Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

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OatmealAddict
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Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by OatmealAddict »

My father and I have talked about doing a father / son deep sea fishing trip for the past 15 years and three years ago, I finally decided that we had "talked" about it enough and it was finally time to do it since I had the time and money available.

Well, as luck would have it, after getting down to the Florida coast and having our Charter booked, I was called by the captain at the very last second and told that we wouldn't be able to go out due to weather out at sea that would make our trip miserable.

I must have called a dozen other captains in a panic to try to find an available charter, but we didn't have any luck since it was so last minute. Instead, we ended up relaxing on the beach with coolers full of beer which made for some wonderful bonding time (we don't get to see each other often), however our dream of a deep sea fishing charter was still unrealized.

With the above being said - can anyone recommend an area of Florida, best time of year, and perhaps a charter recommendation for planning another go at this sort of trip? If we could just spend one entire day enjoying each other's company while reeling in marlin, mahi, or tuna, I'm pretty sure we could both die happy knowing that we finally made our trip happen. I again have the time and money to make this happen and want to check it off my bucket list before he gets much older or I don't have the time.

Thank you very much for any and all recommendations.
Last edited by OatmealAddict on Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
barnaclebob
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by barnaclebob »

What about salmon or halibut fishing in the northwest or alaska?
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OatmealAddict
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by OatmealAddict »

barnaclebob wrote:What about salmon or halibut fishing in the northwest or alaska?
I have no doubt that would be enjoyable as well, but we're warm weather guys and I've always wanted to catch a marlin, mahi, or tuna.
zag00
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by zag00 »

Destin, FL for offshore fishing. Plenty of charters to choose from. Search online for reviews. May-July is prime time
Iceman1
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by Iceman1 »

I would google sailfish marina near palm beach,fla.first class charters.The real beauty is the gulf stream is only 3-4 miles offshore here so no long boat rides.good luck.
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Cottons
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by Cottons »

Does it have to be Florida? I used to live in NC and I know you can catch some great fish off the coast there. Still has nice warm weather.
Best time of year to go would be after September when the tourists leave. Check out the Wilmington area.
magicrat
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by magicrat »

Islamorada is the sportfishing capital of the world. Check out Bud and Mary's marina, they have a ton of charter boats. If you have never been sportfishing before, please know that they call it fishing, and not catching, for a reason. Big game fish move quickly and you may have an awesome day, and you may be shut out completely. If you go to someplace like Islamorada, I suggest also booking a backcountry fishing trip where you will almost certainly have a ton of action with smaller fish on light tackle.
fsrph
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by fsrph »

Well if you like deep sea fishing and beer why not Key West? Or maybe Islamorada in the Florida Keys? Key West is more built up than Isloramada with lots of bars and lots of fishing charters. Prices are much higher in winter so perhaps a good time to go is spring or fall.
http://www.fla-keys.com/listing.cfm?id=111

Francis
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tbradnc
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by tbradnc »

Cottons wrote:Does it have to be Florida? I used to live in NC and I know you can catch some great fish off the coast there. Still has nice warm weather.
Best time of year to go would be after September when the tourists leave. Check out the Wilmington area.
Yep, we lived in Carolina Beach for almost 25 years. Great deep sea fishing there.

The last time I went I caught so many snapper that I quit dropping my line in the water because I was tired of reeling them in (no electric reel).
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seeshells
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by seeshells »

Captain pips, Porkeys, 7Mile grill on the Overseas hwy. going south on the right just before the actual 7Mile bridge in Marathon there are plenty of bargain priced independent fishing charter contractors if you walk around and ask. :happy
HIinvestor
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by HIinvestor »

How about the Big Island? There are charaters avaiable and it has nice warm water that you can swim in if you tire of fishing. I have relatives who periodically fly in to fish there. The weather is good most of the year.
snyder66
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by snyder66 »

Tarpon fishing in the Keys always looked like a lot of fun.
TDAlmighty
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by TDAlmighty »

I agree with a previous poster, if you're giving yourself only a one day charter to go fishing and have dreams of pulling in numerous big fish you're setting yourself up for disappointment. I would look for places that have a lot of other non-fishing activities that you two would enjoy to make best use of the trip so it is not a complete disaster.

