Commercial Mackerel Fishing | Mate For A Day | What Does It Pay?

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[@comfortablynumb9342]

You continue to find different things to film for us and it's really impressive. Thanks man. Well done.

[@williamscarbrough7384]

I have fished for Kingfish during the mid-seventies in the lower keys. We filled the boat when we got on the school. The blurred fish in the video look a lot smaller than the 3 to 4 foot catch we enjoyed back then. The fishery must be a lot smaller now. I will say that the schools are usually pretty deep so the lure you use has to be pretty heavy and stand out in the dark of the deep depths. Kings really attack flashes they see when they are biting. Steel leader is a must. I don’t think I have shared too much but I wanted to express a little bit about how we fished for Kings back then.

[@oriolcuba]

Great video as always! Thank you for sharing that a small commercial operation is not always profitable… your channel is one of the few where we see consistently how commercial fisherman operate. Appreciate the hard work.!

[@kentfey5313]

I commercially kingfished out of Port Canaveral for 25 years along with running charters and working for fire rescue for over 30 years so I definitely understand!

[@daviskoier6853]

Aaron thank you. I fished for kingfish at night out of Palm Beach in 1970 using ballyhoo. Very exciting, very fast fishing, lots of fun. Smoked our catch over oak wood. It's been a year or two but unforgettable. I was working in Stuart, Fla. at the time, fishing on the weekends. Vermont boy just out of the service. Picking oysters on the Indian River. I worked as a surveyor in the Okeechobee Basin, lots of citrus and palmetto, a magic place. Thanks for bringing it back.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

they are def fun to catch!

[@randaltotten9358]

That Oakwood is number one on my list for smoking love the flavor

[@season247food]

Aaron hi, you’re not rambling… Your just giving us the facts, showing us the realities of this type of fishing.. And you’re really good at explaining things… Stay blessed fam… 🤩🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@PSSKDerby]

Great video Aaron! Thanks for keeping it real! Being from Atlantic Canada, I’m super happy that the charter captains my friends & I used off Naples didn’t short change us on the merits of kingfish mackerel. It was amazing steaked & filleted on the bbq. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@JackedUpFishing]

Love the way you tell it like it is. Fished commercially for 6 years! Very tough but I loved it as well as the comrodery! Support your local commercial fisherman. Government pushing us to eat seafood from overseas where there are no oversight. Beware! Tight lines!

[@driftless1870]

Man, that looked like a LOT of work for a small profit. No wonder why charters are necessary to keep so many of these guys afloat. Puts the price tag in perspective. Nice work.

[@maryantosz6195]

Thank you for shedding light on this industry! Great video, as always!

[@justinbowman2064]

So cool, love what youre doing man the mixture of content is awesome. Its always nice to see how other fisheries are executed in other parts of the country/world.

[@danballou2202]

Brought back memories. Used to charter and commercial fish off Miami. We used to move the boat up to Jupiter for the kingfish run. Had commercial kingfish permit as well as a restricted species permit. Tough way to make a living. Many viewers probably don't know that king mackerel don't bring near the price per pound as most other fish.

[@Dan-k1b3l]

My uncles and cousins all did the commercial fishing out of Marathon for years, thanks for the video Aaron.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@VernBigDaddy]

Brutal Honesty. Needs to be heard! Lots of people don’t understand the amount of work that goes into their restaurant plate.

[@ncsojourner200]

89'-99',nc hook & line grouper/ snapper,,kings/tuna... Love those 12-16 box days,,bigger avg Then & drones/clark/cedar plug behind a bird... downriggers & electramates,, occasionally live bait & spinning spoons, rare tho.. Then a bluefin would crash the party & eat it all...lol Luved it!

[@HanginwithMikeC]

Just watching this now on 11/6/24 after buying a king mack permit. Interesting and ty. Great vid.

[@bretburt7317]

Wow, even blurred the lures. That is some Top Secret filming!

[@Steadicam305]

Its beyond retarded lmao

[@VitaminDeeTV]

For the ones who put in the time and figured out what works and what doesn't, they understand! My hat goes off to those guys. Years of knowledge that allows them to go out and get it done. While some think simply trolling around for hours wasting fuel is the only way.

