RFA-NJ 4th Annual Fluke / Seabass Fish A Thon Trip

[vinntastic]

WELL I JUST WANT TO THANK DALES AND FRAN FOR PUTTING THIS TRIP TOGETHER,GOOD JOB AS FOR FISHING I NEVER SEEN A CAPTAIN THAT MADE 20 MOVES,BOAT RIDE AFTER BOAT RIDE TO FLUKEFISH ,7 TO 10 MINUTES THEN THE HORN, REELEM UP TAKE A RIDE,HE DIDNT CHECK OR REALLY CARE IF WE WERE CATCHING OR NOT 7 MINUTES LINES UP,TAKE A RIDE,ALL DAY LONG THIS WENT ON,I HAD IT DOWN PACKED AND YELLED TO EVERYONE REELEM UP,ONE MINUTE LATER THE HORN IF THAT IS THE WAY HE FISHES EVERYDAY,DAMM THAT IS WRONG.I MEAN THERE WAS A CHARTERED BOAT OF REAL PULLERS,THAT WERE JUST AS PISSED AS ME.ITS SAD CAUSE I NO WITH A CAPTAIN THAT REALLY CARED,EVERY DAMM ONE OF US WOULD OF HAD AN AWESOME DAY,IM SURE ALL THAT WERE THERE CAN RELATE,TO THE FOOLISH GAS BURNING THAT WENT ON TODAY....SORRY BUT ITS THE TRUTH,MAYBE WE WERE LOOKED AT AS TOURISTS IN HIS EYES NUFF SAID...PS MATES WERE ON POINT....

[The Sinker Man]

What Vinny said, Plus My side of the boat had to fish under the boat ALL day. Would not turn boat to alternate sides...
Other then that, I believe we had a fun day, a little catching , but not much keeping...BIG thanks again to Dave and Capt. Fran and to all those that donated some very nice prizes...

[kurtisb]

Thanks Dave and Fran for putting together another fun RFA trip. Dave congrats on picking a day that the weather didn't suck even if it took two tries. I had a good time, got lucky and won the raffle rod. Can't wait for the next one.

[Fin Reaper]

Thanks to Dave, Fran and anyone else who took the time and went thru all the BS to put this trip together...twice. Had a great time, lots of fun, lots of laughs and in spite of the lovely boat ride we caught a good amount of fish! Just a great freaking day!

PS, I understand the owners of the boat have rules that must be obeyed but before reading the mate the riot act about how playing the radio is offensive it would have been nice if the Capt. found out if anyone was actually offended...I felt terrible for the mate and I really enjoyed having the radio on in the cabin.

[JimmyLivebait]

Thanks to Dave and Fran for putting this trip together. It was great seeing some old faces bringing back great memories working deck. Vinny i couldnt agree more and thanks to the mates for their great efforts. Congrats to my boy Mikeytopaz for the pool fish and outfishing me again! Was great to make some new fishing companions as well.

[hofnodinstructor]

Thanks RFA guys for putting on the trip. Vinnys and Sams comments were absolutely on point. Seems like every time we started to catch fish the horn went off and we were moving again. If this is the way the Star runs charters they should be tied up at the dock for the rest of the summer. Send the Capt. up to Waterway-I'm sure he could do a good job ferrying people across the Hudson River! I will definitely enjoy the trip on the Touch I won today--the only bright spot we had all day.

[tropics]

Thanks Capt. Fran, Dave for setting this trip up. I couldn't agree more with the comments that were made, I was disappointed with the boat ride, I really thought we were going to see the Statue of Liberty.
I was able to box 4 keepers, had lots of shorts, lots of laughs fishing my my buddy Fin Reaper.Congrats to every one that one any of the raffles, I won a set of custom T shirts.
Mikey congrats on the pool.
Ron thanks for the Bagels they were good.Look forward to fishing with all of you again. Also enjoyed meeting some new people.
Thanks to the mates Joe and Rick

[dales529]

We cant THANK you guys enough for the continued and solid support of RFA-NJ. There is no other group of fishermen I could think of spending THAT kind of day with than the crew assembled on this trip. It seems no matter what is tried, either the weather, fishing or boat gods never seem to align for us on the day of the trip but yet somehow these trips are always a success in my mind due to YOU. Lots of fun , laughs, some fish caught (actually more than I thought when the cleaning station got going) and if nothing else some great "Karma" with who won the raffle prizes.

