Fishing Boat Names: 70 Ideas That Are Reel-y Good

Your fishing boat works hard: early mornings, long days, and more stories about "the one that got away" than anyone can count. It deserves a name as good as your best catch, and one your fishing buddies won't mind repeating for years.

These fishing boat names start with the reel puns, move through bait, tackle, and serious offshore rigs, then add insider picks for lawyers and finance pros and a few for the whole family. We've translated the inside jokes, so you'll have an answer ready at the dock.

Reel puns

• Reel Therapy
• Reel Estate
• Reel Nauti
• Reel Time
• Reel Deal
• Reel Addiction
• Reel Busy: your official answer when someone asks what you did this weekend.
• Reel Lucky
• Reel Quiet: for the angler who fishes in peace.
• Reel Life

Hooks, lines, and sinkers

• Hooked
• Hook, Line & Sinker
• Tight Lines: the classic angler's goodbye, meaning "I hope a fish pulls your line tight."
• Line Dancer
• Sinker: a no-nonsense name for a no-nonsense boat.
• Catch & Release
• Catch of the Day
• Knot Again: for the angler who's retied that lure five times already.

Bait and tackle jokes

• Bait Expectations: with apologies to Dickens.
• Live Bait
• Tackle Box
• Lure Me In
• Cast Away
• Castin' Call: open auditions for fish.
• Fishful Thinking

Tough names for offshore rigs

• Bluewater: offshore, deep-water fishing, out where the water turns from green to blue.
• Deep Drop: fishing straight down in hundreds of feet of water.
• Rip Current
• Iron Will
• Tuna Fever
• Salt Dog
• Wahoo: one of the fastest fish in the ocean, and the right reaction when one hits.
• Hard Tide

Classic angler names

• Gone Fishin'
• The One That Got Away
• Dawn Patrol: for the crew that's on the water before sunrise.
• Skinny Water: angler slang for very shallow water, perfect for a flats boat.
• Trout Scout
• Redfish Run
• Weekend Angler
• Secret Spot: the one you'll never reveal.
• Bag Limit: the most fish you're allowed to keep in a day. Aspirational.

Fishing boat names for lawyers

• Fishing Expedition: what the other side calls your discovery requests.
• Reel Property: for the real estate lawyer.
• Reel Party in Interest: the person with the right to bring the case. Here, the person holding the rod.
• Bait and Switch: illegal in advertising, fair game on the water.
• Off the Hook: no longer liable, and no longer at the office.
• Fish Story: hearsay, every word of it.
• Chain of Custody: for the angler who tracks exactly who touched the tackle box.
• Sustained: an objection the judge agrees with, and a fish that stays on the line.
• Fish or Cut Bait: for the partner who hates indecision.
• Admiralty: the branch of law for ships and the sea.

Fishing boat names for finance pros

• Bottom Fishing: buying beaten-down stocks in hopes they bounce back. Also, fishing on the bottom.
• Bait and Hold: a buy-and-hold strategy, with tackle.
• Line of Credit
• Fishing for Alpha: alpha is the return that beats the market. Fish count too.
• Whale Account: what a bank calls its biggest client, and what every angler hopes to land.
• Net Worth: measured in pounds.
• Liquid Assets
• Plenty of Fish: a diversified portfolio, on the water.
• The Float: in banking, the money still in transit. On the water, it's the bobber.
• Hooked on Yield

For the fishing family

• Grandpa's Secret Spot
• First Catch
• Little Angler
• Fishing Buddies
• Sea Legs
• Mom Caught the Big One: and she'll tell the story at every holiday.
• Dad's Other Office
• Fish Tales: every one of them true, of course.

Tips for naming a fishing boat

1. Keep it short. Two or three words are easy to read from across the marina and easy to say clearly on the radio.
2. Say it on the radio first. On a VHF call, you'll say your boat's name several times in a row. If it's awkward to say three times fast, keep looking.
3. Think about your fishing buddies. They'll repeat the name in every story, so pick one they'll enjoy repeating.
4. Check the lettering rules. In the US, boats documented with the Coast Guard must show the name and hailing port on the hull, in letters at least 4 inches tall. State-registered boats show a registration number on the bow, and the name is up to you. Check your state's rules before you order the lettering.

More boat names for the professional crowd: our boat names for lawyers, boat names for bankers and accountants, and retirement boat names for the day you fish full time. Accountants can find more boat names in our names for accountants.