[@weistortny]

The majority of KZbin videos show the type of gear, lures and/or bait used by fisherman whether they be commercial or recreational@@VitaminDeeTV Nobody is taking away a commercial Fishermans livelihood by using the same technique, gear and bait that is proven to be successful.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

haha

[@VitaminDeeTV]

@@weistortny imagine spending years gathering knowledge not only from your personal experience but also from those who came before you; knowing that there are others who would love to just obtain that knowledge putting in zero effort. Inevitably, you’ll say “let them figure it out on their own!” Besides, he blurred the baits out of respect to the ones who put in the work. That alone is enough for us not to question the way he chose to edit this one!

[@mikkimichele51014]

Great Video. Really gives more appreciation for who, how, & where the fish come from. Love this type of video. Keep filming we'll keep watching.

[@lewisspeed3041]

Hopefully they get on them next time,I’m thankful for those guys every time I go to the fish market

[@rippleforeskinxrp358]

Cant be much different than our Diamond Jigs (single hook) for commercial bluefishing. Nice Haul !

[@Steve-em4tb]

I totally get the secrecy Aaron. I have a friend who now lives on the Texas Gulf Coast that does commercial rod/reel fishing and the information regarding the process, gear, and location are largely secret. Showing that online would be akin to tell the whole of your secret fishing lake in the middle of the woods.

[@sammcvea1069]

Awesome video 📹. Thanks for showing how difficult commercial fishing can be.

[@davidanderson8258]

That was a fun change up. Thanks Aaron!

[@adventureswithrocket1]

I totally get it Aaron. Thank you for sharing.

[@nikolasshay3294]

Coming from Texas for the most part everyone considers them a sport fish and say they aren't good eating. Except for smoked fish dips. But I've been living in Qatar for the past 2 yrs and I actually catch meter long kingfish from shore here. The shelf drops off to 20-30 meters deep within 5m from shore. I think they taste amazing. I only caught 2 back when I lived in texas and I remember the meat was really gray like barracuda. These over here have more pink/white flesh.

[@freedomwanderer]

That was awesome. Great look into the day to day life of commercial fishing.

[@bradjones9634]

Great insights into what commercial fishing is like.

[@tlspeedy35]

Stumbled upon the fleet out there, crazy how far you guys travel, and such a common lure everybody has but nobody can guess it

[@backcountrylifemagazine6912]

Just like the walleye bite up here on the Detroit river the last few weeks…..but warmer….

[@leekillman802]

Thanks for sharing the reality of commercial fishermen. I totally embrace your honesty. Did not know the current end use of Kings till you mentioned it at the end. I have eaten it in my younger days and to say it was terrible is being kind. I am sure it was the way it was cooked. Guessing smoked kingfish might be ok given the oil in the flesh lessening the chance of a dry outcome.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

its great smoked as dip or cooked correctly in my opinion, glad you enjoyed it!

[@John06648]

I like them either way but smoked king dip is fine eating

[@adamyoung480]

Aloha. Love the teamwork between the captains. A community working together. Everyone wins.

[@TipoftheHook]

Awesome fishing with captain Jack Sparrow, Loved it🤩! Keep them awesome videos coming👍! Got here new subscriber fisherman from Kazakhstan 😉🖐

[@curlymaple42]

I have never had smoked fish dip, other than salmon dip from AK. Our daughter will be on Islamorada all summer working at as a dive master at the boy scout camp. If we get down to visit for a quick trip I'll have to try some fish dip! If we are there long enough, I wanna reschedule that spearfishing trip or heck, any fish fishing trip,with you!! Oh, I noticed the GVF vinyl next to the banana gun. That's good tunes there!

[@howardlashbrook8500]

That's why it's called fishing. Thank you for sharing this video

[@strayedcat1966]

Back in the day... 1970's - 80's, I knew of a bunch of Cuban commercial fishermen out of Miami that fished live baits with hand lines only and usually drifting or slow trolling while throwing live chum. Much bigger kings, wooden inboard slow boats.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I have been on the boat with my friends in Costa Rica when they used hand lines. Snapper aren't too hard, but the tuna and mahi mahi were a battle. I always preferred my rods. And I did better trolling than they did, but on the bottom those guys outfished me every time.

