What do you want on a Party Boat

[BretABaker]

also....one point that costs nothing but does matter........do not clean tuna (or any saltwater fish) with fresh water.

[Sea Crappie]

1. Hot Meals. I happily pay up for private charters on the Big E when Newman will be along taking care of the meals. It really adds to my enjoyment of the trip to have 3 squares a day provided.

2. Chunking. I don't really chunk much, but consistent chunking helps to keep fish around the boat. I've never seen a conerted effort to keep a constant chunk / chum stream in the water. They chum, it's just random and haphazard.

3. Better coopertaion between the shrimpers, other boats and the platforms would go a long way towards finding the fish and I'm all for this. From everything I see, the SD boats are very cooperative.

4. The crew needs to address inappropriate tackle. There are all sorts of problems on these boats caused by inappropriate gear. The 2 I see most often are insufficient weight for bottom fishing and tackle that's too light for tuna. It would help immensely if the crew would rather assertively explain the appropriate tackle. This needs to be done before and during the trip. I've seen people try and use 6oz. to get a 5lb hardtail down 300ft in heavy current, and cast to YFT with Abu Garcias.

5. More casting room. I saw on another thread that part of the Big E refit would reduce the upper deck (this is a good thing), but other boats on the GOM have minimal room to cast and some don't allow overhead casts period. I go on these trips primarily to cast; lack of room, is a bummer, no casting rules are a deal killer.

6. Looking at other daytime options. I like bottom fishing, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings to cast jigs to wahoo at the FG's when they're there. You could also use satellite services to find rips, and drift those for a mixed bag. Daytime tuna would be good too. We did some trolling on my last Big E trip, once in the morning for wahoo, and once in the evening bump trolling livies. As long as there's a good rotation and doesn't take up too much time, both are great ideas.

7. 3+ day trips to areas we don't normally fish, further south or further east. This time of year seems to produce very large fish off of LA, and the mexican fishery is mostly a mystery (for long range at least). 1 night on productive swordfish grounds would be nice too, but might work better with the limited loads mentioned earlier.

[BretABaker]

1. a grill on board is a big bonus you're right...though i'm partial to fresh sashimi

4. yep...totally agree.

5. yeah thats tough since most of the boats have similar layouts. but it would be ideal like you said

7. i'd never say no to swords

these are all great ideas. hopefully people talk to boat owners about it to see if anything is feasible.

[rtran]

Originally Posted by lite-liner

Yeah, my last trolling experience wasnt very fun. Some guy gypped me out of my first wahoo!

LOL

Hey Bret I agree on all the points you got.

[kidflex]

they have shorter tuna trips. the boat is the capt john, 36 hr trips for 350.00. i will not be going on anymore of these trips but they go to nancen, boomvang, ceveza rigs etc. a good place for some one to try it out for cheap. they have 6/0 reels and rods to use for free also. the galveston party boats also run 36 hr trips(essentially the same as capt john). i think there is much more demand for longer trips and the boats wouldnt have a problem filling up.

[BFTMASTER]

1. "Free Fish Cleaning" is a joke! Now, you are talking about a private charter. If you don't want your fish baking in the sun, then go someplace and clean them. Be a sportsman!! If you kill a deer or turkey or a mess of catfish, you clean them. Cleaning tuna is very easy compared to other fish. You have invested in thousands of $ for tackle, spend $75.00 on a knife.

2. I totally agree with the tackle being appropriate for the trip. Last time I went out , the D.A.'s next to me hooked a large grouper on a 3/0 penn, the rod was bottomed out immediately. They(2guys switched) fought the fish for over an hour with no gain in line, then I hooked a similar fish and cranked both fish up from about 300 ft. after their fish became tangled in my line. What a cluster F**k!! These guys are still in the Big-E photos archieves, smiling with their huge grouper, as if they caught it.
3. The Fuel should be on a chart for everyone to see. I can only afford to go Offshore every once and awhile, sucks to drive from Oklahoma, then get hit with Fuel Surcharge. An extra $50 to $100 to explain to the wife. I understand why, just wish I could prepare before arrival.
4. 52 hrs. are good. When I have to come 450 miles to go offshore, I want to get my fill and shorter trips use most of the fuel that the longer ones do. I don't get enough fishing in one night.
5. I can't wait to get my first YFT over 80#, but I am still happy with scores of nice Bft, they eat nicely.

[rtran]

I'd like to add that it would be nice to have a clean boat. Some have stuff everywhere and potential dangers.

[BretABaker]

free fish cleaning might be a joke if you've only fished on boats that charge a lot for it. it's not a joke elsewhere, or the boats charge a low rate. they work for tips, and this is part of that work in my opinion. it's a shame that texas has the law where they cannot be cleaned on the boat, because otherwise we could all walk off the boat with steaks in hand.

if you want to clean your own fish, knock yourself out. if no one is tying my hook, hooking my fish, dehooking my fish, braining/bleeding the tuna.......why is cheap fish cleaning too much to ask?

the act of cleaning is not the issue. my point is that sometimes boats want to line the fish up at the dock for pictures, and since it gets hot here - that isn't the best for preserving the meat.

the point of this thread isn't to bash any boat or crew down here, it's just for suggestions as to how we can improve the operations to ensure they stay in business for years to come.

[d-a]

Originally Posted by BretABaker

the point of this thread isn't to bash any boat or crew down here, it's just for suggestions as to how we can improve the operations to ensure they stay in business for years to come.

The Problem with that is they have figured out what works for there boat and operation as a merchant and your wanting to change it to what works best for you as a consumer.

When they stop filling the boats up with fishermen they will start looking for ways to get them back on the boat. Take a look at the Fat Cat, there in the process of this now.

The only way you are going to get a boat to do what you want it to do is for you to buy it. Once that happens you will likely migrate towards the way the other boats are being run.

Oh yea And I will still support you, just dont know how many One night tuna trips I would make when the closet floaters are @135 and range up to 220 miles.

d-a

[rtran]

Mates that bleed and brain fish is a good one. I don't like them floppping around too much spraying blood out from their gaff wounds in my face.

Mates that can clear tangles well.

Good gaffing.

Improving their current operations can and will bring future business.