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i guess i should clarify the rod issue. he fishes 3 live bait (pinfish/crab) rods, and has various lighter action spinning gear for casting or getting bait. we were drift fishing a shallow basin and i was picking up small jacks/lady fish/sea trout with spinning gear and a jig while dad was picking up a few fish with live bait. after one drift he took us into the mangroves because he "was tired of getting beaten up." this wouldn't have been my choice as we were getting fish, but i figured give it a shot. the target was mangrove snapper. he set bait on 2 light rods - had more available, but wouldn't bait them. so i set a few casts and he rigged up a second rod. i assumed it would go to my dad. nope. he went to the back of the boat and started fishing. i think he wanted dinner - no sarcasm, literally. he caught a few. i saw what was going on when the guide was casting so i gave my rod to dad voicing "here dad, you fish my rod." hell, like so many of us, how many times did my dad do that for me? after his fill of snapper, he packed the gear. i figured he was going to go back to the basin for more drifting. instead, he headed back to the dock.
actually, another thing occurred to me. this is actually the second time it had happened with a different guide. i got a great tarpon sunday morning on a spinning outfit with a swimming lure. leader was touched and the mr. t took off for another bit of fun. the line tinged his tail and bye-bye fish. truth be known, after an hour of solid fighting (est. wt. by guide 150+lbs) he whooped my butt. anyway, even though i asked, the guide would not set that outfit up again. that happened a few years ago in key west as well. maybe that is common? if so, i will gladly bring my own lures to lose.
all in all, the time with my dad is irreplaceable and i am grateful for that. i just wanted to get what i thought would have been a fair shake according to the precedent the guide himself established on previous outings(10 trips spaced over 3 years prior to these last 3). shorter days, waiting at times over an hour for him to leave after scheduled departure times and forgetting about daylight savings time? i just thought that was unprofessional. and, honestly, a simple appology would have gone a long way to appeasement.
thanks for listening to my ranting.
charlie
Houston, we have a problem.
If he had offered the rod to your dad that would be different.
There are plenty of guides in the keys, I would find another one. No tip sent the message, justifiably so. Glad you had a good trip with your dad inspite of him.
Sounds like the guide is burnt out... I have been with out with several guides in the keys & our trips usually run long. The guides are typically as enthusiastic as I am about being on the water. If the trip is not long, it is at least back to the bar to share some stories after a tough day of fishing due to wind or chilly water... Your tip was appropriate. He would not get my business again either.
Couple things
Of course he cannot make the fish bite, but I know you are OK with that point. weather is probbaly beyond his control as well.
If he doesnt know where to go for fish, thats another story. A good guide knows more than one spot for fish.( i suck at fishing and even I know a bunch of spots)
The boat should be warmed up and the gear stowed by the time the client gets to the dock. Deck hands are the ones to help loading up, not paying clients. A friendly hand is cool but really should not be required.
If he wants to drop a line in the water now and then that's cool by me, BUT everyone else better be fishing too! No paying customer should be without a rod at any time during the trip. That's just wrong period.
He was late every day and cut you off early every day and it doesnt sound like the weather was all that awefull. Basically the delays and short runs add up to at least half a day or more totalled together. I would demand at least the half day rate refunded.
Since you are not local, e-mails or letters and phone calls will have to do but I think a face to face at the dock would have been better. Nothing too outrageous, just a converstion expressing your dissatisfaction and demanding at least a partial refund. After all, you can always dispute the credit card. This gives him the chance to make a deal for at least some cash. I would not take a comp for a future trip because you can be sure he would not honor it and if he did you would get even worse service since it is for free.
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John
2006 World Cat 250DC
Twin Honda 150
A guide with only 2 rods on the boat, dag gone we are way overstocked with our 11 rods for 3 guys on a typical trip
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"poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine"
*Trophy 2352WA, 300 hp Mercruiser 350 Magnum, 26mph-32mph cruise, 3.4mpg*
Charlie, you're too nice. Let it go and get a different guide. The guy didn't care enough to keep you both rigged up. He didn't care about your suggestions on the water. He didn't care if you had to load the boat, and he didn't care if you were unhappy. Don't bother with a follow up, because he obviously doesn't care. Time to try someone new.
My bet is he has a bad back. It's a tough job, he can't physically take it anymore, and he can't lay down the rod because it pays the bills. Let it go and enjoy the time with the old man. Spend your time researching next years trip.
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3 out of 4 cannibals prefer vegetarians
2004 Grady 228/Yam 225F
i am very appreciative of all of your responses. there are many valid points and suggestions offered and i am glad i posed the question. lesson learned.
If you would have loaded up on fish and caught your limits by 1:00 p.m. and went in then, would you still be mad? Sure, you say it wasn't really about not catching but you sure forget a lot of things when you have a good trip. I'm not a guide or anything, just a regular fisherman. There was another post in the gulf coast section where a guy was complaining about a haywire twist. Obviously, unless the twist failed, you really can't blame a bad day's fishing on a sloppy haywire twist.
I did see a couple of things that was strange, though. Starting at 8:30/9:00 a.m.? On the charters that I've been on, the guides are always at the dock before sunrise waiting for us and we usually leave when the sun starts coming up. We've caught limits most times and are heading back at 12:00/1:00 p.m.
The other thing is only having two fishing poles on board. What?
I'm not sure what a letter will do at this point, though.
By the way, where was this trip? And what were your expectations? If I was to go to a resort area in Florida, I'd fully expect a leisurely tourist type trip where we'd be lucky to catch a few fish but maybe a pleasant boat ride. If I went down to Venice, La, I'd expect more of a hard-core fishing experience and would really question a guide's abilities if we came back with 3 fish.
hthoang - honestly not about the # of fish. like many of us here, i have been at this long enough to have a realistic sense of expectations. i mentioned in an earlier post about catching just 1 trout on a guided trip, but leaning more than i could have possibly hoped for.it was a case of taking my dad out with a guide we had used in the past. i explained the 3 of rods in earlier posts.
had we caught more fish but still been short changed time we paid for or effort on his part, i would have had a similar issue. getting there was not easy financially or time wise. when paying for a service, i want your effort - and am willing to work just as hard as that is part of the experience for me- not results.
the trip was out of the lower keys - not a resort.
what is done is past. i got time with my dad and he is out of a repeat customer.
Charlie, it looks like you and your dad get to do a good bit of fishing together. If you have never fished Coastal Louisiana before, you might want to treat yourself to it. It's an experience like no other.
Charlie, it looks like you and your dad get to do a good bit of fishing together. If you have never fished Coastal Louisiana before, you might want to treat yourself to it. It's an experience like no other.
I had kind of known that Fla. limits are pretty low but I just went on their website just to see. For instance, the limit on redfish is one per person, 18-27 inches only. 4 or 5 speckled trout between 15-20". If someone were to take an inshore trip, would a Fla. limit of redfish and speckled trout be considered a good trip? If so, you really should come down to La. When the season is in full swing, it's not uncommon to catch 15-20 fish per person even on a slow day. On the better days, you catch your limit of 25 each and have to leave them biting.
As for offshore fishing, it's a bite every drop at the oil rigs.
