Our trip was just ok the mate on this boat was fantastic from his helpfulness with us fishing and retrieving fish and even filet the fish after the trip because we didn’t catch that many due to the temp. The captain on the other hand was not as pleasant. Yes there are ground rules which he explained but if you would like to smoke a cigar or any thing else he told you to do it at the back of the boat which is fine, but at the end of the trip his domineer of how he told us that he didn’t want that on his boat was a bit confusing. His attitude totally changed and he became aggressive and just wanted us gone off the boat. Also telling us how much to tip the mate when clearly we know how much to tip this isn’t our first time

Buyer beware. We set out as a 6-person group at 6am for a “more serious anglers” 6-hour nearshore fishing trip in mid-April.  We had high expectations for a great day. The weather and ocean were in fact great as the Sea Hag captain’s execution, save though one thing: actual fish. As the sign inside their cabin says, “Fishing isn’t easy. If it was, it would be called catching.” That described our experience, as there were basically no fish in the water the day we went out (and prior day of poor weather they mentioned briefly at early hour of 6am).

We appreciate that reality. We were unfortunate. What was NOT unfortunate was the fact that we apparently went out fishing pre-season. As their first mate said 5 miles out in the Atlantic, waters were still too cold, and fish don’t return until basically mid-May. This was not something we would know, but it’s logical that they would know this reality. Had we known, we would not have booked the fishing trip with such a doubtful outcome. There was little point in going fishing mid-April if there were basically no fish in the water due to pre-season.

Indeed, we collectively paid $1,200 (including “recommended” $200 20%+ tip for the first mate) to effectively bring home about just 1 lb. of black sea bass. 1 lb.  That’s one super-pricey “boat-ride” day out…and significantly disappointing to me and our group, to say the least. While noting their desire and need to cover costs and make profit, I nevertheless a few days later requested a 50% refund to restore faith.

Their onshore coordinator quicky responded “First of all everyone caught fish. You were told the very fact that we were not catching many keepers lately. Then we gave you the opportunity before we left the dock to not go because of that fact. You all made the decision to go fishing knowing these facts. It cost us a lot of money to provide this service to people. I’m sorry you are disappointed but in no way did we misrepresent anything to you. No refund will be given.”

Misrepresentation is not the issue. Everyone did indeed “catch fish,” if you call catching fish that the first mate mostly threw back catching because they were’ “too small.” We were not aware of the pre-season conditions prior to going - only once we set out and were fishing about 5 miles off the coast in the “still too cold waters.” We never would have gone, if we knew the reality on the ground, so to speak. I suspect he knows this reality but is stuck to his position, preferring earning cash over customer satisfaction (i.e., bringing back fish).

Their day-of behavior and subsequent refund request response reflects poorly on Sea Hag Sportfishing. I/my fishing party do NOT recommend using Sea Hag Sportfishing regardless of the quality of their 46’ boat and how nice they seem. Go instead with reliable fishers.