Davey's locker questions, first timers

[TheMightyGerbil]

So hubby and I are doing our first saltwater attempt on a twilight tomorrow night. I have been trying to call DL's with a few questions today but nobody is picking up, sooo...

Anyone know if we can bring a small styrofoam cooler on board with some drinks and snacks in it? I have some food allergies and may not be able to make do with what is offered on board. (and I shouldn't just go snack-less since I'm pregnant and prone to low blood sugar at times.) Cooler would have ice too of course, figured we could take any fish fillets home in it afterward if we catch anything worth keeping to eat.

Gunny sacks: can we bring our own or is the $2 sack fee a requirement? I have a couple of large clean gunny sacks that look identical to the ones I've seen on DL boat pics. Won't bother to bring them along if we have to pay the sack fee either way.

Can I clean/fillet my own fish on board during the trip back or is it 'pay per fish to have them done or take them home as-is?' I have a good boning knife and have always done it myself, in my preferred style. Learned from a chef and I can do a near professional job if I don't say so myself. :p I've heard about paying passengers getting dirty looks from deckhands for doing stuff like that themselves and thus costing said deckhands those dollar bills for cleaning. (Though if we get any keeper sculpin I may have them clean those for me since I'd rather not chance a sting while pregnant. Probably harmless to the baby but ya never know.)

How are deckhands about helping saltwater newbs with rigging - honestly? I'm seeing very mixed opinions on yelp and whatnot. I know how to do a very basic dropper loop from my days fishing off HB pier as a teen but that's about as far as my knowhow goes. Are these guys *really* going to be amiable about helping me with these details? Though I expect being young and female might help LOL! (Granted, a married and 7 months pregnant female, but still ; p) With rigs I usually only need one demonstration and I'm fine with tying knots. They paint a rosy picture when you get them on the phone but with reviews being so mixed I would rather hear some first-hand experiences from here. This seems to be one of those places where you are told one thing on the phone and get a very different story or response once you are actually on the water, kwim?

aaaand lastly do they sell single doses of nondrowsy dramamine in the shop, prior to boarding? Neither of us is accustomed to sea travel so I expect to get a little green at some point. At any rate I'd rather not buy a whole box of the stuff beforehand since we won't be back on the water until next summer at the earliest.

I think that's it. Any other advice is welcome.

[sodapop]

You can bring a cooler just as long as there is no alcohol in it.

Pretty sure you can bring your own gunny sacks.

Only the crew dies it on boat, you have to wait till you get home

Deckhands will help out newbs, they will go out of their way to do everything for you

Only packs of dramamine are sold, make sure you take some

[youngfish]

coolers arent allowed on open party sport boats...do you bring your own food and drink to a restaurant? And passengers aren't even supposed to have knifes on sports boats, let alone fillet fish with them on the boat. those huys are trying to run a bussiness

[bassyakker]

No coolers, no knives. I'm sure you can bring your own water/drinks. Perhaps tip the deckies beforehand and let them know you'll need some help.

[jaggerbub]

No u cant bring a big cooler on board. You can pack a lunch and snacks to throw it in your bag. As far as cleaning your fish, you cannot do it on the boat. If you slip while the boat is rollin', they don't want to be liable. It's better to let them clean your fish. But if you really want to clean your own fish, you can take them home in the gunny sac. It doesn't hurt to tip the guys either. I usually drop an extra $20 in the bucket for a 1/2 or 3/4 trip after paying for the fish cleaning. The deckhands work their butts off to make your trip enjoyable. As far as the gunny sac goes, it's better to just pay for the sac. They will give u a number to tell them which sac is yours when u get a fish. That number also becomes your tab for the galley.

[lucky1]

I've been on 2 trips out of Davey' Locker on the Freelance over the past 12mos. I took a small lunch sized cooler with food and drinks in it. I saw people with larger coolers than that on the boat wth us. They will charge you for the gunney sac even if you have your own, and there's a fuel surcharge.
I don't think you can clean your own fish on board.
The crew on both trips were very helpful with rigging and tangles.
I prefer the Sea-Band wrist band to the pills, it uses pressure against your arm to help with motion sickness. I tried taking Zantac too last time, to control the acid level in my stomach.

[OC ANGLER]

No coolers allowed.... If you want to bring snacks and drinks I recommend getting one of those cooler bags you can buy from the market for 2-3 bucks and just throw a ice pack in there and toss in a backpack . This is what I do anytime I do a sea trip.. Works real well

Gunny sacks are supplied so do not bring your own ....

You can either have the deckhands filler your fish and they will bag it for you or you can take fish as is and filler yourself at home.

As far as the deckhands every trip I've ever been on they have always been extremely helpful in any way they can just remember to be patient as there usually is only a couple guys and they are trying to help 40-70 people at times. A chunk of there pay comes from tips so it's in there best interest to be helpful to the customers :)

And lastly the dramamine.... Although they do sale some at the shop where you check in before you get on the boat I would recommend stopping by riteaid and picking up a pack... It's cheaper and they only come in like packs of like 8 or something so it's not like your getting a bottle full. Also get the riteaid brand as it works just as good as the name brand! And make sure to take it a hour or so before you get on the boat and you'll be good to go.

HAVE FUN!

[CraigH]

I agree with bringing a small, soft cooler in your backpack / tackle bag. I haven't fished Davey's Locker in years, but I do fish Dana Wharf and the San Diego landings and none of them will allow hard coolers on the boat. A twilight is only a four or five hour trip. The galley will have burgers, maybe grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, candy/snacks, drinks, and bottled water.

I'd let the deckhand know you are newbies at the start of the trip and slip him/her $5 up front rather than wait till the end of the trip to tip. If the service was real good you can put more in the tip jar at the end.

As already mentioned, due to safety issues you are not allowed to clean fish on the boat. Most boats don't have a permanent fish cleaning area, but use a table top that is put on the bait tank and rail at the end of the trip so the deckhands can clean the fish. I've taken whole fish home in the gunny sack on daytime trips, but I always pay to have the fish cleaned on a twilight. The boat gets back at 10:00 at night (or thereabouts) and you still have a drive home. I have an hour and a half drive home and really don't want to clean fish when I get home.

Good luck, and don't forget to dress in layers. It can get chilly quick on the open ocean when the sun goes down. I was on a twilight a few weeks ago where they parents didn't bring any jackets for their kids and the whole family stopped fishing and moved to the galley as soon as the sun went down.