The Carolinas - why taking rookies out sometimes suck.

Left out Tosail Inlet Friday morning at 5:30 with my brother in law and a good friend of ours planning on hitting the 200 and 23 mile rock. 40 min later we arrive and within two min they are both moving around a little funny. I start catching bait full strings each time then catch a sea bass, 2 lb trigger and two bait fish on one sabaki drop. I told the guys its time to go for the sea bass not paying attentintion to what was happening. I start dropping cut bait and bam two 18" bass (no sound from the guys), drop the rig again and bam one 14" one 15" (still no sound from the guys) I drop it a third time with similar results except this time I hear the grunting from the guys hanging over the side of the boat. I decide I dont want to fish bad enough to be smelling and hearing the throwup all morning so we head back in. So to sume it up 10 min of fishing = plenty of live bait that I threw back one 2lb+ trigger and (6) 14-18" sea bass. :mad:;? Both guys took dramamine but I was wondering if any of you have any tips of avoiding sea sickness other than staying on dry land. My list of sea worthy friends is getting short ;?

Take Bonine instead, I am bad to get seasick but I have never been sick when i use Bonine if I take 1 the night before and then one when i get up to go . I did make the mistake a month or so ago and didnt take it the night before , only when I got up to go and I was sick as a dog that day.So tell them 1 Bonine before bed and another when they get up the next morning and they will be good to go.
It also helps to tell them to keep their eyes on the horizon on the ride out, watching the bow of the boat going up and down against the water will get them everytime.
Good Luck and sorry to hear you had a ruff day.

Scoplamine (sp?) patch worked great for this rookie and our group.

There are perscrton patches called scopalomine.. May have spelled that wrong??

And a prescription pill called Scopace. Same stuff and works batter than anything I have seen...

Better luck next time!!,

Bonine works for everyone I have taken offshore. I suggest one two days before, then one the day before and then the morning we head out. Have not had one person sick yet with Bonine. It will not work if you just take it the morning you leave.
And yes I have people lying on the deck sick who did not take it. It makes for a long day for them as we don't come back in for sea sickness.

This is very important for my son and his friends. If they get sick you won't get them out on the boat again

Yeah, it sucks when the crew is sick.....

Scopace is the one I hear the most good about...

And don't overtake Bonine or just the night before. Seen guys stay sick from the meds from not listening on how to take it.

Ive tried everything from the patch to the pills. The patch is the worst thing I have tried. It gives me terrible cotton mouth and I feel bad before I even get on the boat. I take something similar to bonine the night before and it makes me feel real drowsy and most of the time all I want to do is sleep. Best thing I found that works for me is only going when its going to be nice. If its going to be like a washing machine all day it don't matter what I take, I'm going to chum. I really think a lot of it is a mind thing. Since I'm prone to getting sick, its always in the back of my mind whenever I get on the boat.

Anything under 4' and Im pretty good, I'll last most of the day until I lose some lunch. Ive tried the just about everything, wristband things, never done the prescription patch. Bonine is the only thing that can keep me good to go all day, as stated above, one the night before, one when I wake up and I'm good to go all day. Drinking lots of soda (ginger ale if available) keeps me feeling "normal". I usually get drowsy, but I'd rather be drowsy and fishin' than wide awake and pukin'.

Scopace as a pill works for me as well as meclizine (sp?). Been real hars to find scopace in pill form lately. Doc says they have quit making it??

Have them take 1 regular strength Dramamine the night prior, the regular dose as soon as they wake up and then 1 every 3 hours after that. Its not enough to make you sleep the day away. Also keep Ginger ale on the boat and as soon as something doesn't feel right, drink one.

The less drowsy Dramamine is only half the dose of a regular one. So taking 1 of the regular is a normal dose of the less drowsy stuff.

Scoplamine (sp?) patch worked great for this rookie and our group.
x2........:thumbsup:
Been lucky,, just don't get sick but the Scoplamine patch is what I have ask the rest to use but have had one person get sick and they fessed up, they had not used anything.

