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

[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.

[shrimpman steve]

it's all been said. Dave and capt. fran did a fantastic job setting this trip up! My thanks to them. Also thanks to ALL the sponsors who donated prizes that I didn't win.

Now for the fishing, all I can say is, if not for the company, I wish I was home with a broken hand because I fell off a roof! A plan was set prior, and thrown out the window the minute we left the inlet. 35 peeps, 100 fishing rods, and high expectations. The captain treated us like a boat full of tourists! Not once did the captain alternate the drift, no matter how many times we yelled at him. We were told the boat wont drift well in the NW wind if he alternated. I can understand this if he tried once or twice, but he did not. I was under the boat all day. Number two, we ALL wanted to fish the rocks in 50 or so feet. we spent the morning in 25 feet of water right off the beach, this was not a half day trip with googans, we were all ready with spare bucktails and lead to fish the deep stuff, but I guess the captain figured we were not good enough.

I am not in the business to trash talk any captain, but truth in reporting stands, good, bad, or ugly! I have not fished a "jamaica" boat in 10 years, and probably won't for another 10. Now to keep the truth in reporting, I had 0 keepers and only a hand full of shorts, but this is NOT sour grapes. This capt. did not show his face once on deck, moved the boat like clockwork for no reason (it's not like he was alternating the drift) every 10 minutes. and when we finally begged him to take us offshore a bit, he blew right through the fleet and took us to the flemish cap where we started to pick at ling. He finally found the fish in 50 feet of water at the end of the day, where we should have been all day.

With all that said, the company and laughs could not be beat! Always a pleasure fishing with all of you and the RFA trips can count on my support for the future!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Thanks Fran and Dave again for setting this up and for all the 2 of you do in supporting our rights to fish.

[snapperbluefish101]

Glad it was a successful trip for the most part. I hope to join you guys next year. I would like to show my support.

SNAPPERHEAD

[Fin Reaper]

Oh...BTW, the food was great and the donated prizes were first rate as well but I must have had the same numbers as Shrimpman
Thanks again to Dales and Fran and everyone else who set this up!!! I will be on the next one

[bill-fish]

It's been said many times, but thanks to Dales and Fran. I didn't take home any keepers or any of the raffle prizes (thought I might be due after putting a "goose egg" in the cooler ), and probably donated half of my bucktail collection to the rocks, but still had a great time nonetheless.

Got to meet Gerry, his brother Joe, Fran and many of the other faces behind the names on this website... nice to fish with guys like Dales and Larry again... and I don't think I've ever had a bad time fishing with Lefty or his crew on board!

These trips are never short on laughs -- throw in a couple of beers, a good cause and good company -- and I'm in for the next trip.

Bill

[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.

[Oasis]

Thanks Dale & Fran that was a great trip. Seems like everyone on the boat had a great time (other than fishing).
Was nice to meet some fisherman on this board, Gerry, Joe, Steve, Ron, Vinnie, John and of curse Mike T and Sam (thanks for the sinkers).
Looking forward to fishing with everyone again in the future.
Tony S

[LeftyReeler]

few pics..