OK boys and girls, time to make a decision and commit to the trip. I've been asking for feedback from last year's crew, haven't heard from Tom (lefteye) and Rich...I'm still not sure where you stand. All I know is that Craig and I are IN for sure...so there are 4 spots available.
The boat I am suggesting is the Defiant out of Clark's Landing in Point Pleasant, NJ.
http://www.defiantsportfishing.com
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I am going to copy and paste from the last thread on this...and my conversation with Captain Adam.
About the boat...
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I spoke with Captain Adam of the Defiant a week or two ago. He said that he and Jay run all trips, so there is no double booking. They've both been offshore fishing for many years (more than commercial), and commercial offshore fishing for the last 8 in Mass. And both fish year round, so this is their business, not a part time gig.
Trips leave usually 9AM day of, get out to the canyon at 1PM and troll til dark. Then go on the chunk all night and head back in the AM. He said they usually have the boxes filled by daybreak, so they are normally heading right back, but if it was a slow trip they'll troll the morning too. Latest they'll be back at the dock is 3PM.
Being in offshore both commerical and recreational, they have all the gear we could possibly need. He said belt wise (problem last time) they have 9 belts, but only 4 will be on at a time...he doesn't anticipate or want to fight more than 4 fish at a time on a 6 pack charter (understandable).
He said the trip is totally hands on...chunking at night, we can also drop jigs down if we have lots of energy to burn. He said, however we want to get involved we can...totally up to us. He said if a rod gets hit and a fish is on...run over and grab it...go at it (the way it should be). I stressed that we were more interested in the whole experience, even if it means we lose a few fish or whatnot.
To be honest, I felt like a complete ass asking him half the questions I did...these questions seem so ridiculous that I'm sure he was like "is this guy really asking these questions"...well that's how I felt at least...but after last years experience...I wanted to MAKE SURE we don't repeat into a similar situation.
Right now all days are open, including weekends. In speaking with Adam, it sounds like they have a lot of multi-trip/liberal clients which have "soft" dates in that he can move them around with flexibility...so he is giving us dibs on dates as of right now.
He said the owner hasn't bumped prices yet, last year was $3200 and he said he can get us in for that price.
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If I can get 6 guys, I'll see if I can negotiate a little, but don't depend on it.
Right now, the trip is $3200 for 6 guys. Factor in 20% tip, and that's $3840. So, total trip cost including tip will be $640.
I spoke with Captain Jay last night again as well, we BSed about various fishing...but another thing that stood out to me is the fact that these guys are commerical offshore fisherman as well...so they havea a TON of experience with BIG fish...so IMO there is a very big advantage to having these guys run the trip if we did happen to hook into something huge. He said last year the tagged and released an estimated 600# marlin (if I remember correctly).
As in all fishing, there are no guarantees...but I really think these guys will show us a great trip.
If I can't get 6 to book this trip, and those that are interested have other suggestions or are deterred for some reason, please let me know.
Clearly this trip isn't cheap and there are probably less expensive tuna charters where we can save $50-100 a head...but I am 99% confident we will have a great trip with these guys regardless of how the fishing goes...and I am rather confident if we secure a good date, we should have a slammer trip...keep in mind, this is basically all these guys do. As a matter of fact, Captain Jay is heading down to Florida in May for 3 weeks to fish some Billfish Classic tournament...so these guys don't mess around.
Let me know what you guys think!
Matt
The boat I am suggesting is the Defiant out of Clark's Landing in Point Pleasant, NJ.
http://www.defiantsportfishing.com
I am going to copy and paste from the last thread on this...and my conversation with Captain Adam.
About the boat...
*****************************************************
I spoke with Captain Adam of the Defiant a week or two ago. He said that he and Jay run all trips, so there is no double booking. They've both been offshore fishing for many years (more than commercial), and commercial offshore fishing for the last 8 in Mass. And both fish year round, so this is their business, not a part time gig.
Trips leave usually 9AM day of, get out to the canyon at 1PM and troll til dark. Then go on the chunk all night and head back in the AM. He said they usually have the boxes filled by daybreak, so they are normally heading right back, but if it was a slow trip they'll troll the morning too. Latest they'll be back at the dock is 3PM.
Being in offshore both commerical and recreational, they have all the gear we could possibly need. He said belt wise (problem last time) they have 9 belts, but only 4 will be on at a time...he doesn't anticipate or want to fight more than 4 fish at a time on a 6 pack charter (understandable).
He said the trip is totally hands on...chunking at night, we can also drop jigs down if we have lots of energy to burn. He said, however we want to get involved we can...totally up to us. He said if a rod gets hit and a fish is on...run over and grab it...go at it (the way it should be). I stressed that we were more interested in the whole experience, even if it means we lose a few fish or whatnot.
To be honest, I felt like a complete ass asking him half the questions I did...these questions seem so ridiculous that I'm sure he was like "is this guy really asking these questions"...well that's how I felt at least...but after last years experience...I wanted to MAKE SURE we don't repeat into a similar situation.
Right now all days are open, including weekends. In speaking with Adam, it sounds like they have a lot of multi-trip/liberal clients which have "soft" dates in that he can move them around with flexibility...so he is giving us dibs on dates as of right now.
He said the owner hasn't bumped prices yet, last year was $3200 and he said he can get us in for that price.
*****************************************************
If I can get 6 guys, I'll see if I can negotiate a little, but don't depend on it.
Right now, the trip is $3200 for 6 guys. Factor in 20% tip, and that's $3840. So, total trip cost including tip will be $640.
I spoke with Captain Jay last night again as well, we BSed about various fishing...but another thing that stood out to me is the fact that these guys are commerical offshore fisherman as well...so they havea a TON of experience with BIG fish...so IMO there is a very big advantage to having these guys run the trip if we did happen to hook into something huge. He said last year the tagged and released an estimated 600# marlin (if I remember correctly).
As in all fishing, there are no guarantees...but I really think these guys will show us a great trip.
If I can't get 6 to book this trip, and those that are interested have other suggestions or are deterred for some reason, please let me know.
Clearly this trip isn't cheap and there are probably less expensive tuna charters where we can save $50-100 a head...but I am 99% confident we will have a great trip with these guys regardless of how the fishing goes...and I am rather confident if we secure a good date, we should have a slammer trip...keep in mind, this is basically all these guys do. As a matter of fact, Captain Jay is heading down to Florida in May for 3 weeks to fish some Billfish Classic tournament...so these guys don't mess around.
Let me know what you guys think!
Matt