A Doc friend of mine keeps ginger candy "gin gin" I believe, on the boat and swears by that. Of course that is not preventative but if they start to feel sick it can help. One trick I have used with partial success is to tell people that are on the boat for the first time to let me know if they start to feel sick let me know I have a sure fire fix. They will always ask what but I say I can't tell them and don't. When they finally do I put them at the helm and tell them to drive. They get a little freaked out and it takes their mind off the motion. I do keep an eye on them for sure.

I've never taken anything and the only times I have even felt like I might get sick, I could trace it back to what I did, ate or drank the night before.

I used to go offshore a lot back it the late 70's and 80's. There weren't a lot of motion sickness remedies back then. Dramamine seems to have been around as long as I can remember. When taking my boat, I had everyone meet at my house for pancakes. I also told them, no drinking (excessive) the night before. I also carried ginger ale, seemed to help a queasy stomach.

It also seemed to help if they stayed on their feet and topside.

One dramamine the night before and one as soon as i wake up and start getting ready. Has always worked for me and whoever I take. The whole taking one 1 hour before you leave never works

The scopalomine patch is what ended up working for me. I tried Bonine and it never worked on days with waves 3 ft or more. The patch does give me cotton mouth, but it is much better than spending all day hanging over the side.

One dramamine the night before and one as soon as i wake up and start getting ready. Has always worked for me and whoever I take. The whole taking one 1 hour before you leave never works

This is the correct answer, follow this, and youll be fine!!!

I guess mother nature gave me the lifetime sea sick patch bc I never take any of that and I seem to manage fine everytime I go out in any condition.

To me the dramamine and all those pills are placebo effect although I wouldn't know bc never took one or needed one. Tips I usually give to people who start feeling a little queezy is to look at land if close enough. I don't know what it is but when you are laying down or focused on something all woobly it seems like thats when people start getting sick.

I keep Ginger pills on the boat... get them at any pharmacy.. Looks like a vitamin. It's not a preventative, but it does help settle the stomach when symptoms hit. Works for car motion sickness too..

Bonine the night before and in the morning. If they get queezy I have them sip rootbeer and that settles their stomach.

Not to be a "Downer" , But for for the drinkers, easy on the booze and heavy on the sleep, the night before. Everytime my buddies come down and party it up the nite before ........ sick the next day...... don't even know if your friends drink or not ... just sayin'. seen it sat. as a matter of fact. No mercy on em'.
PS beer is love . God invented Beer, the devil invented mayonaise............

Do not eat a breakfast of powdered donuts and cold starbucks frappachino ....per my father in law, the chummer.

For most fishing I would rather have rookies as they do exactly what I tell them to do. On the other hand some of my selfproclaimed pro fisherman friends seem to not listen very well and do whatever they want, regardless of my requests. Of course at times when going for more elusive and stronger fish, I would rather my experienced crew with me.

My boat has two rules.

1. Stay the hell out of my way.
2. The boat comes back when the boat wants to come back. The boat does comeback early if some sissy looks like they're gonna flatline.

Do not eat a breakfast of powdered donuts and cold starbucks frappachino ....per my father in law, the chummer.

First time my younger brother went offshore with us, decided last minute he'd come with us (no Dramamine or anything the night previous, and none before he got on the boat).

He was quiet and "napping" during the run out, 15 minutes or so from putting lines in he got up and thought he'd fill his belly with a PB&J. As soon as we set up to drift, lines hit the water, so did his PB&J. I've never had a PB&J on a boat since. :trout:

I second and third on the scopolamine patches. Make sure they're on 12 hrs prior to the trip. Also, Get Zofran ODT (Orally Disolving Tablet) that they hold under their tongue if they get sick. That absorbs sublingually. Another idea would be an injectable but that opens up another bag of worms.

I warn everyone that "Sea sickness is NOT a medical emergency" and we will not be going back regardless of how bad your guts are churning. Maybe thats one reason why I'm divorced, but I digress....

