Full day Sun. 9/18 - Why I will NEVER fish the Malihini again

[TJBertram]

So some think I have a bone to pick because I didn't catch fish. I've been fishing for 40 years and if I didn't enjoy my time out in the water regardless of catching or not catching fish, I would have quick years ago. I went 0-4 last year on bluefin trips on boats like the Pacifica and the San Diego. Believe me that every single time, I came back one happy angler - those guys get it and they work hard to make try to give everybody the best shot at catching fish. Because of that, I try to be generous with my tips because that's what it's all about.

But leaving the dock 40min late, saying some BS excuse, "we are waiting for one more passenger to check-in" and then leaving fish biting so you can be inside Pt. Loma by 5pm makes it clear that passenger satisfaction is not the priority.

Btw, I love these forums - keep the convo going!

 

[TJBertram]

About the running out of bait.

I charter the boats a lot. 5 times in the last 5 weeks, San Diego, Liberty, New Seaforth Mission Belle. We run out of bait on the San Diego and no one complained. I know Matt very well. He told me the fish are so close to home that they are fishing by 7am and not 9am or later so they are throwing bait, and lots of it to get the tuna to come to the boat at least two hours sooner than normal. The sooner you start scooping, the faster you will run out of bait.

The Malahini has been around for a long time. It was running when I was a kid in the 70's and has taken a lot of people fishing. And continues to do so. It is unfortunate that you had a bad trip but that happens sometimes. You were unhappy and might have been looking for a few faults to pile on. Lick your wounds and get ready for the next trip. Good luck on your next voyage!

Thanks for the comment, but FYI, we didn't dump bait on any school so bait should not have been an issue, especially since we got to the zone at around 9am and left at 3pm.
About licking my wounds, maybe not, I've been very lucky this year with BFT so eventually I had to pay the tuna gods LoL

 

[TJBertram]

A blind troll strike is a troll bite you didn't see coming aka no birds or surface signal or sonar school. Doesn't matter how many rods go off. Doesn't sound like any of it responded to bait and OP said they were running out of bait so doesn't sound like they had any chance of getting a school to stick to the boat.

Why stay out late to troll 3 rods at a time for 20+ customers and no bait

Why? Because you owed your customers 40min of fishing time. There was plenty of time to still catch some more on the troll. If you get multiple hoookups within 30min in the same zone, I'm going to venture that there was more fish to catch. If we would have left on time, I could be understandable if we returned right as scheduled.
I've never gotten home so early on a full-day ever - and especially not on one that left at close to 615am.

At least this is my opinion and if this ok, totally cool. Thankfully, lots of other choices for people like me that have higher service expectations...

 

[TJBertram]

I've said before and I'll say it again. The malihini is one horrible operation.

Agree 100%! It's the bad fishing days when you get to see how good an operation is run. On a wide open day, anybody can be "good".

 

[TJBertram]

I stopped reading at this point

That's why I don't write for a living! 🤣

 

[salt-shaker]

Agree and tried to mention that this has nothing to do with catching fish - I've been fishing for 40 years and know all too well that fishing is all about good, magical and terrible days. It's all about trying to make right with your paying customers, to the best what you can control....

3. You don't care the majority of the 30 passengers (me included), going home with no fish

This was the statement that threw me off. I'm pretty sure once the operation is on the water fishing, that they do care if their patrons go home with fish. It's not something they can control, even if they were on the water for 12 hours with more than enough bait.
Enough said (from my end).

 

[Bradyxxx]

Fish the “San Diego”
Professionally run high quality operation!!
Dedicated to customer satisfaction by doing whatever it takes to find you the most fish!!
No, I do not have any affiliation with them. Just want to spread some good info.
about a very well run boat!

 

[chachi10]

So they waited bc a paying customer was late? That happens all the time and the crew is always annoyed by it. That's why fishing open party sucks, bc youre forced to share the boat with people who suck. Take your frustration out on the late guy who cost you 40 min, not the boat.

