Mike Webber was the youngest charter skipper in the UK when he started out in 2015 and has since earned an enviable reputation for putting his guests on the fish. The focus of part 3 of our ‘Book a boat’ series, Mike tells us how it all began and what he can offer you when it comes to a day’s sport…
Since a very young age I have always been at sea, crewing and gaining knowledge from my Dad (Steve Webber) who skippers the charter vessel ‘Osprey’ out of Minehead Harbour, together with other skippers helping out and gaining me hours at sea. When finishing college I decided to take the challenge and start my own business and ventured in to becoming a Charter Skipper. My vessel is Teddie Boy.
At the age of 16 I worked in acquiring all the courses and certificates required to become a Charter Skipper, many hours in the classroom it was, but after lots of hard work, determination and support from friends and family this was finally achieved. I had to wait until my 17th birthday to be able to commercially endorse these certificates which would then allow me to take people to sea.
I have now been chartering for nearly 5 years, and it’s fair to say I absolutely love my job. Recently I purchased a 10m Cougar Catamaran which has been purpose built for my requirements in the Bristol Channel, offering a huge open deck space with full walk around making the most of the room. Powered by twin 200hp Nanni Diesels, this gets you to the marks quickly and most importantly dry and comfortably, offering cruising speeds between 15 and18knots with a top speed of over 22knots, making this the perfect Charter vessel. Also, she is kitted out with the very best Simrad Electronics, radars, echo sounders, also a galley for tea and coffee making facilities and a ondeck W/C. The boat has seating for everyone aswell as a bait table and 2 large Icey Tek Cool Boxes to keep your baits and catch fresh.
Since I have been Chartering out of Minehead Harbour some of my best catches include;
Cod- 29lb 12oz , Bass- 13lb, Bream- 5lb 8oz , Smoothounds- 24lb , Pollock- 12lb, Tope- 64lb 3oz, Blue Sharks- 134lb, Porbeagle Sharks- 100lb, Conger Eel- 55lb, Turbot- 6lb, Blonde Ray- 25lb 8oz, Small eyed- 16lb , Thornback Ray- 22lb, Haddock- 6lb 1oz.
Minehead is situated on the west Somerset coast of the Bristol Channel and offers a wide array of fishing opportunities. The coast here provides superb shelter from prevailing SW winds. We offer a multitude of other services such as commercial workboat duties, coastal cruises and ash scattering as well as traditional fishing trips for recreational anglers.
Parking is very good at Minehead offering some free slots plus some very reasonable pay and display carparks. Teddie Boy Charters offers fishing trips from 2 Hours to multiple day charters visiting other ports to mix things up and offering angling holidays. Most fishing is done within a short steam of Minehead which means more time on the water and less time travelling. Bass, bream, hounds, tope, mackerel, conger, cod, ray’s, huss, whiting etc. can all be found especially close to port. On species days we can catch anything between 15-20 different types of fish, so don’t think that Minehead is just about big fish. They are here too though!
Mike
Contact Details- Michael Webber-Griffiths 07894536672
Email- teddieboycharters@gmail.com
Website- www.teddieboycharters.co.uk
Instagram- @mineheadseafishing