I do not know your first mate....BUT ABSOLUTELY ...first mates make the day.
I used to charter out of St. Joe on Lake Michigan full time. I was fortunate enough to have some awesome first mates....good fishermen and great with the clients. One even went on to be one of the premier charter captains in Alaska.

While many Captains chose not to include a first mate ( monetary reasons ) , I always found they were an asset to get return customers.