Great having you, thanks!
We were really excited. Even stayed over 2 days to go out. At 300 dollars a nite! Mentioning that because I had to listen to her whine what all it cost her now to run boat. ( maybe she should park it )!) That way no one will mess it up. No fresh bait! So I am to believe it got stolen! Although she helped my one grandson, not so much the other. I was left sitting for an hour not fishing at all, while she Scurried around the boat. Oh we also had to take our shoes of immediately.. So we wouldn’t mess up her boat 🛥 .. we were given rods with light line and hooks small enough to Catch a very small perch. Pole she set out for me was never used, she told me when it bobbed real fast reel it in, then told to just leave it alone till it took of! All the time she’s Scurrying around the boat. She said my grandson hooked a big one, finally he got tired and I took over, well I have been fishing all my life and after a while realized the only time line would go out was when the current took the boat around, always the same amount! Hmmm, that’s strange, then I realized we were just hung up! Sure saved her on gas and bait.we only caught 4 fish total small, only one keeper.. after all her whining on the way in about money, ( oh and she pointedly tipped the guy that helped her dock. He seemed surprised.. I’m sure when she reads this somehow it will end up being all our fault not Communicating to her better. But it was just flat out a waste of money and time! I did tip her 20 dollars against my better judgment, because of the whining. I pay 800.00 for a trip I expect to be put on the fish and my small bunch of three shown what to do to get better action. Oh and don’t leave me sitting in the corner for an hr, just because I’m old! We did get to make first trip because of weather. But certainly did go out 2 days later!
We were really excited. Even stayed over 2 days to go out. At 300 dollars a nite! Mentioning that because I had to listen to her whine what all it cost her now to run boat. ( maybe she should park it )!) That way no one will mess it up. No fresh bait! So I am to believe it got stolen! Although she helped my one grandson, not so much the other. I was left sitting for an hour not fishing at all, while she Scurried around the boat. Oh we also had to take our shoes of immediately.. So we wouldn’t... Mehr
Reply
Hi there Paula, I feel terrible you didn’t enjoy your trip and am disappointed you wouldn’t return my call to discuss it further. My #1 rule is to “have a good time and let me know if you’re not so I can work to change that.” Knowing that, there must be a reason why you said nothing until it was time to write a review. I can’t change what I don’t know.
- The boat does stay parked when it’s not chartered. Most the US population is upset over gas prices. Almost $7 a gallon is expensive when you have a 300 gallon tank. I apologize for thinking it was just conversation.
- Boating etiquette. It’s common courtesy to ask permission to board a boat. I’m guessing much of your fishing experience wasn’t by boat to not be familiar with the custom and I wasn’t there while you struggled to board, requiring help from your grandsons. That was incredibly unsafe. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.
- Shoes. It is not uncommon to require no shoes or dictate the specific types of shoes allowed - because boat decks are easy to scuff and damn near impossible to keep clean. I ask everyone to remove shoes before boarding (but you had already boarded). A lot of effort goes into the upkeep of a boat. Who would charter one that looks like filth?
- Bait. It’s in the listing **hidden content** bait is occasional. I decided to check a bait trap for this trip and couldn’t find it. Theft is commonplace here, though it could just be missing. Not a big deal for you though. I always have enough bait on board before departing.
- The fishing. There is never a guarantee of catching fish and no one can provide such a guarantee. Despite super clear water (makes fish skittish) and poor current (that fish need to get excited for feeding), you caught fish but not the fish you wanted. We were on Yellowtail from the get-go but they decided to be difficult that day. Sometimes it just goes like that. There was that school of Yellowtail Snapper plus Blue Runner and Chub behind the boat. Sometimes conditions don’t even provide that entertainment. There was one Triggerfish though which was a fun fighter.
- I always start off with two yellowtail rods. People are free to take turns. You chose not to for whatever reason. I’m sorry I wasn’t more observant. It’s not something I ever needed to suggest but appreciate the highlight so I will pay more attention moving forward. I wish you would have spoken up while on the boat. When I see that the boat isn’t swinging much and lines aren’t tangling, I occasionally add a bottom rig like I did for you, for a shot at the more elusive bottom fish. Unfortunately they chose not to cooperate that day. You “parked” yourself there I guess because you were unstable and couldn’t stand in the boat unassisted. It was a bit rough that day. The bottom fishing rod is heavy and it’s easier to monitor it and then grab it when a fish is on.
- The one grandson received more assistance than the other because he needed more. He caught more fish, lost more bait and didn’t really want to touch either. Both kids were doing exactly as instructed and didn’t require more guidance than provided. I certainly wasn’t going to be repetitive while you were doing the repeating. I didn’t want to make fishing annoying. There wasn’t anything to do differently. We cruised to a different spot but had the same challenges.
- Tackle. The hooks are yellowtail jigs (actual name if you google it). The rods were custom made for yellowtail fishing. Fish don’t discriminate though and I’ve had a small shark caught on that gear. You can see the pic in the listing.
- I twice had to break off a fish on your trip though because I knew it wasn’t coming to the boat and could damage the gear. Waiting fish out wasn’t working because the waiting part wasn’t long enough and the fish wasn’t cooperating. While you had the rod, you preferred to hold it taught. It wasn’t so much a snag as it was likely a fish with a snag around something, or a bottom fish just under structure. The reef doesn’t fight back - there were intermittent jerks on the line. I extended the trip 45 minutes for free because I wanted SO badly for you to catch whatever it was, even if it was just an eel. Eels behavior can sometimes seem like grouper and mutton snapper but they ravel around the line and can hang it up. Bummer we’ll never know which it was.
- Back at the dock - I don’t know why it matters that I tipped the dockhand. I take care of the people who take care of me.
Unfortunately, without a conversation it’s hard to really understand why some of the comments were made unless the intent was simply to be hurtful. Would the feedback be different if I were a man? I would hope not. I’m old enough to have grandchildren myself and believe in treating people fairly. (20+ years in Human Resources to boot). I’m still open to having a dialogue with you on the phone. The clarity will be helpful to serving my guests in the future.
Thank you for choosing the Dauntless
Reply Hi there Paula, I feel terrible you didn’t enjoy your trip and am disappointed you wouldn’t return my call to discuss it further. My #1 rule is to “have a good time and let me know if you’re not so I can work to change that.” Knowing that, there must be a reason why you said nothing until it was time to write a review. I can’t change what I don’t know. - The boat does stay parked when it’s not chartered. Most the US population is upset over gas prices. Almost... Mehr