Just a little more info. The cost to take the test from the Coast Guard I believe is some where around $110. There are also some application fees that must be paid to the CC. So you could study on your own, go down to Toledo, Ohio to take the test and pay roughly $150, not including your exspenses to get down there. From what I hear there are about 3000 questions that could be ask in the exam from the CC.
If you take a CC approved course, most will include the test fee as part of the tuition. Some courses include the books and map tools, some don't. 3rd party captains courses all have to be approved by the CC before they are allowed to teach, including sample test and questions, curriculum, etc. Most captains courses create their own exams for students to take on the last day of the course. So need to travel to Toledo, OH. The teachers then have to sign and approve your passing exam, send it to CC to fulfill your exam requirements. You usually get 3 chances to pass the exam, otherwise you need to take the entire course over again.
The course price for the one in the cites is a very good price for this area. Down in Florida and big maritime coastal areas, the classes are offered all the time, with alot of competition and run about $400 to $500 for the classes. Up here or where there isn't a huge demand for 6-pack licenses, the class prices go way up. When I first started looking, I thought I would be paying close to $1000 bucks or more for captains offering it in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Oh, Minnesota has a stupid license called the Lake Superior Fishing Guide License. If you want to guide on Lake Superior or Duluth/Superior Harbor, you need this license. Another $125. As far as I'm concerned, Minnesota needs to create a generic guide license (fishing, hunting, etc) for anyone guiding in Minnesota, just like Wisconsin has, but thats another topic.
No Guide in Minnesota, if not fishing on border waters or federal waters, needs any other type of license, except for a valid fishing license.
A captains license is good for 5 years. Get this though, the CC will not notify you that your license will expire. They give you a 6-month leeway after it expires to get it renewed. If you fail to renew it, you need to take the entire course all over again and pay the fees again.
This is just a little FYI for anyone that might be interested in getting their license.
For any Minnesota fishing guides that don't have insurance, go get some! If anyone ever hires a guide, please make sure they are licensed and insured. Legit guides will have no problem showing you their licenses and insurance if you ask for it, otherwise don't take the risk.
That's it for now.