Buddy Carey began his sport fishing career at age 13 working with his dad  Captain Oliver Carey on the family's Miami charter boat.  In 1932, at just 15, Buddy bought his first charter boat called Sea Boots, operating out of the Pier 5 docks.

Carey took a hiatus from fishing during World War II to run an 80-foot U.S. Coast Guard vessel, but after he resumed chartering, he typically ran over 250 days a year.

Carey was happy to share his fishing know-how with others, such as IGFA Hall of Fame Members Allen and Buddy Merritt.  The two Broward County captains drove down to Pier 5 once a week  to pick up fresh ballyhoo from Carey, since no one was catching them in the Fort Lauderdale area at the time.

Carey taught the Merritts how to use wire lines to troll for grouper and coax amberjack from deep water wrecks. He also taught legendary captains Red and Bob Stuart how to successfully troll for gag grouper- bringing 20-30 gags to the dock daily when no other captain knew how to catch them.  Many of Carey's longtime mates went on to become successful captains in both the charter and private boat industry, including Billy Harrison, Red Hagen, Bobby Jenkins, Kenny Spaulding, Pete Thomson and others.