I want to start this out by noting that, yes, we did not catch any fish on our 4 hour afternoon trip. I have seen several reviews on here for other captains to where they drop the rating because of this, and one specific rating for this captain on a different website where the guy expected a huge discount or his money back because of this, and those people are a**holes. No charter boat can guarantee you a catch, unless they are going to take you to catch a 3 inch bait fish on the way back to confirm their “guarantee.”
With this all being said, I had a wonderful time. Don’t get me wrong, I wish we caught some
fish, but Captain Seth was very honest and straight forward with his approach. He told us that fishing in the bay was crap at the moment. The water had gotten pretty rough, and he said the Gulf was likely worse. He said he would still take us to the Gulf if we wanted, and we had him drive us to the point just to check…and he was correct. We could see the white swells well before we even got to the point. If I had been alone, I would have still attempted it, but I was on a family trip with a 10 and 15 year old who were already getting beat up in the bay.
We turned back around after confirming the status of the Gulf and he took us to several spots where he thought we had the best chance of success. It appeared he was in contact with several other captains who were in the bay at various locations by text, to see if they were having any luck, and I’m assuming if they had replied in the positive that we would have went to their location, or close by. But no dice there either.
And I did end up getting a huge bite, that I fumbled due to my own inexperience with the type of hook that he was using. I grew up fishing in freshwater creeks and ponds using regular old J hooks. When you got a bite, you had to set the hook by jerking the pole backwards. These hooks were more like a corkscrew type, and he informed us several times to just let the fish take it and to not “set the hook.” It’s hard to ignore years worth of instinct, and when he sent me out with a monster croaker as bait, I screwed the pooch. Something took it, and I jerked it back, and it never came again. He told me that if I had just left it or slowly reeled it in, the fish would have came back for a second smash. I pulled the bait back in to see if it was still there, and only half remained. It was so cleanly cut that it looked like a razor sharp guillotine chopped it in half. Seth judged that it was a “monster” of a bluefish due to the half circle bite, and the clean cut. So I could have hooked at least one good one if not for my own fault.
Other than the fishing, being out on the boat was so peaceful and enjoyable. We had a dolphin that followed us around for half the trip. Seth was great with the kids, baiting their hooks and casting for them, and giving them good info on how to attempt to do these things for themselves if they wished. He was also good to talk to, and overall it was a pleasant experience.
If I had the money to go back again this time down, I would go back on his boat, for sure. Thanks Seth for showing us a good time, and making the best out of a bad biting day.
I want to start this out by noting that, yes, we did not catch any fish on our 4 hour afternoon trip. I have seen several reviews...
