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Rhode Island is a small state, so when I heard there was a woman running charter boats out of Newport, captaining a boat she started working on as a 14-year-old mate alongside her dad, I did the only thing there was to do. I asked her to come on the show.

Meet Coral Aiello!

Coral Aiello is a professional charter boat captain with sixteen years of experience on the water and a 100-ton master’s license. She learned to fish beside her dad, Joe, worked her way up from mate to captain, and now runs the boat while he works the deck.

Beyond the boat, Coral is a committed conservation advocate: she folds fish tagging into her charters, sits on the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, and is a vocal catch-and-release supporter. She’s the woman behind one of my favorite Instagram handles of all time (you’ll see!) where she authentically shares her life on the water with a big, loyal following.

Coral came straight off a full day of charters to sit down with me, and this conversation is everything I hoped it would be: honest, funny, and full of heart.

In this episode, we get into…

• Why a kid set on law school couldn’t stop thinking about fishing, and what finally made her commit

• The moment Joe realized his daughter could actually run the boat

• What it really took for a “salty, old-school” captain to hand over the wheel after 31 years

• The reality behind the “dream job” that guests always assume is easy

• What sixteen years as a woman in a male-dominated field taught her about earning respect (and no longer having to)

• The story behind her hilarious Instagram handle (and why she refuses the word “influencer”)

• Why she believes that fishermen care about conservation more than most people

• Why she brings fish tagging aboard every charter, and what her guests love about it

Lessons from My Chat with Coral

Passion is the whole job, not a bonus.

Coral is clear-eyed about the fact that charter fishing isn’t the postcard people imagine. It’s seven days a week, no days off, weather you can’t control, and a boat that’s expensive to keep running.

She keeps doing it because the passion is real, and she’s honest that without it, most people fizzle out within a season or two. What that passion actually asks of you is something she unpacks in the episode.

Being the only woman on the boat shaped how she leads.

Coral talks candidly about the looks she got at sixteen, the doubt she had to work against, and the strange satisfaction of watching a skeptic’s demeanor change once they saw her work.

She’s reached a point where she doesn’t feel she has to prove herself anymore, and she has real advice for other women stepping into spaces where they don’t yet see themselves represented.

Charter captains can be conservation’s best allies.

The stereotype says charter boats just take everything they can. Coral flips it: the people whose livelihood depends on a healthy ocean often care the most.

She incorporates fish tagging into her charters so guests become part of the science in a hands-on way. She advocates for catch-and-release fishing, and she also serves on the council where the actual regulations get shaped. Making conservation hands-on and hopeful is at the heart of everything she does.

Connect with Coral

• Book a charter fishing trip with Coral! (Reservations by phone call only.)

• Follow Coral on Instagram @professional.hooker

• Follow Coral on Facebook: Professional Hooker Fishing

Links from the Episode

• Gray FishTag Research

• American Littoral Society — Fish Tagging

• Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council — meetings are open to the public!

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