[@jeware1971]

You definitely have to have your sea legs, since you are constantly moving on deck. That and the sun beating down on you is stress on the body. Thanks for educating us folks on the business.

[@tomservo14]

I'm going to catch a few of those this spring. Tell the big ones to make a run up to Tampa, if you would?

[@ottoosmers9273]

Comerchal fishing is the best job in the world. Love to see all the difrent types

[@billclark1011]

great video, first one with no brain and bleed😀. I cant imagine how much time it took to edit this with the blurring to protect the secrets. We get them here in Tampa bay but not like that. Thanks once again for these videos.

[@damaincane3528]

Great video as always …. Very informative and way to keep it REELZ !!

[@KeyWestWaterman]

🙏

[@ctcraftii]

Thank you for sharing this with us

[@KeyWestWaterman]

thanks for watching!

[@jameshoffman7771]

Here in Central Florida the limits are different we either have 50 or 75 head depending on the quota in small fish make it really hard wish everyday was 75 head of 20 pound fish but not every day is like that lot of work for little money a lot of times hats off to the men who do

[@strosdetailingchannel]

Thanks for the insight, good to know. I’ve also seen people use a giant net for commercial king fishing. Is this something you’ve ever done? I assume you need a much larger boat for that. Cheers 🍻

[@KeyWestWaterman]

yea they gill net them towards the end of the season, I've never participated. different permit and need a much larger boat.

[@DLRinc]

I understand the blurring. I made some lures last year that absolutely killed the Mahi!! Definitely can’t buy something like that in the store, but super easy to make.

[@Josh_wenig_Licht]

I saw that KZbin award in the background of your office, congratulations

[@KeyWestWaterman]

thank you!

[@megacatsupreme466]

Well deserved

[@paulkersey2179]

Very insightful, thanks for sharing.

[@raymondlink5029]

Went 5 years ago witha captain of the Miami Beach in 25 ft of water 500 lb of mackerel in 4 hours just the two of us and it was a blast

[@urbancornbread5500]

Thanks Aaron! Never mind the haters, love your channel, bro!

[@kingkustomz33]

That episode was a serious change in pace. For sure a different look to wetting some lines.

[@randyruney5704]

Thank you for the great video.

[@coastalcarolinafishingnc5199]

O'Shaughnessy Open Eye Hooks, 3 hook train with some pogies/ bunker gets them fired up

[@rustbucket9318]

Texas coast we use that same rig with ribbon fish. Lots of fun when doing it for fun. Don’t know about for a living.

[@kyleschmidt7985]

That’s normally what most commercial guys in up in mainland go with. I don’t know if they were running that just how they were working them in. They were snapping hard which usually wouldn’t be the case with live bait.

[@rickfazzini22]

Man, if the electric motors/ batteries ever become efficient it could really change the game for commercial fisherman. Thanks for the video !

[@hecmen7298]

Hard work out there to make a living. What size BG’s were y’all using, the 5000 or 6500? Love those reels, workhorses

[@KeyWestWaterman]

I believe they were 5000

[@cornhoolio6456]

Best way to get into commercial fishing: Show up at the docks before sunrise with your gear and a lunch and your journey begins

[@KeyWestWaterman]

haha right

[@kevinhaire5909]

Aaron, your thoughts on a Koah 52" roller gun for wahoo and tuna??

[@tonycamaj7243]

Hey bud this might be a stupid question but I was wondering if brain and bleed is something you could do on a commercial trip? Awesome video!

[@KeyWestWaterman]

I do it on all mine. But i was a worker this day. King fishing is a little different. Time is money when catching in quantity like this

[@ericw9655]

Always amazed at how hard the commercial guys beat up the fish. Slamming into the gunnells and deck like they’re trying to knock them out. Maybe it doesn’t make a difference, but I always try to handle them like a dozen eggs when i’m harvesting them for myself.

