Party Boat pool "irregularity"?

[Rocky]

A great way to check those scales would be to hang a full beer can on each side by the pull tap, and then switching the cans to make sure it was correct.

[tombanjo]

If you spent as much time standing up for yourself at the scene of the "crime" as you did writing this then maybe you would have won and set a good example for your son.

On an unfamiliar boat you:

1. Ask the mate to switch the fish

2. Check the other fish for foreign objects

3. Check the scale

If the mate resists any of this, scream bloody murder to the captain and threaten you'll go public with it.

[PeteyHD]

Originally Posted by tombanjo

If you spent as much time standing up for yourself at the scene of the "crime" as you did writing this then maybe you would have won and set a good example for your son.

On an unfamiliar boat you:

1. Ask the mate to switch the fish

2. Check the other fish for foreign objects

3. Check the scale

If the mate resists any of this, scream bloody murder to the captain and threaten you'll go public with it.

In the heat of the moment these things might not have been so clear to Bob. I do not think it's fair to say the he set a bad example to his son which neither your or I know. Your point is valid but the delivery is a little harsh.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by PeteyHD

In the heat of the moment these things might not have been so clear to Bob. I do not think it's fair to say the he set a bad example to his son which neither your or I know. Your point is valid but the delivery is a little harsh.

first of all my son is 34 and has 2 children.. By this time, he should be setting examples for me..lol..
Indeed, at the moment, I just shook my head and thought, wow i though for SURE we won the pool, but I guess I was just wrong.. It took a while and some discussion with my son, putting both our observations together before we agreed.. Yes, we got hosed by a creepy mate, and his buddy whose bucket he went rifling through.
My mistake, but it won't happen again, no matter how pissed of anyone gets..


Why a mate would feel the need to do this to paying customers that trust him , I simply don't understand... bob

[Fisherman120]

Sorry but I find this post to be a little absurd. Posting about this months after the fact is very peculiar. This would’ve been easily cleared up if you spoke up and had the scales rebalanced right there. Switch sides too and rebalance it. What if the other fish was bigger? Nothing personal against you, I never met you, but I’ve heard plenty of times on party boats people say “my fish is bigger” when it clearly wasn’t. Or somebody catches a 21 inch fluke and they call it 6 lbs. Or an 8 lb tog is caught and somebody calls it 10. You get my point. Just because you say your fish was bigger, doesn’t mean it actually was. To post months afterwards is very fishy.


Again, nothing personal to you Bob.. I’ve just seen it too many times on party boats. Even friends of mine who fish often will insist their fish is bigger. Even when it’s not, and even after weigh in. Personal bias goes a long way..

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Fisherman120

Sorry but I find this post to be a little absurd. Posting about this months after the fact is very peculiar. This would’ve been easily cleared up if you spoke up and had the scales rebalanced right there. Switch sides too and rebalance it. What if the other fish was bigger? Nothing personal against you, I never met you, but I’ve heard plenty of times on party boats people say “my fish is bigger” when it clearly wasn’t. Or somebody catches a 21 inch fluke and they call it 6 lbs. Or an 8 lb tog is caught and somebody calls it 10. You get my point. Just because you say your fish was bigger, doesn’t mean it actually was. To post months afterwards is very fishy.


Again, nothing personal to you Bob.. I’ve just seen it too many times on party boats. Even friends of mine who fish often will insist their fish is bigger. Even when it’s not, and even after weigh in. Personal bias goes a long way..

No offense taken.. first off, i am 64 and have been fishing fresh and salt water since I was a little kid, and much of that time in salt water as I lived in NJ for 37 years.. I fish a lot, and can spot a bigger fish from a smaller one believe me.. The reason I mention the colors and body shapes of sea bass, is because most that fish for them know those deep colored blue black knot heads are a heavier bodied fish than the slender brownish ones...
both fish were the same length, mine had mch bigger shoulders and a deeper body.. I should have made a stink right then and there, but i just walked away at the time, and stewed about it later the more I thought about it...

the reason I am posting about it now, is very easy to understand.
Its January, its mid week, not much real time fishing to talk about, and I like good conversation on recreational fishing topics of all types, and this is one that the knowledgeable and savvy fishermen on NJF might have interest in, or opinions on, and I felt it was a reasonable topic to discuss.
I am not sour grapes, or angry, just wanted opinions and possible similar experiences... I typically trusted the pool weigh in procedure, but never will again in my lifetime... I just don't think a mate has any business rifling through a bucket to find the biggest fish in it with another angler standing there watching.. That fish should have been handed to the mate if its captor was in the pool.. Its my fault I didn't think about it at the time, but i am typically not a suspicious type. It took an hour or so of thinking and discussion before I fully realized what transpired, and realized i had been taken.

No big deal, the guy got his money, and that 70 or 80 bucks would not have made me rich in any case. The boat in question has lost a customer, albeit a once or twice a year customer. Also I realize now that even though I am an outsider, its not out of place to tell the mate to kindly center the scale, or put the fish on opposite sides of the scale in a pool weigh in situation. Thats why I like to discuss these issues on this forum from time to time, to learn and get ideas and opinions.. This forum section is NOT a 100% "reports' forum as many think.. Its a salt water fishing discussion forum and that encompasses many topics... bob
bob

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by tombanjo

If you spent as much time standing up for yourself at the scene of the "crime" as you did writing this then maybe you would have won and set a good example for your son.

