I agree with you that the mates have more skill, but you can see why that boat rarely has more than a handful of customers while others will be full. If the white crab is whats catching the fish, then perhaps the customers should have been supplied with that. As for mates fishing, I have no problem if its an empty boat with experienced fishermen but many people on the party boats need help, and thats what they expect to get, especially with prices so high lately ( yes i know gas, and all that ). Besides on that particular boat, I cant tell you how many fish were lost while waiting for a mate to come with the net, and not because they were helping other people. My main gripe is not that the mates catch more fish, but that they are not helping when needed, were nasty, and the fact that the captain had been telling people to keep shorties. These same captains complain that fishing is much worse then its ever been. I know that there are many causes - commercial overharvesting being number one - but if a captain/owner wants to be in business next year, they should try to respect the limits as well. And believe me if I had $100-150 to spend on a fishing trip regularly, I'd be chartering. This is not much different then everyones gripes about LFS's. They have legitimate needs - to make a profit - but their irresponsibility is also the chief cause putting them out of business. And the fact that you have both LFS and party boats that dont follow the above, and have loyal happy customers, puts lies to the claim that the above is necessary.