Special delivery: Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter. Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives.
Wallis Higginbotham, Owner of Grand Slam, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
We’re lucky to maintain a balance between competitive tournament fishing and fun fishing. Easygoing trips with family and friends break up the monotony or burnout that can come from the tournament season. We also mix up our target species so things stay entertaining. When we’re in Costa Rica, we won’t target just sailfish. We’ll also fish for tuna or stay inshore for roosterfish. Since we fish around 100 to 120 days per year, it’s important that we keep things fun and change things up. We go where the fish are biting and don’t stay in one place for too long, which also boosts morale. And the break during hunting season helps.
Capt. Chris Kubik, Sweet Spot, Charleston, South Carolina
While growing up and working out of Oregon Inlet, I got used to charter fishing 130 days from April through October. Running a private boat isn’t quite as stressful. But even still, the thing that helps me the most is to ground myself at the end of each day. Every night when I’m out of town for work, my kids and I have a FaceTime call. That’s what keeps me sane and prevents burnout. Although it can be tough with school schedules, we also plan family trips together when I’m fishing abroad. Talking with my kids and spending time with them always helps to keep me going.
Capt. Jon Meade, Showtime!, Stuart, Florida
From a crew standpoint, being stuck in a foreign country and not fishing is what burns people out. We plan hard to make sure that if we are traveling somewhere, we are fishing three to five days a week. Ask your boss what you can do to fish even when he leaves. Being away from home and loved ones isn’t easy either. I try to ask my crew weekly how things are on the home front. We stay too busy to go home often, but if there is something they need to do to get their head right, I always try to accommodate. From an owner’s standpoint, I have found that new adventures appeal to their creative interests. Try suggesting new places and destinations, and step out of your comfort zone a bit.
Capt. Michael Yocco, Owner of MJ’s, Cape May, New Jersey
The best practice I have found to prevent burnout is to pace yourself. We have learned that it’s easy to get burned out, so we fish a lot from April through October, but leave winter months for downtime and boat maintenance. It helps that we don’t care much for sailfishing in the winter. Having this break allows our crew to reset and recover. Meanwhile, the boat gets its annual maintenance with plenty of time for needed repairs for the following season. If we were to fish a more sporadic schedule over 12 months, it would be much more difficult to spend any meaningful chunk of time in the yard.
