Hassle them,the Vessels do not stay in port very long,lol,for there not making any money moored up to the wharf,cheer's Murph.....