Striper charter

[billfish76]

A friend of mine and 5 other guys he works with booked a trip back in August to fish today out of Rudee Inlet on one of the popular boats. He booked the trip for a 3/4 day. Upon arrival they were told of the extra charge to run to almost Oregon Inlet to get the fish. They understood that and said ok. @7:30 they left the dock for the 45 or so mile run. After reaching the spot they fished for 30 minutes and put a limit in the boat. Once that limit was reached the Captain(fill in) said thats it and the mate pulled it all in and they started back. At the dock by I think he said 12. Not once were they told it was fish untill you catch a limit and thats it. NO catch and release to fill the rest of the paid trip. They wernt very happy customers after paying for a 3/4 day trip and a fuel charge, and only getting a 1/2 day boat ride for the most part. To top it off they boat raised their rates after the first of the year and what they paid is now the 1/2 day rate and even with a reciept showing what they paid for and wouldnt give anything back. Then charged them to clean the fish.....

Is this the normal way charters are run for stripers?????
Thanks,

[Persistence]

I would never, ever go on a trip that states "once a limit is reached, we head in". No thanks...you can keep it.

Sorry for your friends bad experience. Always a good idea to ask specifics before money changes hand and before the lines are tossed to the dock. Also, I believe the Capt/Mate should make this clear as well.

[Jer]

Once that limit was reached the Captain(fill in) said thats it and the mate pulled it all in and they started back.

Sounds like they are running a "commercial fishing charter"

[donald/tri-again]

i guess the va beach charter boats need to do like the oregon inlet boats did when the fish were only north or east of rudee.. and move thier boats to where the fish are instead of screwing their customers. what boat was it that pulled the lines in with a limit ? hell they could have kept fishing for a new record. its been broken twice past week

[obxfish]

If it was a fill in capt. he should certainly let the regular capt. know his displeasure. Seems like in the interest of a happy charter it certainly would not have been good to ask the charter what they wanted to do.

[billfish76]

It was a very prominate boat out of Va Beach. Give a hint of the name, its the name of a popular resturant on the water there. They are going to call the capt. that booked the trip and voice the concerns. These are guys that have only fished fresh water lakes and this was their first offshore trip. Its left a bad taste for future trips.

[donald/tri-again]

if you book an offshore tuna trip they will pull lines in when you have your limit. you have to make special arrangements to switch to marlin fishing when you are already there. when it should be an allday offshore trip you think you booked

[Capt. kapoc]

(1)The extra charge is called a fuel surcharge and is listed on the fishing centers website.
(2)Fish till you get your limit is a common pratice sorry if it wasn't expained but either way you have a limit onboard.
(3) Paying for fish cleaning is standard they do have the option to not pay and clean the fish themselves. We do our charters fish for tips but because we don't have a fish cleaner at the marinia other then me and the mate.
With all this in mind perhaps with all the pressure that these fish get with trawlers,rec,comm,and charter they feel puting extra holes in them and poss screwing one up isn't worth it.

As far as the comments, jer ...a comm fishing charter...really come on now they were he charters fish and not sold what you state would be illegal.

Donald/tri again.....continue fishing for a new record.....what then...cull a dead fish for the record fish? We could move our boats down but not too many slips avail down there for our size boats and what would that do for the economy of Va Beach

Capt Mike Beane
Blue Dragon Charters

[biebs]

This type of **** gets so old with charter fishing. Is it just me or am I just confused. If somone pays for 8 hours and they are given 4 hours, isnt that stealing?

I striper fish, I own a charter boat.

Sure, if we catch a quick limit im not going to sit in the middle of the fleet and pound on them, but we will troll outside the fleet, maybe go look for some other pockets of fish. Maybe we will go and try and jig on them. Most of my customers want to go home after a limit, thats fine, but if they want to stay out for their full day, thats fine to. I tell you one thing, if I took home some of my corporate customers after a couple hours **** would hit the fan.

Since when is a charter fishing captain so concerned about getting back to the dock so quick. Your a fisherman right? O thats right, its a race to get back to the dock to see who caught them the quickest. Forgot about the ego thing.

Dont give me the catch and release crap about hurting fish. I have never seen a fishery get damaged by releasing fish alive.

Charter customers............do your homework, ask questions and dont be afraid to speak up. Your the customer.

[Jer]

As far as the comments, jer ...a comm fishing charter...really come on now they were he charters fish and not sold what you state would be illegal.

I understand a "commercial fishing charter" would be illegal. I was just comparing that with a commercial trip. In a commercial trip the boat gets back to the dock after catching their limit. That's what happened in what billfish76 described. Of course in a commercial trip the boat sells the fish and in a charter the clients keep the fish.

If I was on a charter trip and reached the limit in a few minutes or couple hours
1) I would be very happy
2) I would want to continue fishing (releasing)