[@sandtowalk]

Great job guys enjoyed it

[@KeyWestWaterman]

🙏

[@bob_thebuilder]

I can hear Robin Thicke in the background singing “Blurred Lures” 😂

[@curlymaple42]

Oh THAT was why it was blurred!!!! I couldn't figure out why they blurred the fish being hauled in, yet showed the bloody fish in the box and being gutted! Never thought about the secret tackle!

[@MultiHartattack]

He said clean as you go is the cleaning process different?

[@DKofDAH]

Interesting twist on an episode, I like it. Just an idea for future ones like this, when you can’t talk so much about how to exactly catch them then maybe something about the fish itself. What is it, how big do they have to be and how big do they get, where do they live etc?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

yea watching it back and editing I realized I didnt show much on the fish itself. thanks for the tip!

[@DKofDAH]

@@KeyWestWaterman no worries. It’s just that I like your relaxed and chill way of going out to get on the ocean, yet I have very little knowledge about it when it comes to fishing. So I try to learn as much as possible

[@1cryogen]

@@KeyWestWatermanJust a narrative point: you didn't mention until the very end that the commercial limit was 1200 lbs. So for most people it just looked like you were crushing it for most of the vid. Anyone watching this vid is interested in the regs, how much fuel you burned, what's the season, etc.. I discovered your channel recently and it's helped me survive cabin fever in the frozen north, heartfelt thanks for that!

[@roncarlson8061]

Great video Aaron,was very interesting.

[@marshmallow220]

That kinda looks like what i do with a diamond jig😁

[@jackbentley9530]

Thanks for the video! People need to see the other side of the coin.

[@jrod_813_8]

Was wondering if you've been seeing any of the "spinning fish" that have been infected by something down there?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

yup video will be out soon

[@jrod_813_8]

@KeyWestWaterman you're the man. Breaks my heart seeing the sawfish wash up. Hopefully they can find the problem and a solution fast.

[@flysubcompact]

Great nitty-gritty video.

[@akindofmagick1]

Great video! Sorry about all the ignorant comments.

[@DeanSchumacher]

#Movinweightfishing Adams the best for commercial kings great dudes over there always tearing the fish up. Would be cool if you jumped in and filmed the school I bet you would see alot of everything thanks for sharing.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

some days are good some days are bad, Zack got on a good school his next trip, caught his limit in about 3 hours.

[@DeanSchumacher]

You forgot to mention some kings go to POOR MANS LOBSTER LOL😂😂😂​@@KeyWestWaterman

[@hankalvarez9504]

Is that a Whitewater boat you where fishing on?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

On this day yea

[@rusedorange]

What are they used for?

[@lonesometrucker2995]

Aaron, I want to be a commercial fisherman. How do i go about doing that, being that they dont give out commercial fishing licenses anymore?

[@coyroberts8356]

Love what y’all doing!!😊

[@sonnyeast3862]

They used to line up like that at the grouper bar when the kings were thick.The fish were a lot bigger when I was there 25 years ago…

[@KeyWestWaterman]

it depends on the school, 2 days later Zack got in a good school of big fish all 15-20 lbs. had a limit in 2 hours.

[@stonewall3041]

I know the secret! It's the blur that makes them work. LOL!

[@margekaralis4212]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

[@annamariadolphintours4723]

Got to go fishing down to Rockbottom again.

[@kyleshultis4246]

Would he be able to run one motor instead of two to save on fuel?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

Too big of a boat for one

[@bensmith9984]

My dad was a pro fisher in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia) during the 60-70's. He targeted barramundi specifically. Growing up he would tell us wild stories of what it was like in those days, with how cut off from civilisation it was, it sounded like the wild west.

[@snapperslapper-sz6fb]

It’s a shame that gas is probably 80% of expenses. I had a crawfish boat back in the 80s and early 90s. Diesel fuel was 67 cents a gallon. Long days fishing on 35 gallons of fuel. Those were the days!