On an unfamiliar boat you:

1. Ask the mate to switch the fish

2. Check the other fish for foreign objects

3. Check the scale

If the mate resists any of this, scream bloody murder to the captain and threaten you'll go public with it.

As I said, at that instant, i didn't think much about a "crime"...
More confused until an hour or so later when I started to think more about it.

Secondly, the boat was not really "unfamiliar" to me.. I go out out on it once or twice a year, for the past several years.. always liked the main captain, seemed like a decent guy. However, the mate was one in a procession- like many boats, they never seem to be there all the time over several years.

I would be hesitant to ask for weights in a fish etc, its just not really how i am wired, and checking personally is a good way to get a fist in the face.
Checking the scale?.. how exactly?... Its not my property, and I am pretty sure most captains would not want a guy they don't know handling it...

As i said, past several years, I have seen a LOT more good fishermen, lots of old timers like me included, refuse to enter the pool.. Might be a pattern here that I should be aware of..
Most people are more aggressive to defend themselves in matters such as this than I am, and might well be more cynical and less trusting. I am typically quieter than most in situations like this, trusting those that are running the business to do the correct thing.. thats my weakness for certain, I can offer no real defense, except to say that next time , IF I enter a pool, I will ask at least that the mate level the scale with both fish, and possibly reverse them... bob

[tombanjo]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

As I said, at that instant, i didn't think much about a "crime"...
More confused until an hour or so later when I started to think more about it.

Secondly, the boat was not really "unfamiliar" to me.. I go out out on it once or twice a year, for the past several years.. always liked the main captain, seemed like a decent guy. However, the mate was one in a procession- like many boats, they never seem to be there all the time over several years.

I would be hesitant to ask for weights in a fish etc, its just not really how i am wired, and checking personally is a good way to get a fist in the face.
Checking the scale?.. how exactly?... Its not my property, and I am pretty sure most captains would not want a guy they don't know handling it...

As i said, past several years, I have seen a LOT more good fishermen, lots of old timers like me included, refuse to enter the pool.. Might be a pattern here that I should be aware of..
Most people are more aggressive to defend themselves in matters such as this than I am, and might well be more cynical and less trusting. I am typically quieter than most in situations like this, trusting those that are running the business to do the correct thing.. thats my weakness for certain, I can offer no real defense, except to say that next time , IF I enter a pool, I will ask at least that the mate level the scale with both fish, and possibly reverse them... bob

Someone said I was a bit harsh. People who pull this shit get me pissed off so it wasn't really directed at you. The pool is gambling. They used to shoot people for cheating. Things may have calmed down a bit since then but the cheaters count on the inherent intimidation those in charge have built in plus the challenge of bringing the confrontation of the accusation. Ever been faced with someone coming back at you aggressively shouting, "You calling me a liar?!!" Most back of searching for a more diplomatic solution at that point rather than saying yes, I am. Balance scales are easy to check. Make sure each arm is exactly equidistant to the center. It's an old trick easily thwarted by insisting on switching sides.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by tombanjo

Someone said I was a bit harsh. People who pull this shit get me pissed off so it wasn't really directed at you. The pool is gambling. They used to shoot people for cheating. Things may have calmed down a bit since then but the cheaters count on the inherent intimidation those in charge have built in plus the challenge of bringing the confrontation of the accusation. Ever been faced with someone coming back at you aggressively shouting, "You calling me a liar?!!" Most back of searching for a more diplomatic solution at that point rather than saying yes, I am. Balance scales are easy to check. Make sure each arm is exactly equidistant to the center. It's an old trick easily thwarted by insisting on switching sides.

For my part there was no offense taken..your replies are typically always well thought out. As stated, I have learned quite a bit on this thread from the enlightened insight of other NJF members..
Next time out [in 4 or 5 months], I plan on asking the captain about repositioning both pool contending fish and centering the scale with both fish, and if it would be a problem with him on his boat.. That will be done in the morning as part of my early morning conversations with the captain, as I am usually one of the first on the boat..
I am not one for angry confrontation with strangers, especially those younger, faster, stronger, and more full of piss and vinegar than myself.

In a younger day I was much different, but have become much more docile than when I had access to raging torrents of testosterone.

I recall way back when as a younger fisherman, some captains would announce the dollar figure of the pool, and I think it should still be done today.. I also can recall the days when the mate walked the deck calling for pool fish, would hang any fish you handed him, and always center the scale, and it ALWAYS moved one way or the other.. this was not done that way at all, . In retrospect the fault was 100% mine, I should have said something right then and there, accusatory or not.
Its no big deal really, just something I wanted to discuss and get some opinions from others on a good fishing forum in the throes of mid winter doldrums... Your opinions are valid as always, and certainly well appreciated... bob

[Rocky]

Who is in charge of certifying these home made scales anyway?