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Started by alantani, November 22, 2013, 01:19:22 AM

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alantani

here's what's up.  mel had this wild idea that we should all go fishing.  i looked into it and realized that it might actually work out.  it's early in the season, but this last summer the san diego long range fleet was catching bluefin out in open water at this time of year.  yup, bluefin tuna!!!!!!!!  obviously, there is no guarantee that we will have a bluefin bite 3 summers in a row, but a wide open bluefin bite is an experience that you will never forget.  and if there are bluefin out there, mike keating and the spirit of adventure will find them!

so i spoke to annemarie keating, owner of the http://www.spiritofadventurefishing.com/news/.  she said that they had an 8 day spot open in october, but for me that would never work.  then she said that we could actually be trip #0 and start before their regular season.  she said that we would have to have a solid charter by april 1st.  if not, we could cancel and they would go back to their normal start date of june 22nd and no one would be the worse for wear.  so here is where we are......

dates - monday, june 16th, 2014 to saturday, june 21st, 2014.  more specifically, most guys will be driving into san diego on sunday, the 15th, we'll have dinner at one of the local restaurants that evening, board the boat at 10am on monday the 16th, fish on tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday, then return to the dock at 5am on saturday the 21st, and then home.  

cost - it's $825 now and $825 on march 15th.  everything is refundable until the april 1st, then the check goes in to annemarie.  to get a refund after april 1st, you need to find a replacement.  the bare bones cost of the trip is $1450, but i am collecting $200 ahead of time for a tip for the crew for a total of $1650.  i normally tip 20%, but i've seen guys tip as low as $200 on an 8 day trip and that's just plain embarassing.  don't forget the airfare or cost of gas to get back and forth to san diego, plus hotels if you stay overnight, and meals before and after the trip.  and fish processing.  i will never to back go cutting up these fish on my own again, but you can if you want.  getting your fish professionally processed is so much better.  i plan to go with sarah at 5 star.  they charge is 75 cents per pound.  if we go in as a group, it might be a little less.  figure if you go in with a mix of 20 fish and a 25 pound average, you have 500 pounds of whole fish and a 30% yield for good quality filets.  that means 150 pounds of filet and a processing bill of $375.  try not to spend money on tackle.  we have lots and we will talk more about that later.  

deadlines -  i just got back from the bank and set up a separate checking account.  i am accepting deposits now.   then i will call for the final payment on march 15th.  i will send in the check to annemarie on april 1st.  until that check is sent, we still have the option of canceling this trip.  once the check is in the mail to annemarie, we are all committed.  guys will have to by airplane tickets after april 1st.  if you cancel before april 1st, you get a full refund.  if something happens after april first, you cannot make it and we cannot find a replacement, i will not be able to refund your payment.  remember, other guys are scheduling vacation time, working hard to make good husband points with their wives, and paying for plane tickets.  once april 1st passes, we are committed.  

there is a reason i am doing this.  if we are short by a couple of guys and we have to take "walk on" passengers, we could wind up with a couple of idiots and they could ruin the entire trip for everyone.  i would rather cancel the trip than have to put up with a couple of total jerks.   >:(

tackle - i moved my "spirit of adventure" posts to this board so you could take a look.  it is important that you not buy alot of stuff.  we have plenty of rods and reels to go around, and lots of terminal tackle as well.  

the catch - this can go up for discussion if the group wants, but i would like to change the way fish are distributed for our trip.  normally, you tag all the fish you catch.  if you are a novice, or just snake bit, you might come back with only a few fish.  if you are a good fisherman, if you have sharp elbows, bad attitude and equally bad breath, then you can muscle people out of the way, hog a place at the bait tank, pick one place on the rail and refuse to move, be a total jerk and have the biggest pile of fish at the end of the week.  

to get away from that, i want to eliminate the use of tags.  on this trip, i would like us to fish as a team.  if your are doing well, consider handing a rod off to someone that is having trouble.  if you are having trouble, ask for help.  i will also not have a jackpot.  money has a way of poisoning a trip quickly.  i would rather ask the deckhands to weigh the big ones and then have a daily prize for the guy that "hands off" the biggest fish.  that's right.  if you are on a hot streak and the fish you hand off turns out to be the big fish for the day, you will still get something for your efforts.  oh, yeah, and a hand off does not count if you fight a fish for 45 minutes, get pooped and and then hand the fish off to the deckhand to reel in.....   ;D

mistakes and other general screw ups - i've been on alot of these trips, but i've never had to run one myself.  there WILL be mistakes, so be patient with me.  you all know how hard i've worked to keep money issues out of this website.  it's money that always ruins things so quickly.  it's just not possible this time.  but i am confident that this trip will go well, and that's because of all of you!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

alantani

remember, you cannot book a flight until we confirm that the trip is good to go!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

john2244

Great post Alan.  I really like the way you are setting up this trip.
John

Keta

I'll get a check on the way tomorrow.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Ron Jones

Alan,
Is the address the same as where we send the check for parts? Thank you for making this a reality. Again, if someone wants to save money on rooms I am staying on the Navy base right around the corner.
Ron
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

alantani

yes, my address is the same.  a place to stay would be great!  is it possible to set up for this many guys?  i totally understand if not. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Ron Jones

I've got a call in to Gateway to find out how many rooms I can get on 1 ID. The rooms sleep 3 easy if I remember correctly and they may have some with higher capacity. The cost is $50.00ish a night and the location is perfect.

Ron
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

alantani

thanks!  i am concerned about the total cost.  this would definitely help!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

SoCalAngler

#8
Good for you Alan on setting this up.

For people that don't know the boat or operation let me say a little. I charter mastered a trip on the SOA (Spirt of Adventure) for 25 years strait and I feel Mike, the owner and operator of the SOA is not only one of the best captians in the SD fleet but is one the nicest people I have met. He and his crew always worked very hard to put us on fish and treated newbies as well as vets with the utmost respect. Most of the long range boats out of SD advertise to get more riders and I have never seen Mike do this. The reason is that almost all of Mikes trips are charters comming back year after year, that should say something about his operation. Mikes wife Annemarie is a sweethart and was always there if I had any questions or needed any help on the business side.

Very interresting on the no tag issue Alan, I have never heard of this in my 30 plus years fishing LR. I'm not that old as I started my LR trips at age 16 but still a unique idea. It is early in the year as my charted left the 3rd week in August but as Alan stated the early BFT bite has been good for the last couple of years. The problem I had wasn't we didn't catch enough fish, it was what was I going to do with all the fish I did catch. You see on most trips my father, brother, nephew, son and myself would go and as you can see 5 people can bring in alot of fish. I would do alot of catch and release, not popular on most of the other LR boats as they want their numbers high to get more riders on furture trips but not a issue on the SOA as most of their trips are already booked. Also the fish processors will cut and give fish to food banks hepling the needy in SD if you find you have more fish than you can use, at no cost to you. I have donated hundreds if not thousands of pounds of fish this way and I feel a little good karma goes a long way.

Edit: here are a couple of pics from one of my charters on the SOA. This fisrt one is of my son and nephew when we got back to the dock.


This second one is of my son on the same trip, 12 at the time, battling with his first BFT. The BTF were in the 40-60 lb class on this trip.

alantani

several people have told me that they've always wanted to go on one of these trips but had heard horror stories about conflicts on these boats, and not just among the passengers. i want it to be a trip where a husband would feel comfortable bring his wife, or a father his daughter.  eliminate the competition and i think it can be that kind of trip. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B

great plan Alan! just a reminder to all of us, this is a "FAMILY FISHING ADVENTURE" hence the catch is shared equally.  :D ;D personally i'm a catch and release angler 99% of the time.

Normslanding

I would love to go, buttttt. I am booked on the Indy during that time. Hope to see you there, have a good trip.

alantani

so, mel, you're going to fly up from brasil?  ;D
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Jonnybravo

Damn!  I'm booked on the Independence for the week before or else I would have signed up!

George4741

Questions:
1.  Do we need a passport?
2.  What is the heaviest weight line recommended?  I don't plan on buying any additional tackle, as I know there will be enough to go around, but I want to know which of my gear is suitable for the trip.

George
viurem lliures o morirem