[@Skicountry1414]

Thanks for the video👍

[@KeyWestWaterman]

You bet

[@thefisher6273]

Is there a size limit for kings when commercial fishing?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

Yup, they were all legal. The market will call you out if they are not trust me. 24” to the fork. We had some Spanish mackerels in there as well they are much smaller.

[@TristanBapst]

This is some awesome content. Would love to see more of this but I understand why commercial fishermen would be against you filming. It’s very interesting to see

[@Gobigorgohome1]

so you are fishing the gulf side?

[@kennethphilips3226]

Aaron, subscriber here enjoying your videos. I'm curious if the guts have any value or use as crab, shrimp, or lobster bait? Or is it just waste? Keep up the good work. Thanks.

[@williamjohnson3226]

Would forward facing sonar increase your ability to catch fish and stay on the schools?

[@KeyWestWaterman]

possibly yea would need to go a ways.

[@billnelson31]

Commercial fishing is a lifestyle, not a job. It is difficult and has highs and lows. My whole family, dad, brother, sister,me, my wife, etc have commercial fished for salmon in Alaska since the 1950’s. My son now fishes the boat his grandpa built, in Cook In.et. Still a tough go, but he loves it and is still doing it. Power on.

[@ryanbennett4956]

How do I go about getting on boat ? I wanna do it

[@spearo16]

Whats the usual price per lb? Sounds like a rough go if you gotta catch half a tonne to make a pay.

[@gradybrowning3976]

Yes Sir looks like y’all are on the Mackies!

[@KeyWestWaterman]

haha

[@CarsonSmith-q1k]

What knife do you use to brain? I have been having trouble with them breaking in the ole noggin

[@KeyWestWaterman]

red tide dive knife or Koah dive knife, both are great

[@buschify1990]

You look like a fellow countryman of me with those Grundéns suspenders 😄✌️

[@KeyWestWaterman]

haha love them things

[@KristianGrSl]

What model is it?

[@buschify1990]

​@@KristianGrSl Grundéns transmit bib anchor

[@KristianGrSl]

I thought so, thanks.

[@BillJohnston-y7o]

Some people have no clue how tough commercial fishing is. Had a few people I knew who did it over the years, it's brutal, IMO. You look much better with your hair cut. lol Now it's much more expensive.

[@Rainersherwood]

I can smell it just watching you gut all those fish hahah you got any tips for getting fish stank off the hands?

[@brianjohnston2318]

Are you north of longkey or south of long key? And what are you seeing as far as fish kills and fish spinning in circles? If you don't mind me asking. Coming down there april the second

[@FRZNTYM1]

"fish kills and fish spinning in circles" where did you here this?

[@brianjohnston2318]

@@FRZNTYM1 It's all over youtube the internet the news. You can call FWC down in the keys.And they will tell you about it as well. I have already called them and talked to them about it

[@FRZNTYM1]

Yeah News sells I guess. Every year down here it’s something new. Last year was the giant weed blob. Then the reefs dying off because of record highs. I would not get my panties in a wad over “News” stories. These guys gotta pay bills as well.😂

[@brianjohnston2318]

@@FRZNTYM1 First off bitch I don't wear panties. Secondly the f w c confirmed it

[@KeyWestWaterman]

its real, releasing a video on it this week. I'm south

[@lowlightevangelist9431]

What do you do when you need to take a dump on a small boat like that?

[@ericw9655]

That’s what the cup of coffee before you get on the boat is for!

[@lowlightevangelist9431]

Always pay the people who provide you service and tip them well, and you will do better in life.

[@CookingWithClams]

all these king macks have warrants. thank you for keeping their identity private

[@KeyWestWaterman]

I ain’t no rat

[@gamerclownz2783]

are these Mackarel or Kingfish? they look so small for a kingfish vs the ones u dive for. then there is Kingfish that dont look anything like these.

[@KeyWestWaterman]

Mackerel are kingfish. They were smaller this day. Sometimes that’s just how it is.

[@secretaznbo1]

The blurring has me intrigued, after 15 minutes of research i found out the exact jig, color pattern, seller of those jigs, and even the mold to make them myself. Thanks youtube!

[@myriamtorres2185]

What was the price per pound?