Something has peeved me off...

[Uglygreen]

Charter boats this summer out of Depoe and Newport. They know about Ifish, the Salty Dogs, and have been monitering channel 78. I know for a fact that some have come running in on several "hot" bites reported by myself and others by GPS coordinates on 78. All well and good, I dont mind sharing a hot bite on the big blue.

Normally they (charters) are on channel 80, and I sometimes switch over to get a feel for whats happening on their end. I know they use their little secret code, and I understand enough of it to get a general feel for how they are doing. I usually have a pretty good situational awareness of who is who and where different boats are and can figure out who is into fish and where they are.

So anyhow, a couple times I have called a specific charter to ask for a fish report or location, and have been rewarded by silence or being ignored. I spend enough time out there that I know some of these guys recognize my boat, and I know some of them have come running on specific fish reports I have put out on 78. I have even had a known charter ask me to repeat GPS coordinates twice on 78, then ignore me the next day when I have asked him for a GPS coordinate on 80. I didnt need the coordinate, but was curious what would happen. Silence. Of course a few minutes later hes back talking to his other charter buddies. Remember that this is the same charter that I got into fish when he was stinking up the ocean the day before. Used the callsign "uglygreen boat" both days.

Moving foreward, last trip to Depoe, I overhear a conversation amongst charter captains just out of earshot of the cleaning station where a bunch of Salty Dogs were gathered, snickering about how we are clogging up "their" bay with our little boats, holding up "their" fish cleaning station, and how stupid they think we are to share info with each other (and them) over an open channel without special secret little codes and using real GPS coordinates instead of insider location slang.

That peeved me, but I kept my peace. Then, last Friday, we were on the rockpile, had our lings and one butt and one nook, and were looking for a little better chinook action. Its foggy. I know they (charters) are on the chinook form swithcing over to channel 80, but I cant see them in the fog. I call to ask for some numbers... once again silence and ignored. This is getting old. Several of these guys have been my buddy buddy in the parking lot, nice as can be, compliments on my boat and all that, yet no cooperation on the water at all.

Guess my radio doesn't transmit on 80, only works on 78 is all I can think of.

I know that there has been some cooperation on the tuna between private and charter. And Im sure the Blitz and a maybe couple other Charters are excepted. But in general, im starting to get a little peeved when a charter shows up on a bite or at a GPS number from myself or another S.D. on channel 78. I was just wondering if anybody else is starting to feel taken advantage of regarding this. As near as I can tell its been a very one way street regarding salmon, halibut and bottom fish bites.

UG

[ 09-09-2003, 08:14 AM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[Mr. Fisherman]

I had the same type of reaction when I asked over channel 80 if it would be o.k. to follow a charter out as it was my first time out of the gate. I was rewarded with silence. It diddn't set too well with me.
Maybe we need a secret decoder ring and a special handshake.
It would be a shame for it to come to that.

[SamBen]

I have had a similar expierience I was fishing found the bite called a buddy and the next thing I know 3 charters are coming.
I have had a charter come to my aid when my vessel was adrift and wait while I called the coast gaurd to make sure I was safe.
I think getting upset at this scenario is a waste of energy.
I fish for fun and eats. If I was supporting my wife and two sons you might hear some silence as well.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Would you be silent if a sport boat wanted to follow you out? It wasn't like I was asking to tag along fishing, I just wanted the line out to the DB buoy.
I think that if I run in to numbers they call I will respond in kind when they ask but evidently this is not the case when the tables are turned.
I'm sure it is frustrating to feel like their pockets are getting picked by sport fishers but we can and should return the favor of being put onto fish. There are a lot of us out there now days and we can help put them onto biting fish too.
We can build a bridge or a wall, either one can fall but those who choose to span the gap will sew and reap, and that's a fact

[Popeye]

Ray...howya doing on the new motor?
BTW....I was only jokin' bout the tag line....I kinda liked it :grin:

[Pilar]

This is easy guys. It's a big ocean and we are clever and resourceful. We have to be careful to not lower ourselves to the level of the rabble. Rabble like Sea Quell who only knows the one pinnacle reef on S. Beach and who had the audacity to tell me to find a better fishfinder (he thought I was using him for a fishfinder) after I went to the reef and put on a ling cod clinic for the benefit of his fishless paying customers.

Like so ....

