Piracy is more or less my only souce of income since one year - it pays my bills, gives me some spare cash to feed into projects and buy some ships.
While i can't sign the calls of 100mil an hour it still pays as it is not as dull as trading/smugglin or mining, so you can keep doing it for a longer time( at least that is true for me)
My advice for piracy: don't overdo it - don't troll the traders, don't pew them for the lulz or something....the goal is to give a feeling of "not being completly ripped" - otherwise they will simply log another boat and try to kill you , which shortens your piracy time! Also...you want them to come back instead of chasing them down, this pays more while being lazy
So, OP - it pays, jsut be nice to the guys and don't ask for so much cash that it really really hurts and you will do fine!