# The Truth about Venice 8-2-14



## WhyMe

As most of you guys know, I have been wanting to Venice for awhile and the other day I was asked to go and I went for it. I went with Fish-n-Girl and her husband and her friends....a total of six of us. We were to be fishing on a 38 ft Boat with triple 300s this vessel was called "TT" and for good reason. If you know what I mean. I was told several times by the group of new friends that the Captain was going to be ???? and were to have a deckhand. This is going to be a great trip .....no work....sit back and then grab the rod..hehe. 

Well on Friday "TT" had a major blow out on the middle engine. I was told the middle engine had lost the lower half of the foot...what I mean is the prop and the spline shaft was completely gone. After the boat got back to the dock, it was put on the trailer and taken to get repaired. Ok great...
Later Friday we received a text that the boat was repaired and to meet at Venice boat dock at 0530.

At 0530 we were at the dock ready to go, we all meet with Nick (deckhand) and then we started to wait around, and wait and wait a little longer. As time went by, and the boat were leaving the dock are group was wondering what was going on. We were waiting on ice and the line was long to get it. After 40 to 45 minutes went by , Nick finally showed up with ice and we still have not seen are Captain. After put the ice in the boat , and the beer was all iced down we were ready to go. We all jumped in and left the dock with no Captain. Are Deckhand as now turned into the Captain. What the......
We stopped at several places along the way out to throw the cast net and even at one point one of are own crew members help toss the cast net as well. We got live bait in the live wells and ready to go out the Tiger Pass. 

After a 30 mile run out to a rig called Who Dat, we started going for Yellow Fin Tuna.
You can see the tuna skying all over and other boats hooked up we all knew it was on, and with in minutes we were going to be hooked up. Wrong...time and time again Captain Nick was doing everything he knew to get us hooked up, but the tuna had other plans. After a while, all are live bait was gone and had to repeat the process all over again. Go to new rig get bait ...drift off the rig....fish for tuna.
This went on for hours on end and are group as a whole was getting very upset. We watched as Captain Nick was getting discouraged at the situation. This Captain was doing everything on this boat. ( you guys know how much work it is to drive the boat , get bait, tie the rigs, do the outriggers, everything) 

Well things changed about 3pm when we found bigger YFT and finally we hooked up and 30 minutes later we landed one in the boat. A few minutes later another hook up. I landed one as well. BTW my first. Then the bite was off. We hit another rig to fill the ice box up with AJ's as big as coffee tables. We picked off 6 of them with in a hour and with that the sun was starting to set and we made the run back in to the South Pass doing 45mph. The seas that day were under 1 foot, and we it Cobalt Blue water. I was told the reason why Captain ??? was unable to Captain his own boat is because he was worn out the night before helping out the guy putting a new foot on the middle engine. I don't if this is true and I'm not judging because I don't know. All I do know is this, one man can not do everything on a boat. All in all the group as a whole did feel they got taken by Captain ???? with ?????. Are Captain...Captain Nick did a hell of a job putting us on the fish and he earned every dime, and it was a pleasure fishing with him and as for my new friends it was great... Thank you for the invite.

WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo

The reason why I edited this post is because somebody felt as if they were thrown under the bus. Like I said before I reported what I saw and was told by the group as a whole. Just like nobody told Fish n girl that Nick was going to be the Captain of your vessel. I think the lack of commutation messed things up. I'm sorry (captain ????) for this and your boats name and your name have been either taken out or changed. This is to show you that I do have a heart. This post was not a Bitching post at all. A blind man could of seen this.


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## WhyMe

Another pix


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## WhyMe

Another pix.


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## Gator McKlusky

Nice catch! Thanks for the report. Taken? Not sure about that. You may have been lucky to have had a trip at all given the engine problem. Sounds like the captain used a lot of resources and did everything possible in a short period of time to make sure the boat could make the trip


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## 706Z

You caught fish.Be happy happy happy!


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## WhyMe

Gator....yes I know.. That's why I'm not judging. I just reported what happen. O I forgot the Fish-n-girl did in fact have Tuna hooked up, but the other line was in the water and had got wrapped around the other line and the hook broke the other line. She lost that Tuna.

WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## WhyMe

One more pix


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## Ultralite

we were there and saw you guys...our first time and no experience, just what friends down there told us...

glad you got some tuna after all that...


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## johnboatjosh

Hell of a job by the deckhand to step up and play captain for the day, all by himself. That's got to be a heck of a feeling when you realize you're about to have to drive and work the deck all day by yourself with a boat full of customers.


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## WhyMe

Yes, I know...to step up like that. Nick is a hell of a guy...a lot of pressure on him. If you know what I mean. I know I would be very nervous, but he did it.
WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## fairpoint

You still got some good fish there....how much was the charter..? Next time take me 
Nick can do the driving I'll jump in and do the rest with pleasure like a rabbit in a briar patch,lol.....


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## thewarhammer

This happens a lot in venice. The last 2 times we have gone down there we have not had the captain nor the boat we have booked months in advanced. The last time we went our captain said his fuel pump was busted and he couldnt take us out. After a mad scramble to find a captain and deck hand and different boat we finally get the 3 lined up. I had to call all my contacts down there to get it done. Long story short captain and deckhand were clueless about tuna fishing. Didnt even bring chunk bait. Couldnt make bait in a shoal of menhaden. Then I see our original captain with another group at the rigs. I was very disappointed but our groups fishing experience made the trip we managed a few fish. From now on we plan on taking our own boats down and going out in groups. But glad yall managed a few as well. :thumbsup:


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## fishnhuntguy

I have had the same experience in Venice. You book the captain and boat sometimes you get different. If it works out and you catch fish it's great, if not then well not so great. They have a high degree of burn out down there. It takes a young man to work 20 hr days and many in a row. Also venice has become cost prohibitive for the average fisherman due to fuel not being included into the price of the charter. Because the runs are so long, the captians put the price of the fuel on the back of the people they take fishing. $400 to $500 per person is not uncommon. 

I fish both LA and FL but prefer FL for offshore for quite a few reasons. Prefir LA for inshore fishing. Just my 2 cents.

So would you go back and do it again?


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## panhandleslim

Don't know this Captain and I don't know your crew; but, I can tell you this....if a Captain has a mechanical problem (which is inevitable) and stays up working all night so that you can go fishing, you really should be holding this guy up high rather than dogging him. I've heard your statement that you aren't but when it's mentioned, it's been said. 

As for the mate, he's a saint for stepping in and doing all that he could to make sure you had a great trip. Let's be clear....you had a great trip. He put you on fish and worked from the helm to the bow and to the transom while his charter helped a little but watched him work like a borrowed mule and started making disparaging comments about your lack of hook-ups. This type of negativity helps nobody. I know it's human nature but bad morale goes around a boat, faster than a flying bat has sex. 

To top it off, one of your hookups, your prime target species was lost due to the inattention of one of the anglers. It's too hard to get bites to have somebody leave a line in the water and cause the loss of a fish. 

Some of my best trips in Venice, Hawaii and around the world, happened when something went wrong in the morning and I didn't add to the negativity with stupid remarks. Nobody is trying to make mistakes but they happen. Try to help the guy out....as much as possible, keep a good attitude and that will be rewarded. I've had duck guides, down in Venice, lost in the fog in the pitch black pre-dawn and never said a word other than to encourage them and end up with a beautiful two man limit. The last day that I fished Hawaii, we had a water pump impeller pack up just after we cleared Honakohua Harbor and all I did was get down there and start passing wrenches to the mate and captain. No negative comments. IT DOESN'T HELP ANYTHING. I released a 650 lb. Blue Marlin at 1 pm, that day. I had a Captain in Cape Verde, extend his prior charter for one more day when he didn't see me in the Arrival Hall of the airport (I was in the bathroom). I just got in the cockpit and wired fish while his two clients enjoyed a better day than their previous week (6 Blue Marlin day against 4 Blues the whole previous week). Did I piss and moan......no, I got on the boat the next day and got 8 Blues by myself and some very respectable size fish to be certain and had a great time both days. Both these Captains appreciated my attitude so much that when I fish with them now, I stay in their homes, free of charge and have even had one of them sleep on his boat to allow me to stay in his home when he had other guests. By being negative, you miss a great opportunity to make some lifelong friendships. 

These guys spill their blood and guts to try to make their clients happy. Some of your crew come off as a bunch of spoiled, jaded, sissy boys. Need to put kerosene in their socks to keep the ants off their candy asses.

In the future, give yourself some spare time in your schedule for weather days and the unexpected. Make it clear, when you book the trip that you don't want anybody other than the Captain you book to be running the boat when you fish. I mean clear in writing. Enjoy yourself. Even though it's a 'blood sport', it's not life or death for the clients....just the Captain, crew and fish.


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## capthoop

I am familiar with this situation. Nick is a captain and a good one at that. 2 days in a row that boat has had something go wrong with one of the motors. One of those days they did not make it back in till around 11:00 at night and had to go out the next day. The guys busted their ass to get it back in the water for the next day. Our normal day is 14 to 18 hours long and we run days and weeks straight without a day off. If we want to take time off we can't because of a commitment we made to you months ago. Where we are located we have to run 200 miles or more round trip just for parts. Lower units, and other parts are not sitting around down here. Remember we are 80 miles from the nearest wally world. With 3 motors something can happen. That boat is new and well maintained. A lot of times we have to run without a deckhand. Many tines another captain will jump on just to help out as a deckhand if they are not booked that day. Running without a deck hand makes it a harder trip on us all around but we do it. We hate running solo more than you do but we still bust our balls to give you a trip to remember.

Many people have more than one boat and a captain is dedicated to that boat. Some times you are not informed of you being placed on the other boat but that is the error of the person doing the scheduling. Both boats are usually in touch with each other most of the time so you are getting the experience of both captains.

I also saw what you caught. You had a hell of a trip. Be thankful. I have seen many that got less than you did and were very happy.

As for the prices. The boats, equipment, insurance, permits, etc. cost are not cheap. The cost to keep all maintained and repaired is not free. 

I hope this cleared things up a bit for you.


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## WhyMe

I'm was very thankful and are crew did chip in and helped out Nick.
I do know the boat (triple threat) on the day of the mishap was a half day charter. I know this because the paying crew lodged right next to us and I myself was talking to the six guys from Texas and that was about 300 PM . Anyways, thx for the intel and I will always keep that in mind about the long days. They suck.
WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## Five Prongs Of Fury

panhandleslim said:


> Don't know this Captain and I don't know your crew; but, I can tell you this....if a Captain has a mechanical problem (which is inevitable) and stays up working all night so that you can go fishing, you really should be holding this guy up high rather than dogging him. I've heard your statement that you aren't but when it's mentioned, it's been said.
> 
> As for the mate, he's a saint for stepping in and doing all that he could to make sure you had a great trip. Let's be clear....you had a great trip. He put you on fish and worked from the helm to the bow and to the transom while his charter helped a little but watched him work like a borrowed mule and started making disparaging comments about your lack of hook-ups. This type of negativity helps nobody. I know it's human nature but bad morale goes around a boat, faster than a flying bat has sex.
> 
> To top it off, one of your hookups, your prime target species was lost due to the inattention of one of the anglers. It's too hard to get bites to have somebody leave a line in the water and cause the loss of a fish.
> 
> Some of my best trips in Venice, Hawaii and around the world, happened when something went wrong in the morning and I didn't add to the negativity with stupid remarks. Nobody is trying to make mistakes but they happen. Try to help the guy out....as much as possible, keep a good attitude and that will be rewarded. I've had duck guides, down in Venice, lost in the fog in the pitch black pre-dawn and never said a word other than to encourage them and end up with a beautiful two man limit. The last day that I fished Hawaii, we had a water pump impeller pack up just after we cleared Honakohua Harbor and all I did was get down there and start passing wrenches to the mate and captain. No negative comments. IT DOESN'T HELP ANYTHING. I released a 650 lb. Blue Marlin at 1 pm, that day. I had a Captain in Cape Verde, extend his prior charter for one more day when he didn't see me in the Arrival Hall of the airport (I was in the bathroom). I just got in the cockpit and wired fish while his two clients enjoyed a better day than their previous week (6 Blue Marlin day against 4 Blues the whole previous week). Did I piss and moan......no, I got on the boat the next day and got 8 Blues by myself and some very respectable size fish to be certain and had a great time both days. Both these Captains appreciated my attitude so much that when I fish with them now, I stay in their homes, free of charge and have even had one of them sleep on his boat to allow me to stay in his home when he had other guests. By being negative, you miss a great opportunity to make some lifelong friendships.
> 
> These guys spill their blood and guts to try to make their clients happy. Some of your crew come off as a bunch of spoiled, jaded, sissy boys. Need to put kerosene in their socks to keep the ants off their candy asses.
> 
> In the future, give yourself some spare time in your schedule for weather days and the unexpected. Make it clear, when you book the trip that you don't want anybody other than the Captain you book to be running the boat when you fish. I mean clear in writing. Enjoy yourself. Even though it's a 'blood sport', it's not life or death for the clients....just the Captain, crew and fish.


Well said.:yes:


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## Deep South Charters

*Real story*

Havent been on here in a while, been super busy, just figured it was worth while to take a look after another captain let me know this was here. The guy was nice enough, just wanted to clear up what really happened.

Capt nick is my captain. Not my deckhand nor has he ever been my deckhand. He runs the triple threat almost every day. I haven't been on my boat in about 2 weeks now. I do not sell the trip as I will be there either. Now, this guy may have thought I would be there because I never spoke directly to him at any point so he may have had bad info. So no bait and switch here, feel free to check out deep south charters on facebook and you will see day after day of my reports and pictures from captain nick.

The boat is brand new....we had a prop shaft break, it happens. We had a lower unit go out today. It happens all of the time. for this trip, instead of canceling on them, this is what we did. Capt mitch pulled the lower unit after making it in from the trip and brought it to new Orleans. Sweet talked my mechanic into changing the prop shaft after hours....2 hours back to venice, get the lower unit back on for the next day. Would have been much easier on us to cancel but we didn't.

As for a deckhand, that's a non issue tuna fishing. Tons of guys run every day without a deckhand. We normally always have one but nicks guy couldn't fish that day but its not a big deal at all. I personally keep a deck hand on the boat for one reason. Customers THINK we should have one. If any of you have ever fished with Kevin Beach, Billy Wells, Mike Ellis, Michael Pittman, among others, odds are it was without a deckhand. This is not bottom fishing, this is tuna fishing.

If any of you know capt nick, then you know he is the real deal. He may look 15 haha but hes actually 29 and has been in the game a long time and im honored to have him run the triple threat, I will be sad to see him go. 

People will think what they want, Ive been ok with that for years now. have to have thick skin in this biz. But figured it was worth sharing my side of the story

ps capt nick didn't make it back to the dock til about 8:30....hours after the other boats were back. They did have a little slow day as far as tuna went but the day after that he had 12. with no deckhand may I add. Maybe he learned to tuna fish better over night, who knows. 

I wish we could catch the mother load every day, I really do, it just doesn't work that way. 

if you get bored, heres a link to a tv show capt Mitch and I shot about 4 weeks ago on the triple threat .... 8 yellowfin before noon, its a good show


http://vimeo.com/103567147


Enjoy the outdoors, life is too short

Capt Josh Howard


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## tkh329

Captain Josh, to a reader who wasn't there and doesn't have skin in the game, it sounds like better communication from your team could have prevented any misunderstandings, might have helped set expectations for crew and trip, and would have been appreciated overall. Regardless, kudos to Captain Nick for the hard work. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## panhandleslim

tkh329 said:


> Captain Josh, to a reader who wasn't there and doesn't have skin in the game, it sounds like better communication from your team could have prevented any misunderstandings, might have helped set expectations for crew and trip, and would have been appreciated overall. Regardless, kudos to Captain Nick for the hard work.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Look. The Capt., Josh, just told you that Capt. Nick IS his Capt. who works the boat every day. He moved heaven and earth to make sure the trip happened. The original poster was not the guy who did the communication or the booking. He is just doing a 'he said, she said' report. Without his being the 'booking client' it is second hand hearsay. Capt. Josh is telling you 'firsthand' since he was the one who booked the trip. No misrepresentation here. It's funny how people's expectation is that they must have a 'banner day' or they consider it a bust. I understand it's money but it's like going to the Casino, don't bet if you can't afford to lose. I can't tell you how many days I've walked off a boat, run by a 'world class' Capt. and crew and we didn't even SEE one fish. They are not in the fish market case, they are in the sea. Get over it. 

If you think it is easy, get out there and try to live up to people's unrealistic expectations for awhile. A real eye opener. Go out, have fun but manage your expectations. Not every day is the Day of Days!


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## swhiting

panhandleslim said:


> ...If you think it is easy, get out there and try to live up to people's unrealistic expectations for awhile. A real eye opener. Go out, have fun but manage your expectations. Not every day is the Day of Days!


1st, this thread is very informational. It is great information for both sides of this transaction and what both experience.

The OP gave his opinion about his expectations and what he actually experienced.

Concerning slim's quoted text, the unrealistic expectations seem to set by some captains. Some of us will come on here and talk about a bust trip, but a captain is not. So, all you read are fish slaughtering reports, especially from Venice.

Threads like these though give a realistic view of what actually happens.



................................


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## capthoop

swhiting

I hear where you are coming from. There are many that will not mention anything but a great day giving all concerned the false impression that we always load the boat on every trip. I have seen the very best offshore come in with clean ice at one time or another. I have seen some extend the trip as long as 14 hours and still come in on the light side and dangerously tired. I have also seen good very experienced inshore captains come in with almost nothing. Those are the days you do not hear about making you thing you come here and load up. We load up here more than other places but it is never a guaranteed thing.


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## Deep South Charters

swhiting said:


> Concerning slim's quoted text, the unrealistic expectations seem to set by some captains. Some of us will come on here and talk about a bust trip, but a captain is not. So, all you read are fish slaughtering reports, especially from Venice.
> 
> Threads like these though give a realistic view of what actually happens.
> 
> 
> 
> ................................


um, speak for yourself....I report the bad all of the time. now most of it is on facebook these days but I report it. Here is a shot from my phone just now of my facebook page, check out the date on the pic. Here is me reporting capt nicks catch of nothing. He had 9 the day before and went to the same spot and got skunked. it happens.


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## Deep South Charters

*bored*

you can tell I have a little free time, haha I hardly ever post on these things anymore. Always the same thing, somebody mad about something. I just don't care to argue back and forth anymore. People think offshore charter captains make a killing, they think we must be fish gods since they pay us money. They think everything must be perfect and be the way THEY think it should be or they can always take to the net and run your name in the dirt. Truth be known, I run a full time trim carpentry biz in baton rouge, I work daylight til dark most days just so I can pay my bills on a 400 thousand dollar offshore boat so my customers can fish on a nice boat. Then do all I can to make sure this boat stays in good shape and when it breaks down, me and my guys work overtime, sometimes with no sleep to make sure the customers who have spent money to get to Venice, has a boat to go out on. And don't get me wrong, about 99% of my customers at awesome. I love them. Most have stuck by me thru boat crashes and Bluefin cops. I love these guys. I am only speaking about a small percentage of people, but it gets old. One of the main reasons im not on the boat full time anymore. Well that and I love my 2 year old son more. But geez, its always something. We have a lower unit down right now. Capt nick it bringing the boat to new Orleans in the morning for repair. I really don't let the bad press bother me much these days. People are going to say what they are going to say. This mess all started because I didn't have a deckhand on the boat. Get over it.... no where in the offshore charter captains handbook does it say Venice Captain must have a deckhand on the boat. two customers pissed at the world because they had what they call a slow day and think if only a deckhand had been present, they could have caught more. When did two yellowfin in the 100 pound class and a limit of big amberjack become a slow day? we can always catch more but really? how much is enough? I like to think that people are here for the overall experience. How awesome is it to see what goes on in the bluewater? It never gets old to me. If its all about the meat, save yourself some money and go to the meat market. This is the 2nd or 3rd time the person who booked the trip has fished with us. Last trip was with capt mitch, never had any issues or problems. This year, we were happy to have them coming back and then after the trip two on this trip posts bad reports on me on here. Cant stop them, its a free world, people can do what they want. They fail to mention that the boat was a new 38 ft sea hunter with top gear all ready to fish. The captain put in more than a full day with them. Most boats are back at the dock around 4, capt nick wasn't back til around 8:30. They mention how other boats had more tuna...ok, and? that happens every single day in Venice. Some days you are on fire, some days you are not. Check out the tv show we just shot.... in the overhead video, you will see a boat pull up to us. I was giving this boat our bait because at 12:30 we had 8 in the box and was done....the other boat had one fish. Doesn't mean a damn thing....its just part of it. I check my inbox tonight and what do you know, I have a message from the guy that posted this thread.... this is what it says


I checked out your post..great repot.
I did a charter on your boat earlier this month. It was a slow day, but we landed two 90-100 lbs class YFT and a lot of Aj's. To me, I had the best time down in Venice. I'm getting my Mako and trailer ready as we speak. You guys down in Venice have a gold mine of fish. So very lucky. Well have a good day.
Thanks Mark
WhyMe 




Am I missing something?????

Anyway....hope I didn't bore you too much with my long rant. 

Try to enjoy the outdoors people. cheer up....life is too short!!

Capt Josh


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## Yakin_it_up

When I started reading this thread I thought to myself.... Man this guys "deckhand" is solid. I need to by a boat and recruit him to be the capt. Makes more snese now that I find he is actually the capt. 

"I did a charter on your boat earlier this month. It was a slow day, but we landed two 90-100 lbs class YFT and a lot of Aj's. "

I am planning a Venice trip in March when we have a wedding to attened in New Orleans. If that is what we end up catching I will be a happy customer. Even if a mate is my captain

I have seen a lot of fishing shows out of venice on tuna trips and never seen a mate on any of them. Personally I enjoy helping rigging, baiting hooks ETC. It's all part of the fishing experince. To me just sitting around waiting for somebody to hand me a rod, and say "here you go, reel this fish in" is not really fishing. 

But to the OP's point if I was told you are paying 2,400 dollars (typicall vencie tuna trip cost) and you will get a mate and a Captain, and only what I thought was a mate showed up I would not be happy. I'm guessing if they were told from the get go your trip would be with Capt Nick the post would have been a postive one. Nothing is more important in business than setting the correct expectaions with your customers if you want them to be happy with your service. 

Maybe they just assumed there would be a mate? I obviously am not fully aware of what the enitial client communication was.


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## Deep South Charters

they prob did assume, and that's ok. I have a mate on our boats 99% of the time. Nicks deckhand couldn't fish this trip and cant just invent one so he ran the trip solo. Some captains in venice run solo every day, its not a big deal. the biggest help for us with a deckhand is for him to clean the boat at the end of the day. I never ever tell customers that a mate will defiantly be there nor is it on my website anywhere, feel free to check for yourself. its not a big deal. Im sure im more fired up about it than they ever were, it just rubs me wrong when someone tries to run my biz or gets pissed because things are not as they would do it. Its as easy as this, if you like us, come back......if you don't, don't come back. we cant win them all and we cant make everyone happy all of the time. They were pissed because they wanted more fish, that's it. Capt nick caught like 9 or 10 the next day without a deckhand. Now if they had been with him that day, do you think they would have one thing to say about no deckhand?? nah


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## panhandleslim

Some people gonna bitch; even if you hang 'em with new rope.

Charters come in the lucky variety and the bitchy variety.


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## WhyMe

I knew this day was going to come. And you damn right I PM ed you, and I said that....now back to this post. I only reported the truth about what the other five members were telling me. Nothing more and nothing less. The woman who booked this trip felt as if you let her down by not being the Captain, and thing went down hill from there. That's it. She also did a post on this trip ,but she kept things out of her report. So all I did was report the truth and thats different then Bitching. As me and the trip on your boat, I had great time and learned a lot. I will be making more runs to Venice in my boat. I was not trying to hurt your name nor your business. If I did, I'm sorry. I hope to meet you and tell you face to face. The only thing I want to do is fish, and I know all about good days and bad days when it comes to fishing.
Good day.
WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## submariner

Sounds Like WHYME is explaining he did not mean to bash the boat or captain, just that there was not clear communication. I have been to Venice twice, neither time did I get the captain I expected. Things happen. I will add it should have been obvious that Nick was a captain in his own right since he was able to run the boat on his own. My understanding is that captains often mate on other boats if they are free. Based upon my experience in Venice, the trip was a success.


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## Deep South Charters

WhyMe said:


> I knew this day was going to come. And you damn right I PM ed you, and I said that....now back to this post. I only reported the truth about what the other five members were telling me. Nothing more and nothing less. The woman who booked this trip felt as if you let her down by not being the Captain, and thing went down hill from there. That's it. She also did a post on this trip ,but she kept things out of her report. So all I did was report the truth and thats different then Bitching. As me and the trip on your boat, I had great time and learned a lot. I will be making more runs to Venice in my boat. I was not trying to hurt your name nor your business. If I did, I'm sorry. I hope to meet you and tell you face to face. The only thing I want to do is fish, and I know all about good days and bad days when it comes to fishing.
> Good day.
> WhyMe
> Mako My Dayo


 
fair enough
:thumbsup:


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## fish_n_ girl

*I guess it was my fault*

Wow... I had no idea all this was going on. I can't believe how blown out the blue water this had become. I set up the trip.I guess all the confusion was my fault. I called Josh & when the date available was on a Saturday my comment was "Oh, I didn't think you fished on Saturday's" That was due to a previous discussion the prior year. Let me also say we only caught one small YF that trip & were still satisfied & returned this year for our second of many future trips to Venice. He told me he fishes any day.We also made a joke about a possible second charter with some friends & some friendly competition & Josh joking said he usually wins those. I could only assume we were fishing with Josh. (Take it as a complement Josh) We were not unhappy at all with our trip with Captain Nick. He was a heck of a captain & deckhand. I would fish again with the guy any day. After discussing with the other crew members I sent Josh a text that simply said we were a bit disappointed not to have had a deckhand. That was it! Never did I complain we should have caught more fish or anything like that. I along with many many others found it odd to go on a charter boat with no deckhand. I had no idea it happens all the time. Deepsouth Charters has some amazing Captains & I never said anything negative about Josh or any of his crew. I hope this clears up the confusion. Fishing shouldn't have so much drama. Sorry everyone next time someone else can coordinate our trip. I am firing myself :notworthy:


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## panhandleslim

fish_n_ girl said:


> Wow... I had no idea all this was going on. I can't believe how blown out the blue water this had become. I set up the trip.I guess all the confusion was my fault. I called Josh & when the date available was on a Saturday my comment was "Oh, I didn't think you fished on Saturday's" That was due to a previous discussion the prior year. Let me also say we only caught one small YF that trip & were still satisfied & returned this year for our second of many future trips to Venice. He told me he fishes any day.We also made a joke about a possible second charter with some friends & some friendly competition & Josh joking said he usually wins those. I could only assume we were fishing with Josh. (Take it as a complement Josh) We were not unhappy at all with our trip with Captain Nick. He was a heck of a captain & deckhand. I would fish again with the guy any day. After discussing with the other crew members I sent Josh a text that simply said we were a bit disappointed not to have had a deckhand. That was it! Never did I complain we should have caught more fish or anything like that. I along with many many others found it odd to go on a charter boat with no deckhand. I had no idea it happens all the time. Deepsouth Charters has some amazing Captains & I never said anything negative about Josh or any of his crew. I hope this clears up the confusion. Fishing shouldn't have so much drama. Sorry everyone next time someone else can coordinate our trip. I am firing myself :notworthy:


Sadly, this is proof positive of how good a 'verbal contract' is. If you really want something, insist on it. If it's not that important, chat about it. Write the critical points and insist that those points be answered to your satisfaction. Everything is negotiable, everything. If you want the mate to be on the boat in a Mariachi outfit, put it in there. If you want a bowl of yellow only M&Ms on board, put that in there. This is a 'service' business and everything, well almost everything, is available for a price. I mean, don't ask the Captain to wear a Speedo and hip boots but within reason. 

Think you did a good job and got the right crew, on the job; it's just that comments have consequences for the Captain's livelihood and your future relationship with him.


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## Fish-n-Fur

Interesting posts on the inside workings of the (Venice) fish charter biz. I would have never guested, and feel more prepared if i ever go on a charter there. Communication is KEY in all we do, we just read how no or miscommunication can set up the scenario for unrealistic expectations. Good to see that everyone is now seeing eye-to-eye. The money spent can be very hard to come by for some, and if all you've ever heard/read were outstanding catch reports, then you might be willing to jump on board, in thinking that you too were only going to hit the lotto.
Hats off to CAPT Nick, now knowing how he got the boat together and put in the extra effort to make the trip happen for all the paying customers - that should go a long way in customer loyalty and repeat/new (word of mouth) biz.

on a different/lighter note...

Slim - i think you are dead wrong! I think that a special CAPT would wear a Speedo and hip boots...for the right price/compensation; only because you are absolutely right as well, just about everything is negotiable! Don't even think about it...homey don't play that! 

CAPT Josh - you're absolutely right, life's too short! Enjoy that 2 yr old...they'll be 18 and out of the house in a blink - just sent my last one off to college this year.

I hope ya'll have great days on the water, and thanks for broadening my education in this area of commercial charters, at least in your area. Tight Lines! :thumbsup:


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## WhyMe

lol


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