'Uglygreen, Uglygreen, this the Pilar on 78'

"Go, Pilar for Uglygreen"

'Yeah, Brad I'm on spot 44 and just pounding the kings, you wanna bat cleanup?'

"Sure, I'll be there in 5, Uglygreen out"

'Roger, see you soon, Pilar out'

Remember the GPS list? Well, it still exists. If we share that with registered, password protected access we can send these guys home to mama. Ifish is a special place lets not give away the keys to the kingdom to the unworthy. Maybe they'll learn how to share after seeing the example but in the mean time, screw em. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Mr. Sea Quell charter boat captain.

Don't give out the numbers on the radio. Use your cell phone or refer to the spots by thier waypoint number.

Secret code? We've got the secret code hanging along with a weeks supply of Ignint mc nugget.

[ 09-09-2003, 06:55 AM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[Sea Jypzee]

I think at least part of it, at least for the Depoe Bay gang is just getting to know these guys. I've shared info back and forth with at least a few of them this year. But that's only come after I've got to know them, and them me.

I think a GPS list would be a great idea though. I'm sure we've all got hot spots set in our GPS's that we could share in the list.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Originally posted by Popeye:
Ray...howya doing on the new motor?
BTW....I was only jokin' bout the tag line....I kinda liked it :grin:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">It's not going very well.

[CATCH AND EAT]

Seems like I referred to a few Depoe Bay charters talking as UG mentioned. Not to generalize but many charters do not like sport fishers period. DB charters are no exception. Rock on Salty Dogs.

Guess communication goes both ways.

[ 09-09-2003, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: CATCH AND EAT ]

[Mark Mc]

Geez UG, what a topic you opened up. As the responses indicate, there are several ways to deal with this. Yes you can develop your own code as Pilar suggests...Nancy & Ray keyed in on the "familiarity" issue though. Lemme tell you a bit about what I learned running charter boats for 10 years out of several different ports. Charter skippers, in general, are very clique-ish. Even out of one area, like SF Bay, there are sub-groups that share with each other first. Some of this is to be expected when one office / bait shop is competing with another across the bay. You should have seen the games before cell phones! Listening on one channel and talking on another, multiple channel switching to keep ahead of those trying to follow the conversation, etc.

I hate to generalize, but there are many charter skippers who have lived / stayed in the same area for many years, and an attitude develops where they don't trust outsiders, nor anyone they don't know. When I left SF Bay to run boats in Ft Bragg, I had a lot of years of experience under my belt. But the folks in little po-dunk Ft Bragg wouldn't give me the time of day & downright treated me like a second class citizen. But gee, after about a month of killing the rockfish, I was everybody's buddy. "Hey Mark, where ya at?" on the radio. I don't know what the psychology is.....fear of the unkown?

There is a reason a guy like Mike Stowe gets along with these i-fishers. He's lived other places, done other things for a living, is open minded, and has nothing to fear from the non-charter crowd (such a brave guy). He's also smart enough to know that you get what you give. Look at all the i-fishers that are going on his boat now. Those skippers who won't talk to you are shooting themselves in the foot. Too bad they can't even see that.

So sure, you can reach out and try to get to know some of these guys personally at the dock. Some of them will respond. But some of them won't.

Whether you take the "dummy up" plan (speak in code) or try & get to know them, either one is going to take some effort.

[ 09-09-2003, 03:43 PM: Message edited by: Mark Mc ]

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

And my two cents worth. Thanks Mark for the compliments and you are absolutely correct about getting what you give. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] I believe that everyone can help each other. Most charterboat captains however believe they are the only fishermen that can find fish. This is pure ignorance! Everyone is a scout for everyone else. Finding the fish and thinking you need to protect the spot just guarantees that you and only you will be successful that time. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img] It is a very selfish attitude. But also on the other hand, when someone finds the fish and let's you know, it is rude to interfere with the finder. Give him room to work. I think most of the time, it is the feeling that you will be overwhelmed by others if you give out info.

Since I have found the ifishers, I have had much better successful in quickly finding tuna. We all are scouts and it does us all good to give out the info.

So don't let those who have pea brains bother you. Just consider the fact that usually they are poor fishermen and when they finally find fish, they need to monopolize the spot to try and make themselves look good. And you all know who those people are so relax and work with those who will work with you. You don't need codes. The commercial guys tried that for years and everyone still could figure them out.

Enjoy fishing for what it is.

Captaim Mike

[WP]

If you want to call another in to a small spot, get a cell phone number and call them on that! Personally I will continue to talk to Ifishers and if others who are zipperlips want to eaves drop, so be it. They will not gain anything worth while other than a sense of "winning" and I don't care enough about them to make an effort to "deal" with them! I do use general terms though, such as "61 spot", but that is mostly for my own convenience. I guess I am not a good enough fisherman to have people trying to steal any of my spots. I also fish mostly weekdays so the traffic is thinner. I would still support a limited access file for waypoints others have had success at. Shared names for locations would help others to keep eaves droppers to a minimum.
Dave

[skein]

Good post, FA. These are just the things a new boater like myself needs to hear. I try to be pretty considerate and not charge in on someone else, but now I'll be especially careful not to put down the whole bite.

This is all good stuff I'm reading here.

Skein

[Pilar]

assAssin, I am so worried about not getting any more info from the charter fleet.

So worried that I will not be able to sleep at night. Since you live there (your boat does anyway) I can understand how you are more sensitive to them then I am. It's really simple ... Ifishers help each other. Many of the other guys are motivated by self interest and not the good of the many. Take whatever you can get and give nothing back. It's a different mindset and all too common, IMHO. I think there will be icecubes in the devil's highball before you can give enough or shmooze in the parking lot enough to shame those guys into changing thier ways. Sorry but I do not worship at the church of greed and I reject that whole philosophy.

Actually I can count the times anyone from that camp has helped me in anyway or even answered a call on the radio on one hand. They or the charter office seldom even answer a call on 80 to announce intentions to run the hole at Dopey Bay.

It was the same guy on a charter boat out of Newport that helped me every time. Guess who that was. I'm pretty sure he will continue to assist his fellow Ifishers because that is just the kind of man he is.

Tell me again why two boats should describe where they are by verbatim GPS coordinates on the public airwaves and not describe where they are by waypoint number or name from a printed list or prearranged and programmed points they both have.

Good point about charging over fish on the surface. That makes them sound. The TUNA! will chase your boat if you drive anywhere near where they are, even hundreds of yards away. You do not need to charge over sitting birds or someones waypoint.

[edsr]

We responded to the call about the "61" spot but by the time we got there the fish were down and the bite was cold and the wind was beginning to blow - time to go home. Slow wet ride.

edsr

[fish assassin]

I felt pretty bad on Saturday ... well, kinda ... when Dave called me in.
He had 15 fish at the time that he gave me his numbers and I had a total
of 5! Seemed like everybody and his uncle showed up all at once. Must have
been at least 15 boats in a 1.5 square mile area.

I kinda snuck up on Dave and passed by him and found more feeding birds with
jumpers under them about 1/2 mile away. I got a few fish and told Dave how
I was doing and all of a sudden the whole darned fleet was right on top of me!

Now, I don't mind sharing, but there *are* a couple of rules of thumb ...

1) (as discussed earlier) fish NEAR a radio bite, not right on top of it.
2) try to look and see how the other boats are tacking and use the same tack
lines ... in other words, don't cut across the bow of somebody and expect them to
give way!!!
3) Keep a sharp eye out for those commercial boats ... they often times have a
crew of only one or two guys ... and that's if you include the Captain as crew!
Often times they can't watch the wheel as closely as a two man small boat sport
fisher!!
4) You know that Charter Boat Captain over there? He may or may not be at the
wheel at any given time! When the fish are coming, he may be out on deck
helping his deck-hand with the customers! Most of the customers have NO idea
what they are doing, but still expect results (a mess of fish). That boat
may be running on auto pilot with nobody in the wheel house!! That goes for
commercial boats as well!!
5) Ya know that radio call you're making to a commercial of charter boat? The
one that isn't getting answered? *might * be because el capitan is out on deck,
up to his arm pits in fish and blood and just doesn't have the TIME to answer
the radio!! Shoot, *I'm* guilty. Sometimes I can't even answer my best buddies
when I'm busy!! ... and often times forget that I had a radio call while I was in
the heat of battle so I don't call back later! :blush: :blush: :blush: Sometimes no answer means they are
in a mess of fish!!
6) If you want somebody to talk to you on the ocean ... get friendly with
'em on the dock. It's amazing to *me* what good buddies I have been able to make
by TALKING to the other boat captains at the dock. ... Or here's a little known
secret ... talk to the deck hand!! If a charter or commercial captain sees you
talking to the deck hand, they will almost always end up being friendly with you (given
time). Heck, share a beer with
the deckie!! They know a lot more than most folks give 'em credit for!!

Just my two cents worth ... take it for what it's worth! I'm off'n
my soap box now.

-assAssin-

[fish assassin]

Pilar,

I took a long time to write the last post (between running jobs) so I didn't
read your post before I posted mine ... so don't get the wrong idea that I
was answering YOUR post. Just kinda looked that way (well ... kinda, sorta).
:grin: :grin: :grin:

-assAssin-

[Mark Mc]

Dan, thanks for another great essay. Funny, the "pad" is used in SF Bay too. Another one you didn't mention is the "layer." When salmon fishing, one fish per rod is a "layer." Later....MM

[fish assassin]

MarkMc,

Layer ... now *that's* a new one!

You know, when I started fishing out of Depoe Bay a couple of years ago I
asked about the numbers the Charter guys were using and one of the deck
hands explained it to me. However, *I* thought they were calling it a "PAT"
all this time!! Just goes to show you how much *I* know!

-assAssin-

[ 09-09-2003, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: fish assassin ]

[seasquid]

Well,

all I can say is when I get into them I make everybody aware on 78. More than once a charter has moved into the area -- no big deal at all. I have seen the Blitz (ATC), the Irish, several other charters appear out of nowhere when I have given out numbers. Good to have the company.

Seasquid will share when he has something worth-while to share. My hour around the 61 spot was fairly unproductive Saturday -- I caught one here and there, but nowhere was real hot for me.

ss

[WP]

I have been reading this thread and thinkin' (something many of my friends think is not a possible task!) Rather than generalize about the discourtious charter and commercial skippers and think of ways to "get even", how about identifying the skippers who ARE willing to help and share? I personally have fished with Mike on the Blitz, I asked if I could run with him as he had a report of tuna in an area, he agreed and I later called him over to some surface fish...both did well. I have had only good experiences with Mike. For Halibut and tuna. The Enterprise was generous with information last week and helped me have a successful day. He was talking to Nancy but made the information known to all who wanted to listen. These guys have not ever shown secretiveness, to me. Are there any others? Lets get the word out on who the "good" ones are!
Dave

[Sea Jypzee]

FA - I agree with you fully on all points. I too have had people calling me on the radio, and been elbow deep in fish blood to be able to respond...then getting the gear back into the water and keeping the boat going in a straight line at the same time. It's easy to forget someone was calling you, or not even hear it at all.

Also, on getting to know the charter operators. I've found that when I take the time to go over and talk with them, go out on a charter or two with them, let them see that you're serious, they'll welcome you to their conversations. I've been on both Tacklebuster multiple times, and Mr. Max both from Depoe Bay. I have had Mr. Max break swell for me on the way back from the Ranch when I was in my Sea Ray before. I've met JT, the skipper of Tacklebuster at Englunds, and exchanged Tuna secrets with him. I've had Jergan and others asking me for SST web pages. Jergan has given me the name/number for the guy who does some of his underwater maintenance on his boat so I could have some work done. I've hired Rick (deckhand) from Enterprise to dive under my boat to check something (before the one Jergan let me know about).

The guys know that I can bring in the fish, sometimes even when they can't. I've had to earn their respect, but in doing so, they have made me feel welcome for the most part.

DBD - Pad is also often referred to as 'hands'. It's the same basic formula though.

[ 09-09-2003, 03:45 PM: Message edited by: Sea Jypzee ]

[fish assassin]

WP,

What a *great* and positive idea!!!! I want to be the first to say that I think
that Ken on the Irish is also extreemly helpful and a *real* gentleman!! When I
started fishing TUNA! out of dopey bay a couple of years ago he kind of took me
under his wing (we were often times the only two boats out there) and both of
us had several opertunites to call each other into TUNA! bites.

Thanks Ken for being such a great guy and helping out a "newbee" like me!!

-assAssin-

PS, Ken is out of Newport and I am out of Depoe Bay. Ken is a Charter fisherman
and I am commercial. Not much of the clique-ish-ness here! (IMHO)

[Born to be Wild]

A layer! Hey, I like that! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Think I'll pass that one on to the charters. Seems easier to me when you are reaching that point. Hey Craig I just about got a layer, what ya got? Well I'm 5 for 1 but released a hump of wild fish, ya know the ones with one too many fins on them. What about you Jeurgan? Well I got a couple o' layers and I'm headed back to the barn! Oh you mean you got the big "L" JT?

[Born to be Wild]

There is a lot of validity to most of these points brought up on this thread. However the main point regarding codes is miss understood I believe.

I don’t recall for sure what the reason for the codes is but believe part of it is that so if one charter is hammering the coho for example and is communicating with the other boats to let them know what is happening the other boat(s) customers won’t be bummed and second guessing whether they are on the right boat or not if they are bitin’ the big one. That does make sense. Some boats consistently catch more than others but any boat can be the hot boat one day and not the next. You wouldn’t want your customers hearing the other boat(s) are killing them when you are struggling. Can make you look undeservingly like you don’t know how to catch fish. Therefore the codes; 5 for 1, 4 for 1, 4 for 3, etc.

Here’s how the code works (I cheated and just called a charter because I couldn’t remember).

First of all the part I was familiar with is a pad which means 5 fish. A hump which means 100 fish therefore a half a hump means 50 fish. 5 for 1 means you need to catch 5 fish to get a pad (5 fish) or in other words you have zero. 4 for 1 means you need to catch 4 fish to get a pad or in other words you have 1 fish. 5 for 2 means you need to catch 5 fish to get 2 pad (10 fish) or in other words you have 5 fish. 4 for 3 means you need to catch 4 fish to get 3 pad (15 fish) or in other words you have 11 fish. The first number is the number needed to get the second number which is a pad (5 fish) or multiple pads. A hump and a half is approx. 150 fish or 3 humps is 300 fish.

Sometimes the brag of a hump of fish on the radio turns out to be closer to 70 fish or so when they pull into the docks.

I heard the reason for the codes years ago but don’t remember the explanation but believe the one above is at least part of it. Another reason possibly is that they didn’t want all the sport boats knowing how well they were doing as to attract all the “trailer sailors” and “kicker boats” to their location and that might have been understandable back in the “glory days” when every thing that floated was out there. Obviously some sport boats don't have a clue and cause problems running over gear or interfereing in other ways.

I don’t fish out there much anymore but when I used to, Loran was the main means of navigation and GPS was relatively new on the scene. Don’t recall them using coded messages for their whereabouts but they might have said something like; “the 720 line in 30 fathoms” which anyone could find with a loran and fathometer. Or 48, 48 (the last two numbers of two different loran lines) which was two crossing numbers on the loran that put you on one of the fairly consistent rockfish spot on GP.

Of course there were those who would be secretive of the spot or certain spots that they were fishing and their radio didn’t seem to transmit on those days.

Of course a lot of places didn’t need loran or GPS numbers announced but simply the name of the reef, i.e. GP, cavalier, the spit, Spanish Head, the casino hole, the ranch, etc.

Some of them might be willing to give up the numbers of a place like the “tug” to you but probably not without knowing you. No sport fisherman or charter would be willing to give up the location for the rose or “compass rose” for it is just a small spot with some very big halibut and only about 19 miles (if I recollect) that can’t withstand the pressure or crowds. They would be shooting themselves in the foot if they were to make those numbers available. The big charters don't fish it because it is not an area that holds the number of fish they need.

Clique-ish? You guys nailed that one and some of them are (even at the dock or around town sometimes).

One thing that really perturbs me is that sometimes they will be right at the helm tied up and will answer a channel clearance for one of their charter brothers coming in but will seldom give channel clearance for a private sport boat.

In my old van I had a CB and would often give channel clearance to charters and sport boats alike entering the channel while I was driving through or parked in the port dock area. Sport and charter boats use both CB21 and/or VFH 80 here in Depoe. Pretty selfish I think but I guess if you’re too busy for the sport boats… I have also informed boats hundreds of times from my boat or others that it was clear to enter or come out of Depoe to ease their minds.

As I have pointed out on numerous threads on ifish, there are the good guys and some that have a lot to be desired.

I have never fished with Mike but like what I read about him and what he has posted. I have never read about a complaint against him. I hope he is handling wild coho in a responsible manner.

As far as the rest goes there are some of them that have problems they need to deal with.

1. The running of overly rough or hazardous bars which can and often times does include running a trip when the ocean is forecast to build to dangerous conditions. (We’ve already discussed this on multiple threads).

2. The irresponsible handling of wild coho out there in the salt (which coincides with #3).

3. Charter boat biology.

When I hear one of my favorite charter boat captains tell customer after customer referring to the non fin clipped coho as “so called” wild fish I’m sure he is not winning points with some of his customers. A lot of fishermen are well read on the subject and some know from there freshwater fishing experience that these are not “so called”.

There is presently taking plac some very expensive DNA testing on both Oregon and Washington hatchery and wild coho and when the test results are out the charters are finally going to have to suck up and get with the program.

Of course most of the charter boat captains biology is a lot more embarrassing than the example I just gave. Some of the ifisher’s that I fished with this summer got a taste of charter boat biology on VHF 80 and it was pretty pathetic. I seen at least one of them (charter boat) is coming around but was being hampered by “pier pressure” from his charter boat buddies. This barbershop biology or café science as I like to call it translates into the irresponsible handling of wild coho and thus many complaints against the charters in recent years. Not to mention killing and wasting our very valuable wild coho that benefit us and the charters both.

I will email Mike today a brand new report that is out on DNA testing on three species of Clackamas steelhead (hatchery summers and winters and wild native winters) that also identifies the progeny or smolts from all three different species and the detrimental effects they had on the Clackamas wild winter steelhead. Maybe he can read the report that is very clear and pass it on to his co-workers. I have ran into some of the skipper’s from his office over the years at meetings and these guys think they know it all and in fact don’t have a clue. They are pretty embarrassing. And Mike, I’m not talking about Robby.

I will post a summary of this very interesting and informative report on the community forum today and offer to email the report itself to anyone wanting to read it. It is in pdf format and is copy right protected so that is the only way I can do it. It is not presently on a website. Yet.

My hopes in the off season is that the charters will get together and get it figured out now that they have had so many complaints here and elsewhere. They are not producing a very good public image amongst a lot of fishermen. Maybe as they start to rub the docks more and more they will realize that public image and repeat business is very valuable to them. Some already do and some don’t seem to care and the buck stops there.

Dan

[fish assassin]

Was out TUNA! fishing on Saturday out of Depoe Bay. Enterprise and I left
port about the same time and were fishing/talking to each other all morning.
I heard the Ifish crowd talking about getting into fish at the "61" spot and
then heard one of the charter captains come back and ask just where the "61
spot" was. Dead silence.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was as guilty as any ... I KNEW the numbers for
the "61 degrees spot" but didn't come back with the info, either! I figured
it wasn't my bite so I shouldn't be directing anybody else to the spot!

I had five fish. Dave on the Enterprise had 3 fish. Many of the Ifishers that
were in at the 61 degrees spot were "putting us in the bag" with higher numbers.

Dave and I were fishing a considerable number of miles outside youse guys!!
I called Dave at one point and gave him the numbers for where I had just
had four fish on. I went back over the spot several times with no more
hookups. I moved off the spot and Dave came out into the same general area
and found jumpers. He called me on Channel 78 and let me know they were there.
He also called on CB channel 34 and let the charter boats out there know
where they were.

I saw MANY sport boats, including several Ifishers , respond to that call.
The area got SOOOOO crowded that the fish sounded and the bite turned off.

Now, if Dave (a charter boat Captain) had kept his mouth shut he probably would
have caught more fish and certainly more fish than I did for the day. My point
being, be careful! Several of the charter boat Captains out of Depoe Bay lurk
here. If you want to *REALLY* drive a wedge between the fishermen out there
searching for TUNA!, then go ahead with your plans of excluding a whole class of
fishermen. I'm sure it will help a lot to get *NO* reports from the Cahrter Fleet!
(IMHO) Remember, even a report of NO fish helps you!! At least that way
you will know where NOT to go!

One other thing ... when somebody gives you numbers of where the fish are,
it is polite to fish NEAR the numbers, but not right ON the numbers. Too
many boats in an area will effectivley KILL a bite! (again, IMHO)

-assAssin-

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

Now I like how this thread is going. Very positive!

