OU - Lauderale Weekend Package (great christmas present)

[Over Under]

Posted this from our weekly fishing report. Thought some folks on here might be looking for some christmas present ideas!

Read the Report online with lots more photos of the Hotel and facilities

Fort Lauderdale Weekend Getaway
Quick & Easy - Great Boat, Crew and Lots to Do
(The Perfect Christmas Present)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to host the sales and marketing team from the Gallery One Doubletree Resort in Ft. Lauderdale for a day of cruising the ICW. We had intended to head out and get in on the early season Sailfish Bite that's developed, but 25 plus knots of wind, made us change gears and put our Sailfish trip on hold. We all had a blast with the folks from the Gallery One. Plenty of good tunes cranking on the 45 Cabo's IPOD system, good food, lots of cold drinks...it was quite the party as we motored down the ICW.

The Hotel: The Gallery One is in a really great location, right on the ICW, and we've made special arrangements to pick up our guest right at the hotel...this is super convenient. The Gallery One is located just down the street from the upscale Galleria Mall, and walking distance to all sorts of great attractions. This is a condominium hotel, and every room is either a one or two bedroom suite, with a full kitchen and living area. These are upscale accommodations, at very competitive prices. This place is NICE! This is definitely a prime setup for a quick couples get-away. Easy flights and close proximity to the airport, are what make Fort Lauderdale so convenient. Mix that with great fishing, shopping, beaches, and a casino (oh yea..Hard Rock Casino is awesome too), and you have something that just about anyone would enjoy.

The Boat: Now, a bit about our boat. So, where do I start. The boat is owned by a long time customer of OU, who approached me about putting it into our charter program. After several meetings and discussions last spring, and an introduction to the Gallery One folks, we decided to jump on it. The boat is a 45' Cabo, fully decked out with just about everything imaginable, and maintained in like new condition. The boat is absolutely immaculate, has an eskimo ice machine, air-conditioned helm, killer stereo system, unbelievable electronics, runs at 30+ knots, and is 100% rigged for anything you want to do on the water. We can run over to Bimini for the day, day or night time swordfishing, cruises the ICW, or fish for sailfish and dolphin. The boat has it all. Oh yea, did I mention we watched the MIAMI game via the satellite DirectTV on the flat screens in both the helm and cabin! No missing the game on this boat...

The Crew: Do a bit of research on Capt. Joe McGivern. You'll quickly find that this young South Florida Captain has made quite a name for himself on both the swordfish and sailfish scene. Between Joe and his mate Josh, this is one fishy crew, that knows not only how to catch fish, but entertain everyone while they are doing it. Capt. Joe is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the S. Florida fishery, with a specialty in both live bait kite fishing, as well as both day and night time Swordfishing. Joe has also fished a good bit in the Bahamas and it looks like this boat will be fishing several legs of the BBC this year, in addition to a busy Winter Sailfish Tournament Schedule. I fully expect this boat and crew to be showing up on some leaderboards this winter. We have partnership opportunities all winter long in Sailfish Tournaments. If you'd like to join our team for a particular event, please get in touch and we'll give you some options.

The Whole Package: We really hadn't spoken too much about what we have going on in Lauderdale, until now. Things have been busy, and we are just coming into season here. After my trip yesterday I realized just what a great situation we've walked into. This is a weekend trip Joy and I will be taking. The perfect compromise vacation, Shopping and Fishing! Trust me here, and take us up on the offer. This is a good deal. The Perfect Christmas Present!

Tight Lines,
Captain Trey



Pool on the ICW


Flatscreen Satellite TV underway


Capt. Joe and deckhand Josh


Gallery One Crew

- Tight Lines,

Trey

[TomL]

great opportunity! Capt. Joe is one of the best in SoFla, you are fortunate to have him on the team. The hotel is very nice and directly on the ICW. great package there..

[Over Under]

Thanks Tom. Joe is very "fishy", and doing a great job for us.... Looks like we will be fishing a good bit of the tournament circuit as well. Hope to have more on opportunities to join the team for various events shortly. Appreciate the thumbs up. Trey

[Capt Joe McGivern]

Thanks for the Kind words Tom! Hope all is well. Long time no talk. How was Bimini? I know it was rough!

Fishing slowed down today with the south wind. Looks like we are getting another front at the end of the week so I expect Sat and Sunday to get good again!

Joe

[TomL]

Good to see you posting Joe, I'll look forward to seeing you in Lauderdale..some of the best nightspots in South Florida are withing stumbling distance of the Gallery One hotel and I've heard you can order "martinis" there....

No Bimini tourney for us, had a conflict. We took some West Coast tuna guys over the week before and did well, several wahoo over 50# from up north. Got a call yesterday, a dozen boats ran out in the late afternoon and were bailing large mahi on a weedline that was 3/4 miles off the beach in Lauderdale, 50' of water....Great time to fish down here, I'm sure you guys will have some great trips in the next few months. Seeing lots more flags on the charter boats these days.