My fishing buddy and I both have boats and we switch back and forth each trip. I have had such bad luck with asking others to go and them getting sick that I either go by myself or don't go at all when my regular buddy can't go. Four of the last six people I asked to go have gotten so sick I had to bring them back in. We never fished as they got sick immediately on the way out or as soon as we stopped. As most of you know there is a lot of work getting everything ready, loading the boat, and washing it down afterwards, etc. not to mention the cost involved. I am to the point that unless I know you have been before and won't get sick I'm just not asking anymore. I'll go by myself if I have to. Keep in mind these aren't gulf stream trips but 10-30 miles offshore.

Just be careful when applying Scopolamine "patch " wash your hands ...if you touch your eye it will dilate very quickly...even some of the oral meds can do this...and keep hydrated also...

Rugby "Travel sickness" 25mg x2. 100 of them are 4.99 down here in FL work like a charm

Bonine works great. Funny thing is i take it when going on a charter boat but on my little 21' i dont take anything at all and you can really take a beating in 3' seas

Never have been seasick at all in my life and been going since i was 12 yr old but still i take bonine before i go

I missed out on 20 years of offshore fishing til I found Bonine. I haven't been sick once on the days I have taken it. 1/2 pill two hours before leaving the dock and I am fine.

Good luck.

Cold Beer and Cheese Crackers!! What makes you sick is your equilibrium (sp) gets all screwed up. If you start drinking beer, it goes ahead and screws your equilibrium up to start with so the motion has less effect on you.

I'm not a DR. but I did stay at Holiday Inn Express last nite!!!

Cold Beer and Cheese Crackers!! What makes you sick is your equilibrium (sp) gets all screwed up. If you start drinking beer, it goes ahead and screws your equilibrium up to start with so the motion has less effect on you.

I'm not a DR. but I did stay at Holiday Inn Express last nite!!!

Too funny but true..
Also - dont stop taking the guys that get sick... educate them.:thumbsup:

Just curious if anyone who gets sick also smokes? Back in the day, I spent some rough days at sea in the Navy, and in my early fishing, and never thought about getting seasick, and I smoked pretty heavily. Quit many years ago, and occasionally, I feel a little green on a headboat when it is rough

I don't know but I've been told that the Scopolamine patches, if left on for a night of heavy drinking, will keep you from getting much of a hangover.

Just curious if anyone who gets sick also smokes? Back in the day, I spent some rough days at sea in the Navy, and in my early fishing, and never thought about getting seasick, and I smoked pretty heavily. Quit many years ago, and occasionally, I feel a little green on a headboat when it is rough

The times when I did get sick was when I was still smoking ... back in the 80's. Only had a little queasyness with my head down in a bilge since.

Transderm Scop is not going to like me......but I always cut the patch in thirds or halves and apply over the soft spot behind you earlobe the night before fishing. Clean your skin with an alcohol patch and make sure the skin is dry before "sticking" the patch on. Once you have applied the patch do not scratch, move it, or peel it off and re-apply....we will know if you did. The side effects are much less with the one third piece, but if you are prone to seasickness you may want to use the half patch and you are good for up to three days. The pieces that don't get used go back in the package until the next trip.

Not the most politically correct thing to say, but a little bump of some weed will keep it all down.

Dramamine has never worked for me. Since I discovered Bonnie I have not been seasick.

Good info.... I get sick everytime, Dramamine or not... But I chum and keep going. Then chum and fish some more. I love being out on the water. Never really kept tabs of how and when I took the meds so I'll do that when I start heading out again to see what hasn't worked. Good info here.

While Dramamine and Meclizine do work for most people, ginger pills work well too. I take pickled ginger and soy sauce with me. Mainly for the fresh sashimi, but also for the human chum machines.
MythbustersOnYouTube

As cruel as this sounds, eventually people run out of puke and start dry heaving. Then I give them a cold towel to put around their neck and wipe their face with. After about 30 min they feel better.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

They don't keep you from getting sick but they taste so damn good on the way back up. :thumbsup:

lol....I used to love the Nestea sodas....then one day it came up on the boat from seasickness. That was like 10-15 years ago...to this day...I hesitate to drink one of those again, and when I do....oh geez...the memory....:(

Drink plenty of beer! And start early, works for me.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

They don't keep you from getting sick but they taste so damn good on the way back up. :thumbsup:

:rofl: