Help for planning first trip

[Guyonayak]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and haven't made a long range trip but am eager to try. I would appreciate any direct advice or directions to articles or websites for first timers.

I saw a few places open for 10day trips over the winter holiday. As eager as I am to get started I have no idea regarding how much time I would need to prepare for a trip and if I am better off waiting a bit.My fishing expierence and equiptmment: I do most of my fishing form a kayak-mainly tarpon and striped bass. I have been on a few charter trips for small yellowfin off of the North Carolina cost as well as on a few headboats for day trips.

About all I have for heavy equipment is a Torium 30 but I am far more experienced with spin equipment.


A few questions:

Can you rent the full complement of gear for a trip including rods/reels, fighting belt etc.? I live on the East Coast so I it may not be practical to travel with a great amount of gear-what would be the minimum amount of gear I would need to acquire for a 10 day.--I am from the East Coast so I may be limited on bringing gear.

If I don't make a trip over the winter holiday I would consider making a summer trip-perhaps in late July or early August-What are July/August trips like in comparison to winter or early summer trips?
If any advice from fisherman who have come from a distance to make a long range trip would be greatly appreciated? From videos, I gather that you catch a lot of fish —what do you do with all the fish?—I am guessing there is a cleaning and shipping service. Even then it seems like a great deal of fish even after sharing with neighbors—are their local charities that can accept a portion of the catch etc

Thanks for your time and help—I realize most on the forum are experienced.

[bunilio]

You are right, It's easier to rent the gear, just make advanced notice, like 2- 3 weeks, that you and the Landing and The Boat Crewa all are aware of your situation, Alot of communication is essential, Don't be shy about reminding these guys, especially the Boat, as they are what the gear will be used on.

[FishFanatic]

Guyonkayak,

I agree with Bunilio on renting the gear. In fact, you may be able to just borrow it at no cost. Some boats have gear that they will loan to you. The only thing to remember is that it's very important to let the boat's office manager know that you need gear when you call to sign up for a trip. It's also a good idea to make a follow-up phone call a week or two before your trip departs, just to make sure they remember, and to tell a crew member you've made arrangements to use rental or loaner gear when you board the boat. On every boat I've been on, they've been more than happy to take care of you, and, the crew will even set up your gear for you if you like. One more option is to sign up for a trip that is sponsored by a reel manufacturer (such as Shimano, AVET, Accurate, Penn, etc.), because the sponsors will usually bring lots of their gear on board, because they want people to try it out. So, you try out their gear, and you get to use it for free. The reason it's good to have a reel manufacturer sponsoring your trip is that, if they want you to try out their reels, they generally need to provide poles too. If you sign up for a trip sponsored by, say, a fishing line manufacturer, they may not have a lot of rods and reels with them to loan out. Either way, it's always good to sign up for a sponsored trip, because the sponsor will almost always have lots of free giveaways, and you can really score big. On my last trip, they raffled off about $2,000 worth of gear, and I scored 500 yards of Power Pro, a set of pliers/dykes, and a really neat video on casting techniques. My Statrooom-Mate wone a new reel. They also gave us hats, tee shirts, and that kind of stuff. It was a real nice plus! Also, it was a Shimano trip, so they brought enough rods and reels for everyone, and, Bill, the Shimano Rep., even tuned up every rod/reel each night. It was a really nice deal that made everyone very happy.

If you go on a 10 day trip in December, you will probably be hunting for "cows", which means that you'll be looking for the really big fish. If you've never caught a fish over 100 pounds, you might find it better to take a 10 day summer trip first, because you'll target fish that aren't quite as large. Some people prefer not to start out on giant tuna on their first trip, however, this doesn't mean that you can't walk in without experience and catch a bunch of big ones. Quite a few people take cow trips as their first long range adventure, and they do just fine. The crew will teach you everything you need to know, and they'll help you out and watch over you, so, you'll still have a very good trip. It's just that some people prefer to tug on some slightly smaller fish on their first trip out. It all depends on how important it is to you to "do it all by yourself", as opposed to doing it with a crew member coaching you. As for me, I'd just do it, and being coached wouldn't bother me a bit. The crew members are always really cool, and you'll still feel like you did it all youself.

As for what to do with the fish, you can donate fish and write it off on your taxes up to the price of the trip. A lot of people do this. The fish goes to a really good cause, feeding the less fortunate. There's a good chance that you'll come back with lots of fish. While the most I've every brought back is about 700 pounds, I know several people (far better anglers than I!) who've come back with well over 1000 pounds! You can have your fish processed at one of our three local processors for about 75 cents a pound. They'll cut it all up, vacuum bag it, and even smoke it or turn it into jerky if you like, and they do a very nice job. Also, at least one of the local processors, Fisherman's Processing, can usually process your fish in 3 hours or less, so, if you have a plane to catch, they won't take long. As for shipping the fish to the east coast, I'm betting it can be done, but it would probably cost a lot of money to ship very much. You might just want to take 50 pounds or so with you in a cooler packed with dry ice. The local processors can tell you how to pack it so it will survive the trip home - in fact, they'll pack it for you I'm sure!

I definitely recommend taking a 10 day trip! I go on a minimum 5 day trip every year, and I always try to make it longer if time permits. This past October, I went on an 11 day Shimano trip on the Royal Polaris, and I didn't want it to end. The Royal Polaris is an excellent boat, with an excellent crew. It's fast and, at the same time very stable, so, you won't get rocked around any more than necessary if you run into some stormy weather. Also, the RP can send your fish directly from the boat to Fisherman's Processing, which is really nice. There are lots of very good boats here in San Diego, however, I don't think any of them beat the Royal Polaris. It is a very nice boat, and, of all the boats I've been on, it's definitely my favorite.

I definitely think you'll enjoy your trip, regardless of when you decide to go!

Fish Fanatic