Going to the dark side (for a day).

[CHOC]

I'm up early and about to see how the other side does it: my first charter boat trip on the Chesapeake Bay. Been here 3+ years and fished from a kayak for most of that. Going to try to go into it without judgement. It will pain me to see the planer boards and the "broomstick" trolling rod spread. But the boat I'm on has been at it for over 40 years. I'll put my listening cap on and see what I can soak in. Tight lines! (Even if it feels like I'm just dragging fish in like putting a boat on a trailer.)

After this I'm going to seek out Walleye Pete for a light tackle jigging trip! It's taking everything in me not to be "that guy" and bring a jigging pole today. I'm already bringing my H1 steel knife and my needle nose! 🤣 The captain will probably see me and roll her eyes.

[ronaultmtd]

I'm up early and about to see how the other side does it: my first charter boat trip on the Chesapeake Bay. Been here 3+ years and fished from a kayak for most of that. Going to try to go into it without judgement. It will pain me to see the planer boards and the "broomstick" trolling rod spread. But the boat I'm on has been at it for over 40 years. I'll put my listening cap on and see what I can soak in. Tight lines! (Even if it feels like I'm just dragging fish in like putting a boat on a trailer
After this I'm going to seek out Walleye Pete for a light tackle jigging trip! It's taking everything in me not to be "that guy" and bring a jigging pole today. I'm already bringing my H1 steel knife and my needle nose! �� The captain will probably see me and roll her eyes.

You have to remember charter boats make their living bringing fish to the dock...no fish, no income...65# test line on heavy tackle doesn’t lose many fish with the boat keeping the line tight...using marlin tackle in the bay insures first time fishermen will catch a fish. So with your eyes wide open go have some fun, spend some money; the Maryland tourist industry needs it.

[J. Rentch]

Enjoy your day, sit back, have a cold one and listen to the stories.

[CHOC]

Lots of good stories, for sure. The lady that captained the boat was great. We didn't do the 20 pole spread like I thought. I'm ashamed to admit that I was a little disappointed as I wanted to see it first hand. We chunked instead. I could say I didn't learn much with how straightforward the method is, but I didn't know how to chunk before and I do now. With a chum basket I might be able to pull it off in a yak but I can't see myself doing that more than once. Chunking was a lot more fun than broomstick trolling sounds. The gear was medium action and the fish fought hard. I was pleased that all but one of the fish were cleanly hooked. I was worried about gill hooking a lot of fish.
I caught the largest of the day. I honestly think the finesse I've learned as a kayak fisherman contributed. She was a 30" beauty and the last fish of the day. We all caught our limit by 9:28am.

Here she is:F6E55A07-C6E9-47B9-B1BB-34C97ABF76CB.jpg

[bignose]

You also need to remember that on a charter, the angler's skill level may range from: "don't even know which end of the rod to hold", to experienced folks who know what they are doing. The Captain and mate have to adjust to this and do what they can to make the clients successful.

I'm glad that you got on some fish. Word of mouth is a Captain's best advertising.

[AintMisBehavin]

Glad you hooked up with the big one. I've been wanting to take a advantage of one of those charter runs for a while but I'm a little skeptical of using someone I only know through internet ads. What is the name of the captain you used and how can i contact her? Time to see how the other half lives!

[Yakinzak]

Easy with the "dark side" talk lol!

I recently purchased a 23' Mako to fish the bigger waters with. I will obviously always love my Hobie/kayak angling and use it more often than not!

Remember what brought us all together here... FISHING.

Tight lines my friend. I hope you enjoyed your trip!

[CHOC]

I’ll get the name for you. All I know is her name is Janet and she ran it with her husband, Joe for 40 years before he passed last year.