Thanks for the review Amy. We always appreciate the opportunity to address concerns, even if that opportunity doesn’t arise until a review.  First, we apologize if you felt as though our crew didn’t connect with you.  They are both fairly new crew members for us, and additionally, yesterday was the first time that they worked together. We will address this with them and make sure that they are introducing themselves to customers. We take pride in making our customers feel as though they are our friends and family, not tourists. Thank you for letting us know. We will definitely be improving this.

You’re right, fishing (or catching) was tough that day!  We never like for anyone to feel as though we didn’t work hard to catch fish.  Our shared trips are more of a “fish for what is biting” type of trip.  If there is a certain fish that you want to target, you’ll need to book a private charter.  On a pay-per-person trip, we can’t target a certain species for each person.  At this time, the only fish that are biting, in the waters for the charter that you booked, are King Mackerel, which is why you spent your time trolling. This charter usually fishes for other things like Red Drum and Shark, but they aren’t biting right now.  We weren’t the only boat that came in with less fish than we’d like. There was another charter boat that came in, at the same time, that only had one fish after 5 hours.  You probably didn’t notice it because, well, it’s not something that any angler is proud of.  That’s a hard day for not only the anglers, but the crew as well.  The Captain cleaned that fish quickly and let his customers on their way.

Offshore fishing isn’t like fishing in a river or a lake.  Everyone doesn’t hold a pole and wait for fish to bite.  Trolling is the method used to catch King Mackerel.  Too many lines in the water at once would cause lines to get crossed and tangle up, which could mean lost fish or line wrapped up in the boat’s propeller.  And there are a whole list of dangerous consequences to either of those things… a customer could go into the water, or a hook could fly up and impale someone.  If the line gets wrapped into the prop, a crew member has to get in the water and get it out or the boat will have to be towed in.  We never want someone to have to get in the water where sharks live because there ARE dangerous shark in the Gulf of Mexico.  They may not be biting our bait, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t mistake a human for food.  What typically happens when trolling, is there are a couple of lines in the water and each angler takes turns reeling in fish until everyone has caught their limit.  When the fish are biting, it seems to go by very quickly because there is a lot of excitement.

The boat that you reference in your review, that caught so many fish, was a completely different type of charter than the one that you booked.  That charter was a 12 hour trip that fished in Federal waters between 30 and 60 miles from shore. It’s a much longer and far more expensive charter.  They brought in Ling, Red Snapper, Tuna, Dorado, and Bonita and those fish are just not found on a state water, nearshore, $155 per person charter. We don’t expect the average angler to know this but we would have explained this at the dock if you’d asked. You may not have noticed, but they didn’t bring in any Kingfish.  We offer those types of trips, on our No Mercy listing, and the prices begin at $1650.

We hope that other anglers who are booking their first offshore fishing trip will take the time to read this review and have a better understanding of what type of charter they are looking for when booking. We are always available by phone to discuss a booking, answer questions, and set expectations.

Cheers Amy!  And tight lines in the future!!

Thanks for the review Amy. We always appreciate the opportunity to address concerns, even if that opportunity doesn’t arise until a review.  First, we apologize if you felt as though our crew didn’t connect with you.  They are both fairly new crew members for us, and additionally, yesterday was the first time that they worked together. We will address this with them and make sure that they are introducing themselves to customers. We take pride in making our customers feel as though they... More

We’re genuinely regretful that you had a bad experience with us. We don’t gain anything from a customer who is unhappy. While we can’t change your experience now, we’d like to address some of these issues here so that other customers know what to expect.

You’re right, the boat was scheduled to depart at 7AM and should have already been fueled up for your trip. We definitely have an opportunity for improvement here and will be addressing it immediately. Thank you for letting us know that this happened.

Catching bait is part of most charter experiences unless you are fishing for something that can be caught with an artificial lure. Bait catching doesn’t typically take much time, and is best caught on the way out to where you will be fishing. Fresh bait catches the best fish.  It’s more difficult to catch bait in rough seas, which is what we had the day of your trip.

As far as the Capt making the cast or assisting with reeling in fish, this is typical when fishing for King Mackerel.  Catching those fish isn’t like to catching fish in a lake where every angler casts their own pole, or even other fish in the Gulf where each angler would hold a pole and drop bait straight down.  Kings are caught by trolling, which means that the boat is constantly moving, the crew has to set the gear, and the anglers take turns doing the hard work of reeling the fish into the boat.

We don’t typically gaff and land sting ray in that manner, as they have tails with barbs that can be dangerous, even deadly, to people if stabbed.  If an angler wants to keep a sting ray, the tail is cut off before the ray is brought into the boat, for the safety of everyone.  If the ray isn’t being kept, it is released quickly while it is still in the water.  Catching a sting ray is sometimes a part of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and our crew is experienced with this particular fish.

Sometimes equipment breaks, especially during use. We repair and replace equipment on a regular basis, because fishing can cause damage to it. It’s just part of it.

Lastly, the reason your group didn’t catch many fish was due to the weather and rough seas. We began communicating this with you two days in advance of your trip and made a reasonable effort to deter you from fishing during that time.  But sometimes there are seasoned anglers who enjoy the rush of fishing in rough seas, and unless the seas are dangerous, we’ll take them fishing!  We had 3 groups on separate charters who did just that, the day before your trip, and they all caught a good amount of fish.  The morning of your trip, we had a conversation and you said “we’re going, but I’m not happy”.  I strongly advised you not to take the charter, but you insisted.  At that point, the Captain and I were both left to assume that you were one of those seasoned anglers who was determined to fish anyway.  I don’t mention this to insinuate that not catching alot of fish is of your own doing - as we are forced to say - “fishing is not always catching”.  But I mention this rather in an effort to inform other anglers, that if the charter company or the Captain advises that the seas are rough, please give serious thought to whether or not it will be the experience you are expecting to have.  Our Captains have fished in a variety of situations, so if WE say it’s rough, it’s ROUGH.

One thing that you didn’t mention here in your review was that you thought you’d booked a federal red snapper trip.  We have reviewed each and every one of our listings and suggested changes to the FishingBooker staff, to ensure that the type of charter is as clear as it can be.  However, for anglers who are new to offshore fishing, we recommend sending us a message before booking so that we can assist you in booking the charter that your group is looking for.

Again, we sincerely regret that your experience wasn’t what you had hoped it would be. If you decide to give us grace and another chance, we’ll do our best to provide an experience that will turn your opinion to a positive one.

We’re genuinely regretful that you had a bad experience with us. We don’t gain anything from a customer who is unhappy. While we can’t change your experience now, we’d like to address some of these issues here so that other customers know what to expect. You’re right, the boat was scheduled to depart at 7AM and should have already been fueled up for your trip. We definitely have an opportunity for improvement here and will be addressing it immediately. Thank you for letting us... More

Hi Gearge. I have fixed the actual type of toilet that we have on board as it is a portable camp toilet that is seated in the privacy of the cuddy. I apologize for any confusion that there was as for me, I consider it a toilet due to the fact that i was raised a “redneck”. I see your point and have further explained it on our description. I am glad that you guys had a good trip and hope to see you again.
Rodney

Hi Gearge. I have fixed the actual type of toilet that we have on board as it is a portable camp toilet that is seated in the privacy of the cuddy. I apologize for any confusion that there was as for me, I consider it a toilet due to the fact that i was raised a “redneck”. I see your point and have further explained it on our description. I am glad that you guys had a good trip and hope to see you again. Rodney