 

[Bend Session]

 

[ci_seawolf]

Tuna fishing, and bluefin especially can be frustrating. I agree about the late comers delaying the departure. What we try to tell everyone is “don’t be that guy”. Not easy for newbies or rent rod folks to understand but the skipper should leave even if everyone isn’t there. Of course if they are still collecting fares, you can see why they would wait.

 

[jose caballero]

If they were scheduled to be back by 5, they kinda have to be back by 5. did they come in EARLY, or just failed to stay late as compensation for the late start?

the boats have carefully orchestrated entry/exit windows, and if they cause congestion or miss their windows, I believe the harbor/landings levy fines. I assume someone will know how this works better than I do, but perhaps, they had to leave to insure they'd make their arrival window?

sometimes the weather can affect things. either leaving early to miss a cross-wind coming offshore, or maybe leaving at a reasonable time but encountering less swell and arriving earlier... is it possible weather was involved?

leaving late happens happens for so many legitimate reasons, but personally, waiting for a customer beyond the listed departure time seems kinda lame... especially on a one-day, where the hours are already so precious. I've boarded at 5.59 for a 6pm, and felt terrible, but I also fully expected them to leave without me, even though I'd been touch with the landing and had been texting with the captain. I've been on a charter where we waited a few minutes for a charter member, but the charter master asked us if we wanted to be kind, and we all said "well... we can wait a FEW minutes..." but again, on a 1day I'd be a little chapped to waste 40min for one passenger (and I have to believe that person would understand).

for one of my homies, on my boat, we can decide on the fly (which has threatened my marriage more times than I care to admit, since we ALL want to keep fishing when the fish start biting). but a professional operation, with so many mixed liabilities, probably can not afford to be late some times. for all we know, another passenger had to catch a flight, or a crew member had to jump onto another trip, or who knows...?

 

[plj46]

Types all that and then says "there are no bad days out on the water" I guess the food must have been good,there was no complaint about it.

 

[caballo del mar]

I’ve been on full day trips that came back at 10:00 at night.

 

[sealskinner]

Nobody gave the capt a reacharound??

 

[plj46]

With only 5 troll fish at the end of a long day I would have been thankful we didn't stay out for a couple more troll fish.

 

[warlord]

I haven’t fished the Malahini since the’70’s. It’s a shame that an operation would operate in a manner that’s not customer oriented because that’s that key to continuity. Poor customer service equals new owners!

 

[rodrage]

Buy a boat. Then you’ll really have something to bitch about!

 

[jer dog]

Buy a boat. Then you’ll really have something to bitch about!

And this way you can leave when you want,
And bring as much Bait as you need.

 

[MATTANZA]

too bad, the malahini used to be a great boat, manny is probably rolling in his grave.

 

[Day0ne]

Where I come from, the boats don't wait for the passengers. Be on time or don't go, no refunds either way.

 

[Hustler]

No shit, I was thinking the same thing.
It's not as easy as guys think - finding fish, getting 'em to bite, and on and on...
When you fish the cattle boats, you get what you get - stop your sniveling

Buy a boat. Then you’ll really have something to bitch about!

 

[jer dog]

Where I come from, the boats don't wait for the passengers. Be on time or don't go, no refunds either way.

The tornado will wait for people to, it’s all about $$$$

 

[kzaam1]

Thanks for the comment, but if not catching fish (especially BFT and YFT) made me unhappy or frustrated, I would have quit fishing 30 years ago. My post was all about trying to make it right when you left 40min late - 40min that passengers paid money for to be in the fishing zone.

Well, you know, sometimes it's an one hour run to the grounds. Sometimes it's a 2 hour run to the grounds. Sometimes the boat drives around for 3 or 4 or 5 hours looking for the fish.

Agree that it's not great that the boat left 40 mins late but sometimes it happens. Sometimes it's actually one of the passengers' fault and the boat tries to be as nice as possible and wait for the passenger.

 

[salt-shaker]

With only 5 troll fish at the end of a long day I would have been thankful we didn't stay out for a couple more troll fish.

11 dorado and 1 yellowtail plus the 5 tuna. I’ve seen worse counts. Just a tough day.

 

[mrkrabs]