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plumbertom
04-13-2007, 10:05 AM
Sorry this report is so late but I was out of town for the last week and didn't have time to post it before I left.
It stiil may contain some useful information.

My friend and fishing buddy Joe wanted some Rock fish for his freezer so I called Channel Islands sport fishing to get reservations for the two of us on board the Sun Rise for a day trip.
Joe drove from Riverside to my house in the West end of the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday afternoon and spent the night so we just had the short drive to Oxnard at 2AM to make the 3AM check in for the 4AM departure time.
The landing opened at 3AM and I got us signed in. They allowed a $6 senor discount off the $65 fare so that was nice considering both Joe and I are over 55.
Shortly before departure time the Captain informed us that the Sun Rise was taken out of service for repairs and we would be aboard the Cobra for the day.
Having never been on the Cobra I asked about bunks and was informed that the cobra does not have bunks. Now, one of the reasons I like the Sun Rise is being disabled, I normally need to lie down sometime during the day to rest my back in order to avoid pain.
But seeing how Joe had come all the way from his house and we had made the effort to get there at that hour of the morning we decided to go ahead with the trip.
What we were not aware of was the fact that the Cobra is a smaller boat than the Sun Rise and the is practically no place to sit down on board except the engine hatch cover and a very small bench below deck. Not ideal conditions for someone with a weak back.
Fortunately the seas were calm and the boat rode well out to the fishing grounds. Also the way the deck rail is positioned on the Cobra it is more comfortable to fish from than the Sun Rise that has a rail that leans out from the deck making it tiresome to fish as when leaning on the rail you are standing at an awkward angle.
On the up side of the day trip, the rock fish were more than willing biters on my Berkley Gulp blood red mullets, all Joe and I fished with all day tipped with a little cut squid.
We both limited on a mixed bag of rock fish although the fish were slightly on the small side.
We also both got limits of nice sized sculpin to add to our bags and Joe got one white fish while I boated three.
There were a couple of legal ling cod boated although one of them looked to me as if it had to be stretched a little. Myself the only ling I caught that day was about 12" so it went back in the water to grow for a later day.
Joe and I were the only limits on board, we were also the only ones fishing with Gulp.
On the trip back I ended up having to lie down in the floor below deck in order to rest my back, fortunately the other anglers on board seemed to understand my need and were careful not to step on me.
Overall I would say it was a decent trip, however the landing should have told us the boat we wanted was not available so we could have made the decision of whether or not to go before we were ready to embark. I feel this was somewhat unfair of them. So, if you plan a trip out of Channel Islands make sure to question them about what they are offering for your money before making the trip there.

ghetto dad
04-13-2007, 01:22 PM
Sorry about your trip man, but like with all landings ( I work at one part time) they have the right to substitute boats when needed. Now, if you called them to make resies for the boat you wanted to fish, and they KNEW it was going to be substituted, then thats wrong..but i dont know if thats what happened....landings generally wont do this for this reason....its like i tell passengers all the time, when they are upset cuzz a captain "stayed too long on this spot" or "he moved too much" I ask them if any of this would have been a problem if they would have slayed fish? The answer is usually no....its a 50-50 shot, ya know....just like im sure if you would have gotten the independence in place of your boat, there would be no problem...lol....once again, sorry about your experience, i hate uncomfortable boats myself...hopefully, that wont happen to you again...peace!! :D

ghetto dad
04-13-2007, 01:24 PM
i just saw on your report, sorry, that you didnt know about the substitution when you purchased the ticket!!! That is unfair....unless, that morning while getting the boat fired up, they started having mechanical difficulties and decided to repair the problem....but if thats not the case, thats wrong.........peace...

plumbertom
04-13-2007, 03:01 PM
Although my hearing is far from the best I believe they said that the boat had been offline since the day before.
I don't blame the landings for last minute substitutions when an unforeseen breakdown occurs. Usually I'm glad the trip does not get canceled, I've had that happen.
But I am under the impression from what was said that this was not the case.
I was satisfied with the trip overall it was just extremely tiring for me due to the nature of my disability.
The Captain and crew worked hard to make up for the situation and they did put us on the fish. I believe I mentioned that the Cobra is more comfortable while fishing than the Sun Rise, I just have a little special need when fishing and I want to caution those that are going out to make sure if they have such needs that they make sure they can be met.

victor101
04-13-2007, 03:21 PM
good job on the gulp. ive caught my limits on the gulp squid. that stuff works great...and you dont have to keep rebaiting either.

JapanRon
04-13-2007, 06:19 PM
Hi PlumberTom,

You just got it straight from the horse's mouth. There is no more dedicated and able guy behind the 'office' ticket counter and super 'customer service' than Ghetto Dad and he's seen it all !! I've actually gotten calls from him notifying me of a boats unexpectedly going off-line.

If you did all there is to do ... leave your contact number when you made a reservation and all that and there was a no-go decision in the office by a decent hour the night before, you should have been notified.

I'm almost a believer in a machines ability to keep on running until it's shut down and then there is 'discovery' of a problem when attempting to restart the thing again. The next time the boat is fired up.

Ok ......... back to topic with a constructive comment. I have a buddy who fishes the boats in a wheelchair. He has his ownlittle self-contained world with the chair. I myself have carried a folding chair on board some of the smaller boats and 'camped out' on the deck during long rides and no bunks!!

Suggestion:
I don't know if a reclining camp chair/chase-lounge would be a sure winner for you but it might allow you to fish boats that you have hereto not ridden because of your back problems not being accomodated. The models I saw were light weight and could be adjusted to all different angles ... with independant foot rests and the whole bit.

Good luck,

JapanRon

plumbertom
04-13-2007, 08:33 PM
Normally I dont ride the short trip boats unless I am going with someone else. I select boats that offer bunks just for the reasons mentioned.
If it wasn't for my back problems I would take my own boat(24' Wellcraft with a walkaround cutty cabin) and go on my own.
I soon hope to be strong enough to do so.
Also if you've never been on the Cobra I'll tell you, there is very little deck space to set up a folding chair other than a small stool and that would do me very little good

ghetto dad
04-13-2007, 09:33 PM
Hi PlumberTom,

You just got it straight from the horse's mouth. There is no more dedicated and able guy behind the 'office' ticket counter and super 'customer service' than Ghetto Dad and he's seen it all !! I've actually gotten calls from him notifying me of a boats unexpectedly going off-line.

If you did all there is to do ... leave your contact number when you made a reservation and all that and there was a no-go decision in the office by a decent hour the night before, you should have been notified.

I'm almost a believer in a machines ability to keep on running until it's shut down and then there is 'discovery' of a problem when attempting to restart the thing again. The next time the boat is fired up.

Ok ......... back to topic with a constructive comment. I have a buddy who fishes the boats in a wheelchair. He has his ownlittle self-contained world with the chair. I myself have carried a folding chair on board some of the smaller boats and 'camped out' on the deck during long rides and no bunks!!

Suggestion:
I don't know if a reclining camp chair/chase-lounge would be a sure winner for you but it might allow you to fish boats that you have hereto not ridden because of your back problems not being accomodated. The models I saw were light weight and could be adjusted to all different angles ... with independant foot rests and the whole bit.

Good luck,

JapanRon


awwwww, thanks ron!! You know, you are nicer to me than my wife is!!! Hit me up this summer Ron, when things start to get going.......take care....