“No Fish… No Pay!” Guarantee
Florida Light Tackle Charters is one of only a few charter business who offer a “No-Fish.. No Pay!” Guarantee. We are so confident in our ability to put you on fish, that if we don’t, your trip will be free of charge, no questions asked. It is really simple. If you book a Backcountry/Flats Trip and do not battle a Game-fish; Snook, Redfish, Trout, Sheepshead, Flounder, Crevalle, etc., your trip is free. If you book a Beach or Gulf/Atlantic Trip and do not battle a Mackerel, Lil-Tunny, Shark, Barracuda, any type of Snapper or Grouper, etc., your trip is free. We use the term “Battle” as we cannot guarantee that you will win against our hard fighting game fish or that it will be in season or legal size limit.
Purpose
The Purpose behind our Policy is to insure you that our Staff is highly knowledgeable in the art of light tackle fishing. It is to further insure you that our captains will convey to you the proper techniques required to set the tempo for a “Catching” day and not a “Fishing Day” as we only employ the best of the best guides in Fla! Lastly, it is to insure you that we WILL NOT run a charter in adverse weather and/or tide conditions. Fishing is Fishing and at times, fish can be difficult to coax into feeding. Even though, we still feel confident enough that under the toughest fishing conditions, you will at the least, do battle with one of our game fish species! In other words, you will not take you on an expensive boat ride.
** Special Restrictions **
Fly Fishing and/or Sight Fishing
Our guarantee DOES NOT apply to full or partial “Fly-Fishing” and/or “Sight Fishing” charters. Sight Fishing and/or Fly Fishing provides for the highest degree of difficulty and requires a very high level of “Angler Skill” in order to precisely and very quickly acquire a target and place a bait/lure/fly without spooking a game fish.
Unlike freshwater fishing, sight/fly fishing for Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit, Reds and other shallow water game fish, may at times require a 50, 75 or even a 100+ foot cast. Our Guides will do their best to position you for a 25 – 50 foot cast, but as we all know; in clear, calm and extremely shallow water, getting too close to fish may result in a “Spooked fish”. Tap on the deck, walk on your heels, slap the water with a false cast or even place a fly/lure/bait one foot off its mark and you will send a Bonefish or Tarpon screaming for the horizon. Have a lure/bait/fly land just a little too loudly, and you will send a Permit off the flat faster then you can say “Did you see that?”
It’s not just a stealthy approach and a perfect cast; it’s also being able to acquire a target in adverse conditions, determining the direction of the fish and at times, having to make a perfect cast within seconds. Sight Casting and/or Fly Fishing is like “Hunting”. You will not make a 100 casts in a day. It’s a one cast = one fish ratio. If you make ten casts, then you should hook ten fish. Consider yourself a sniper. Our Guides will show you targets and will position you within casting distance, from that point it’s your skill level that will determine success. With such said, we encourage our Sight & Fly Fisherman to hone in their casting skills before they board a FLTC Sight or Fly Fishing Charter.
Conditions
A quick turn in weather conditions can lead to an unsafe and/or an uncomfortable trip, hence an unsuccessful attempt in targeting specific species. Certain game fish can be highly mobile, and at times the whereabouts difficult to predict on a given day. Certain game fish may also decide to take a day or a tide off, and not feed. This can be the result of weather, traffic and/or freak tides. Florida Light Tackle Charters reserves the right to target other game fish in lieu of a “Specified target” to provide for a fun outing for you and your guest. Should you decide to continue to fish for a specific species against our captain’s recommendation, Florida Light Tackle Charters is then relieved of it’s “No Fish… No Pay!” obligation.
Methods
Methods/Areas Fished; A good guide will always define a game plan based on a target species, weather & tide conditions and the anglers skill level & preference. With the aforementioned, a proposed plan of attack will be provided. This is to fish a certain area and to utilize a certain method to insure a successful day of “Catching” for your charter. There are times when anglers will choose to use their own equipment, lures, and in some cases, even fish their own “Honey Holes” As always, our Guides will always do what you want us to do.
Our Captains: are extremely knowledgeable. Years if not decades of local fishing experience is applied to every charter. Wind, tides, moon phase, prevailing forage, time of day, water temp, air temp and even boat traffic in concert with species targeted, determines an area most probable to hold active game fish, and equipment, lures and/or bait to be used. This is a “Science” Our Captain’s recommendations are based on a percentage of 100%. Should you not follow our Captain’s recommendation, you may decide to fish at a rate of 50 or 75%. While FLTC respects your rights as you have the final say, please respect our policy to WAIVE our “No Fish… No Pay!” Guarantee should you not accept our Captain’s Recommendations or instruction for technique &/or angling assistance!
Tarpon
Guarantee only applies to the SW Florida region*. Tarpon fishing mostly involves partial/full sight casting and/or drifting with lures/bait. Either way, the angler’s ability to learn the skills and apply such in short order will set the tempo for a successful or unsuccessful trip. Lure/Bait presentation to being able to detect a strike and properly set the hook will determine a hook up. When fishing for the aforementioned species, our “No Fish… No Pay!” Guarantee will be limited to presenting you with an opportunity at the fish. Whether you coax a fish in to eating your lure or bait will be up to you and your ability to apply what you have been taught to a “Real Live Opportunity” In other words, we will put you on the fish. You will see them and will have an opportunity to cast to them.
Bonefish & Permit
Our “No Fish… No Pay!” Guarantee DOES NOT apply to Permit & Bonefish Charters. Fishing for Bonefish & Permit hinges solely on the angler’s ability to identify a target as quickly as the guide and react at a moment’s notice. Extremely accurate & soft casting is a must. One must be able to cast at a target the size of a beer can at 25 feet or as far as 100 feet. This is “Trophy” fishing at the highest level and should only be attempted by highly experienced anglers. If you have a half a dozen shots at fish, hook three and land one…you have had a good day! If you are looking to land a bonefish or permit on fly…please book at least two or three days.
Time On The Water
Your charter length may be a 4, 6 or 8-hr+ charter. While actual “Fishing” time is not as important when fishing for Snook, Redfish, Trout and most other backcountry & flats species, actual fishing time is of the utmost importance when targeting Bonefish, Permit, Shark, Tarpon and Cobia, as our “No Fish… No Pay!” will only apply to a 6 or 8hr charter when targeting any game-fish species in the region you are chartering as tide and location play a major role. There are times when our clients ask to make a run to the beach so the anglers can cool off by taking a swim; or run back to the Marina or nearby Restaurant to take a break; or take time to watch and photograph our wildlife. While our Captains will always do what you want us to do, what you want to do may at times lead to missing out on “The Best” time to target a certain species. With that said, if you’re not fishing, you waive your right to our “No Fish… No Pay!” policy.
- SW Fla Region: Ft Myers to Venice **South Region: Key Biscayne only
- *** FLTC Will “Always” Stand Behind Our Guarantee ***