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Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Book
You pay for the boat, not per head. Every Barotrauma rate covers up to 4 anglers, and each extra angler is $75, with 6 max. A 4-hour inshore trip split four ways is $150 each. A full 6-person, 8-hour offshore day runs $1,300, about $217 each. Two people pay the same base rate as four.
No. Barotrauma's charter license covers every paying angler on the boat, so there's nothing to buy beforehand. Kids under 16 don't need a Florida saltwater license at all. One catch: that coverage ends at the dock. Adults 16 and up who want to fish from the beach or shore on their own later need their own license.
The usual range is 15 to 20 percent of the trip price, paid in cash to the captain at the end of the day. On a $600 four-hour inshore trip, that's $90 to $120. On a $950 offshore trip, roughly $140 to $190. Tip on the whole trip as a group, not per person.
On the Water
Take a non-drowsy meclizine tablet (Bonine or Dramamine Less Drowsy) the night before and again an hour before launch, eat a light breakfast, and go easy on drinks the night before. Medication prevents seasickness but won't cure it once it starts. If you're prone to it, book inshore inside the bay, or nearshore, 3 to 7 miles out.
The Fishing
It depends on the month. King mackerel run hardest in spring and fall. Sharks get most active once the water warms in summer. Gag grouper can only be kept during the short Gulf season, which ran September 1 to 30 in 2026. Red grouper, mangrove snapper, and sheepshead are around most of the year, so every season has a keeper.
Gag and red grouper run on different calendars. Gag opens for a short Gulf window each year; in 2026 it ran September 1 to 30, and the Inshore Grouper trip only runs then. Red grouper can be kept year-round in Gulf state waters with a 20-inch minimum. Each angler keeps 4 grouper a day max, only 2 of them gag
Yes. On a licensed charter boat, you don't need the shore-based shark permit beach anglers do. Photos are the catch: hammerheads, tiger sharks, and lemon sharks are protected in Florida and must stay in the water with gills submerged, so those pictures happen boatside. Blacktips and bulls aren't on that list. Barotrauma's shark trips are catch, photo, and release.
Yes, if it gets back down fast. A grouper reeled up from 100 feet arrives with a swollen swim bladder that keeps it floating. Florida requires a descending device or venting tool rigged and ready on any boat fishing reef fish. It clips to the fish and sends it back to depth, where the pressure evens out. Hence the name.
Tampa, Florida Weather
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