I guess if we all felt this way a lot of charters would be out of business? Sometimes the knowledge gained by actually experiencing and picking the brain of these experts is well worth the money because of the knowledge you gain. I went out with L. Ontario charter captains years ago and the knowledge I gained by experiencing how to do things and picking their brains was well worth the money spent and much more than someone just telling me how to do it. Experiencing it was the key for me and I believe I am a better fisherman because of it. I'm not saying it is a necessity, and in reality, not everyone can afford it in this economy, but in my opinion it is well worth the price. With that said, what you can learn here is also very valuable. This is a great site with a lot of great people and fisherman (including charter captains) with a vast amount of knowledge who are always willing to help. I got some excellent and valuable information from the members here and appreciate every bit of it