The positive:
Some nice fish were caught and congrats to Mikey on the Pool, Lefty with a couple of nice keepers, Tropics and Fin Reaper with some quality fish. Fishing with Vinnie, Shrimpman, Lefty, Johnny T, Billy, Gerry and Joe Z, Jimmy Madman, Mikey Topaz, Jimmy Live Bait etc around the back of the boat was worth the price of adnmission alone.
Hey and FRAN broke his northern waters PB "Fluke" Cherry with some keepers, (thats right Fran caught keepers).

Also great hanging with Long time supporters Kurtis B and brother Mark, Larry Hartattack, Sam the one and ONLY Sinkerman, Mark (Quanman) and great meeting OasisTony S, Big CC Fishteacher and the other new faces. As stated we couldnt have asked for a better crew.

The other stuff:
As Vinnie stated we had strong crew of known pullers who deserved a better chance to show their stuff. I am sorry you didnt get that chance.
I will say that it appeared to be a tough day all around for most of the fleet out there and it was one of those days where I guess you either had to:
A) Stick with the "short" life and hope for the occasional "big" Inshore game.
B) Commit to the "deep water" 60-75 feet plan and take what was available and accept the conditions.
C) I learned its possible that having a Plan B isnt always the best choice. Either there was a lack of communication on my part or a lack of commitment to what I thought was the game plan but that will be handled "Off" the board and in private with the Captain.
D) I will no longer be picking the date or the boat for the trips

Again THANKS to all of YOU. After the work that goes into these trips it always seems worth it after spending the day on the water with you guys even if the fishing doesnt always co operate.

If we decide to run another trip this year I hope you all will stick with us and return once more for another shot at the fish. Good luck to all of you for the rest of the season.

[hartattack]

Great RFA trip again - it's always a blast !

Highlight for me was seeing a free swimming Mako (< 100 lbs) when we finally made an off-shore drift. Would've been interesting to toss my offerings to him, but the Captain moved the boat AGAIN.

[tropics]

Originally Posted by dales529

We cant THANK you guys enough for the continued and solid support of RFA-NJ. There is no other group of fishermen I could think of spending THAT kind of day with than the crew assembled on this trip. It seems no matter what is tried, either the weather, fishing or boat gods never seem to align for us on the day of the trip but yet somehow these trips are always a success in my mind due to YOU. Lots of fun , laughs, some fish caught (actually more than I thought when the cleaning station got going) and if nothing else some great "Karma" with who won the raffle prizes.

The positive:
Some nice fish were caught and congrats to Mikey on the Pool, Lefty with a couple of nice keepers, Tropics and Fin Reaper with some quality fish. Fishing with Vinnie, Shrimpman, Lefty, Johnny T, Billy, Gerry and Joe Z, Jimmy Madman, Mikey Topaz, Jimmy Live Bait etc around the back of the boat was worth the price of adnmission alone.
Hey and FRAN broke his northern waters PB "Fluke" Cherry with some keepers, (thats right Fran caught keepers).

Also great hanging with Long time supporters Kurtis B and brother Mark, Larry Hartattack, Sam the one and ONLY Sinkerman, Mark (Quanman) and great meeting OasisTony S, Big CC Fishteacher and the other new faces. As stated we couldnt have asked for a better crew.

The other stuff:
As Vinnie stated we had strong crew of known pullers who deserved a better chance to show their stuff. I am sorry you didnt get that chance.
I will say that it appeared to be a tough day all around for most of the fleet out there and it was one of those days where I guess you either had to:
A) Stick with the "short" life and hope for the occasional "big" Inshore game.
B) Commit to the "deep water" 60-75 feet plan and take what was available and accept the conditions.
C) I learned its possible that having a Plan B isnt always the best choice. Either there was a lack of communication on my part or a lack of commitment to what I thought was the game plan but that will be handled "Off" the board and in private with the Captain.
D) I will no longer be picking the date or the boat for the trips

Again THANKS to all of YOU. After the work that goes into these trips it always seems worth it after spending the day on the water with you guys even if the fishing doesnt always co operate.

If we decide to run another trip this year I hope you all will stick with us and return once more for another shot at the fish. Good luck to all of you for the rest of the season.

D) I will no longer be picking the date or the boat for the trips

Again THANKS to all of YOU. After the work that goes into these trips it always seems worth it after spending the day on the water with you guys even if the fishing doesnt always co operate.

If we decide to run another trip this year I hope you all will stick with us and return once more for another shot at the fish. Good luck to all of you for the rest of the season.

Dave you are one of the main gears DON'T give in. I will be on as many of these trips as I can. I thank you for all you do.