Have you both been offshore fishing previously? You would not believe how many charters go out but turn back after a couple of hours because someone that is unexperienced has gotten seasick.
barnaclebob
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by barnaclebob »

TDAlmighty wrote:Have you both been offshore fishing previously? You would not believe how many charters go out but turn back after a couple of hours because someone that is unexperienced has gotten seasick.
Go with a captain that wont turn around for a seasick passenger...at least not until they are in danger of dehydration or something like that.
Topic Author
OatmealAddict
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by OatmealAddict »

Thanks to everyone for the replies - they're very helpful and I'll look into each of these options.

We've been out on charters before off the coast of Virginia, admittedly not 40 miles out, but we're well aware that we could spend the money without so much as getting a bite and we'd be okay with that. As long as we get to go out and try, that's all we can ask for. Neither of us get sea sick, so that's a non-issue.
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Taylor Larimore
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Seasickness

Post by Taylor Larimore »

Go with a captain that wont turn around for a seasick passenger.
I was a charter captain and I disagree with this one. Few things are worse feeling than severe seasickness (I know). Whenever I had a passenger that was seasick and wanted to go into smooth water we turned around and went back.

Best wishes.
Taylor
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tacster
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by tacster »

Very surprising to hear the above posts about charter captains turning a boat around for seasick passengers. I've been on a number offshore salmon and halibut fishing charters in the Pacific Northwest, and if someone got seasick (a routine occurrence) they simply had to tough it out until the trip was done. There's no way any charter captain I've fished with up here would turn around and ruin a trip everyone else onboard paid good money for. Although if I was the seasick one I sure would've appreciated it...
INSERT PITHY QUOTE HERE
barnaclebob
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by barnaclebob »

Taylor Larimore wrote:I was a charter captain and I disagree with this one. Few things are worse feeling than severe seasickness (I know). Whenever I had a passenger that was seasick and wanted to go into smooth water we turned around and went back.

Best wishes.
Taylor
Not getting a chance to catch fish is definitely worse than sea sickness...although the one with seasickness might not be catching many fish anyway.
tacster wrote:Very surprising to hear the above posts about charter captains turning a boat around for seasick passengers. I've been on a number offshore salmon and halibut fishing charters in the Pacific Northwest, and if someone got seasick (a routine occurrence) they simply had to tough it out until the trip was done. There's no way any charter captain I've fished with up here would turn around and ruin a trip everyone else onboard paid good money for. Although if I was the seasick one I sure would've appreciated it...
Maybe its just a pacific northwest thing to not turn around. I agree that seasickness sucks but in reality its not a dangerous condition for the average person to have for a day. My FIL and friend were chumming the water for one of our salmon trips, luckily we hit our limits at 11AM. As soon as we got back to calmer waters near the marina they were both fine. I know I'd be pissed if we had to turn around because of someone getting sick.
TDAlmighty
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by TDAlmighty »

I think a lot of it depends on the type of fishing you're doing and the people on the boat. Around here it takes 4 to 5 hours (one-way)to get to the offshore fishing grounds and most trips are overnight, so if someone is sick after the first hour then it is completely irresponsible to keep going.
tacster
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by tacster »

TDAlmighty wrote:I think a lot of it depends on the type of fishing you're doing and the people on the boat. Around here it takes 4 to 5 hours (one-way)to get to the offshore fishing grounds and most trips are overnight, so if someone is sick after the first hour then it is completely irresponsible to keep going.
Yep, I'm talking similar running times, and the tuna trips are typically overnighters. Calm sea conditions are uncommon up here. If the captains turned their boats around for seasickness they'd be cancelling a lot of trips, and the charters would probably not stay in business very long.

Just curious - you guys that have boats turn around for a seasick client, do they refund your money for the trip?
INSERT PITHY QUOTE HERE
musbane
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by musbane »

If traveling is possible, think about Baja.

Cabo if you like night life. Los Barriles if you don't.
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gatorman
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Re: Father / Son Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Post by gatorman »

If you want sailfish or marlin, Costa Rica or Panama might be better choices. For grouper, dorado, wahoo and snapper, Destin is good. For tarpon or bonefish, Islamorada. For trout and redfish, Crystal River. All that said, look at a fishing calendar, some months are much better than others.
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