I think you will find that most the charter boat captains have nothing to hide but are careful about who they may be inviting to a spot. As far as I'm concerned about tuna, the more help there is out there locating them, the better we all are. Some guys are just afraid if they give out a spot that they will be overwhelmed by boats that will actually force him off his spot.

I think the ifishers have a much better appreciation for what is going on out there because I have seen nothing but courtesy on their parts. Several times I have given out a location of fish and have had ifisher arrive on scene to help out. They stayed in their circle and I stayed in mine. It works great!

The problem charter boat captains are having is that they don't know you and don't know how you will work a spot. So they tend to keep quiet.

But then again, I know some captains who don't even cooperate with other captains. They are the ones who are quiet when they are catching fish, but whine like new born when they aren't catching and want your help.

So the point is, get to know those who will work with you and the world should be fine.

FYI the boats I can share info with are;

Misty, Black Rocket, Kadaho, Irish, Ms. Raven, Sea Pirate, Ilwaco Indian, Enterprise, Pastime II, Tacklebuster and Surfrider. Others I have to coax with exchange gifts. So the private boats are not alone in their frustration.

For those who think they need to protect their numbers on tuna fish, I can only remind them that tuna are here now, gone later and there is no mother lode area that will produce continuously. I will help anyone because like I said, we all are scouts for each other and cooperation ensures success all around.

[fish assassin]

Blitz,

If'n you ever need anything or any info, feel free to give me a shout! I'm
always willing to share!

-assAssin- (aka: Pacific Mistress)

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

One clarification on boats cooperating.

Many of the charter boats that don't seem to be cooperating or not giving out info are being run by guys who are working the deck with their mates. They don't hear every transmission on the radio and this should be understood. And I don't work with all the boats in Depoe Bay all the time so any exclusion of them on my previous post was not because they don't share.

I heard a conversation between two boats the other day about a good bite. I got into the conversation at the end and put in my two cents. Shortly afterwards, someone called asking about that info. It wasn't mine to give out so I waited for one of the other boats to pick up. They didn't so I reached for my mic to give the info and before I could press the button, the person calling came out with a "**** you guys!" Now this response was in reaction to the private boater feeling he was ignored. Understandable but not very professional.

And the point is, we don't know what is going on on the other boats so be a little understanding. The radio is in the wheelhouse on the larger boats and the captain may be on the back deck or talking to a customer or listening to another radio or talking on the phone or dealing with who knows what. I have five radios on my boat that I'm constantly monitoring for information and I may not get right back to you. Imagine how hard it is to pull in a fish and talk on the radio at the same time. Magnify that a bit. :grin:

[Pilar]

Good points, Mike about being busy on the water. I guess I had a gut reaction to the comments heard on the beach at Depoe Bay. That is like 3rd or 4th hand info at this point so it may not deserve much credence.

Having said that there is more to it than the radio. Sorry for being so negative. From now on I will not be so quick to just read off numbers to guys I do not know. If you really want to know and want the real poop call on the cell phone and I will be happy to help. It works most everywhere out to the Rockpile but not out at the tuna grounds. Also you can reduce your power settings and go to 1 or 5 watts so you are not lighting up the whole fleet up to 25 miles away.

The one way aspect of the people who do not share bothers me and I guess I will keep it to myself.

[Miss B Haven]

ATC- I agree with you 100%. I have a good relationship with several Charters out of the CR but they don't always answer. Between working the boat and fish and the fact that the radio is so cluttered up with chit chat (open mikes are all to common as well and that gets the radios shut off or stations changed or scanners off).

If you get to know these guys and share with them first they will help you out too.

You cant expect to just call out on the radio and say "hey hows the fishing at so and so" or "where is the bite" and expect any answer except a smart one or a lie. If you give your call sign and ask someone directly and they don't answer they may be busy. If they don't know you why should they tell you any secrets. If you broadcast openly then expect the world to show up. They have every right.
PS- radio fish are REALLY easy to catch. Personally I don't believe ANY radio broadcast about where the fishing is hot unless I know the person and it's first hand to me. Radio info is just like WEB info. It's only as reliable as it's source, listener beware! :grin:

[Gregotis98]

I don't really understand how someone that hasn't been using ch.78 in the past would now be upset if they have boats run to the their bite. I feel used.