Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - Hell-en H Offshore Cod Trip, Sat. 12/15/07

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- - Hell-en H Offshore Cod Trip, Sat. 12/15/07 (http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=45593)

No doubt Joe is a great Captain. He is regarded as one of the best now and was regarded as one of the best when he was in Sheepshead bay, Brooklyn. I used to go out with him when I as a teenager for blue fish to 17 as we call it and the mud hole as a lot of others call it.

I think he really thought the weather was going to be good or he wouldn't have gone out...IMOP.

The trip was miserable :yak4: for most on the boat though. I enjoyed myself with the exception of the constant two step that needed to be applied to keep balance.

I hope to be going next week!

did the 18 hour trip on the big Jamaica in NJ... very rough seas:(

i knew i was going to be long trip when a few guys broke out johnny walker black, hard boiled eggs and cigarettes... we just walked on the boat 11pm at night.

oh baby

sounds like a good trip to me. you caught fish, most of the fares weren't fishing so the rails souldn't have been crowded. you had a nice boat ride. nothing worse than flat boring seas. i guess my father should of been charged with child abuse, he started taking me out on party boats when i was 6 years old. mostly during the winter since we had our own boat which we used up until the end of november.i don't think there are too many captains that will put there boat in harmsway just to make a few bucks. these guys know what there boats are capable of. as a fare on a boat you should know what conditions you are capable of fishing in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rock Hopper (Post 548120)

Sheepshead bay, Brooklyn.

Hey Kadir, when are we going toggin' on the 'Poacher?'

:faga:

Quote:

Originally Posted by l.i.fish.in.vt

nothing worse than flat boring seas

:hihi:

Willy, I'll take your word for it.

Obviously, the weather is a hard thing to nail down with precision. I certainly don't expect the sea to be like glass 60+ miles offshore during the winter. So I am realistic about that.

I'll just be more firm about putting my foot down about not going if I feel the Wx is not going to make the trip "fun." For me (and everybody is different) it's all about the fun. When fishing is more work than fun, it's not fun. When the weather is "50/50" before the day of the trip, the skipper should really be more accommodating to folks who want to cancel or give fares the option to reschedule.

Ironically, the attrition brought about by the fatigue, cold, and massive group-barfing means the catching is better for the rest of us rail yams who are still at it. It's just a little demoralizing to see folks slumped in the cabin, and it's especially demoralizing to see a young boy SCREAMING at this dad to take him home. I think I would have felt a little differently about the trip if that kid just stayed home or stopped whining.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willy G. (Post 548112)

Guys,

I haven't fished with Capt. Joe on the Helen H in some time, but from what I recall he is one of the most conservative/safety-minded captains out there. He won't take guys out if he knows it's going to be uncomfortable. In fact, I often hear a lot of chatter from guys frustrated that the boat cancelled even though "the weather didn't look that bad!" Frankly, I'd much rather err on the side of caution, as I'm sure most of you would.

Joe probably cancels 3 of every 4 trips during the winter months, and I seriously doubt that he knew what he was bringing you into when you left the dock. Anyway, just thought I'd throw it out there--most captains, especially intelligent ones like Joe, are not sadists who will put their patrons through hell just to make some money. Everyone makes mistakes--in this case, sounds like it was the weatherman (what else is new).

In any case, it certainly doesn't sound like a fun trip. I do a fair amount of winter codding, and if the forecast is looking crappy but the boat is still planning to go, I'd much rather just give up my deposit etc. It's no fun being stuck out there in rough seas and worse, the wind and cold. I'm sure some of the guys on that boat would have paid more than 195 bucks to get off that boat;).

-Willy.