Oh how I HATE going on head boats!

[TritonGlenn]

OK, I should have known better, because I have never completely enjoyed going out on a saltwater "head boat". Fishing lines always get tangled, nobody ever seems to catch much, and the only reason I go is to get a half-day off of work - like today.



40 other guys in my office got together for a head-boat trip. We paid our fee for a 8-12 trip. I paid up, even though I really didn't want to get on a head-boat, because... well, it's a half-day off of work, out on the water.



We get to the boat this morning, and I'm actually impressed because we pull out of the slip 15 minutes early. The two deck-hands looked normal when they stepped onboard. Things were looking up. Then one of them anounces to us in the back, "OK, LISTEN UP..." (Gotta admit... He lost me right there. We all turned and looked at each other and mouthed "Listen up???") OK, give him the benifit of the doubt. Maybe that just came out wrong. He gave some quick instruction to beginners that had never used the setups before, and then tossed some cut up squid into dishes and disappeared up front. That was at about 7:55. The next time I saw or heard from him was about 10am, when he stopped behind us, took our squid dish, emptied it into the other one besides us (we had two, now we have one), threw some more in it, and disappeared again. The other guy was seen periodically, but he never really stopped by us.



The fishing: I've caught bigger fish on my freshwater ultralight rod, fishing for bluegill with my son! Just about all we caught all day long were croaker. One every once in a while... and all were tiny. The 8oz weight on my rod was heavier than any fish I caught today!!! I saw one person catch a tiny fish of some other species I didn't recognize (looked more like bait to me), and someone brought in a ray/skate/whatever (who cares). Every time we caught more than 2 or 3 fish back to back in my little corner, the captain of the boat would announce, "OK, pull them in, we are going to pull out a bit". It got to be commical after a while, as we couldn't do anything but laugh. If we caught 2 or 3 in a row, someone in my group would say "OK, pull them in, we are going to pull out a bit", followed seconds later by the real captain saying the same thing! And they wondered why we were laughing so hard. In all actuality, several of us were starting to get annoyed. It's almost like they were trying to keep us from catching fish. Then we saw something busting on the surface (Blues maybe??? - I don't know - I'm a freshwater guy). Once again - Oops! Time to move!



To top it all off - I never caught a single fish over maybe 1/2 pound all day long. Nobody ever helped me with my rod, baited a hook, got me untangled, brought me anything other than that initial little plate of cut-bait, etc... BUT (and this is the topper for me), BOTH deck hands come around with a little black bennie hat, talking loudly about their tip. We all looked at each other, and some reached for their wallet. He then stops, right in front of me, with his other buddy standing over his shoulder looking right at me, shoves the hat right in front of me and says "Sir?" in a stern voice, almost like he was saying "Pay up biach". I was SOOOOO tempted to catch another 8 inch croaker and shove it in his hat for him. I tossed him a $5, as it was all I had in my wallet, and he continued his rounds.



Now, I know head-boat fishing ain't deep water exciting action, but is this normal??? It's not a matter of money - heck, it's only $5. Probably saved me from the heart-attack I would have contributed to with a Quarter Pounder on the way home. But would you tip a waitress that never came by except to seat you? Would you be happy with catching saltwater fish smaller than the majority of freshwater fish you normally catch?



If I'm being unreasonable, I apologize. I may have been expecting too much. I should have probably known. But I think this kin

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

:lol::lol::lol: You are spoiled!! Actually, if I treated my clients like that, I wouldn't be in business long. There was a huge discussion over on "another site" about whether tipping a guide is appropriate. We've had that discussion here also and it got heated pretty fast. Head boats are not in the same league as bass guides so there is no relationship between the 2. I have chartered boats and gone out on head boats many times (more charters). I have never received the type of treatment you did. My last head boat trip was a while back but it was a very good experience. The mates were attentive, cut bait, removed fish, untangled lines, and offered to clean the catch for you. They kept ice in your cooler and brought you sodas, juice, etc. I never hesitated to tip them well. They earned it. They joked and talked with everybody aboard. I personally prefer to charter. That allows you one-on-one time with the Captain and usually 1 or 2 mates. In some cases, the "mates" were worth the price of the charter alone!!:wub: On my last charter, the mate was a college student and she just worked summers on the boat. She could land fish and perform every other task as well as anybody and she looked fantastic doing it. The captain cleaned fish at the dock and that trip earned them a very good tip. Bottom line, there is a minimum amout of service required to get tipped in my book. You got less than stellar treatment and I would have told the mate to "shove off" when he demanded a tip. I would also call or write the Captain with every one of your complaints.



TOXIC

 

[John Belvedere]

I used to fish regularly off San Diego. The deck hands were very attentive to everyones needs. For a crew, there has to always be no less than 2 deckhands and a galley cook. Always, ALWAYS, around. Last trip was December 30th 07. They baited my Dads hooks. Even the galley cook helped out and last time out there was only 9 of us on the boat that normally handles 30-40. They work the bait tanks every minute, unhook your fish and put them in the sacks for you. Tie on hooks if you lose one. On some trips years ago in Ensenada, Mexico. I would tip the guy $10 and ask him to give someone some extra help because it was there first time. I have done a hundred trips and that type of fishing would NEVER fly on any boat I have ever been on. After each trip they would fillet our catch for a very small fee and then scrubed the boat down. If you look at my library there is a pic of my son holding up 2 red snappers and the guy to the right of him is one of the deckhands. My son got the jackpot with the largest fish that day.:wub: His first deep sea outing. Sounds like you had a bad trip, or rather experienced a bad charter outfit.

 

[Thomas Mc Innish]

It is interesting to see how the quality of service on head boats varies from region to region. I grew up fishing out of San Diego and will be back there again this July for a mini long range trip. John hit the nail on the head with the quality of service. If a boat didn't have good service it didn't draw the business. Word got around fast even in the pre internet era if a boat had poor service.



I have seen some head boat operations in Florida and they offered a good level of service also. They did things a little different than in Cali but the overall service was good. Unless you specified other wise they would do everything from rig the rod to bait the hook and drop it down for you.



If I had a trip like yours I would let the owner of the boat know and then ask around the docks and find a decent boat to go on. The best way to get the whole thing out of your system is another day on the water with a quality crew.

 

[Ken Sabin]

Tritonglenn-



A bunch of us at work have chatered The Bounty Hunter out of Chesapeake Beach, Md. GREAT charter service. We've been out with him on numerous occassions, never a disapointment.



WWW.bountyhuntercharter.com



Give him try and see what you think. His boat is easily big enough for 20-25.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

It's been awhile but NO, I have never been treated that way and had it not been so comical I would probably have been furious. BUT, when that deckhand stood in front of me with his little beanie in hand for a tip I would have had to say "OK, Listen UP. What makes you think you deserve any kind of tip after the crummy way you treated all of us down here?" There comes a time in life when you just have to say what you feel.

I didn't see the discussion on another site that Toxic mentioned but in my area where there are just about any kind of boat you want to go out on, tipping the Captain is usually out of the question, but tipping the deck hands is a matter of how they performed.

You were in no way unreasonable Glen but I would check on the Captain and crew before going out again.



Uncle Billy

 

[Berry Lindley]

There are a few good head boats. You have to do your homework in advance. The difference can be night and day. Osprey 1&2 out of South Padre in Tx are OK and the Sweet Jody in Destin FL is OK. Most however, are just boat rides best avoided if you want to catch anything decent. If you don't know, you need to charter and pay the piper. And then even do some homework.