Bad day Channel Islands 11/13/2007

[fish ballz]

Headed out on 3/4 day aboard the Gentleman. Had a good day fishing, but overall a bad day because of the following:

-Their website advertises: Gentleman departs: 6:00 AM Returns: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Type of fishing: 3/4 Day Freelance(1)
Boat left at 0630 and returned at 1427
Per an anonymous person working aboard the boat, we were returning early because the boat wasn't even supposed to go out due to lack of people.
In my opinion, I would rather have had the trip cancelled and saved my $55 than have the trip cut short because the boat operators didn't make the money they wanted for the time they were "supposed" to put into allowing their customers to get what they paid for.
Per the captain himself, "We gotta leave because we aren't even supposed to be here. If we get caught here, we would all get arrested."
WTF! I'm not familiar with where we are and aren't supposed to be fishing around the Channel Islands - I trust that a sport fishing company would be following DFG regulations at ALL TIMES! Had I known we were fishing in an alleged no fishing area, I would never have dropped a line.

-One of the last fish caught was a really big cowcod. Per DFG website, cowcod is off limits in all areas all year(2). In the confusion of the boat leaving early and rallying everyone up for jackpot, the deckhands decided to hide the fish in one of their coolers and fileted it first - I'm not too sure where he put it or who took it home. The person who caught it said he thought they threw it back and didn't see them filet it. He said that he was disappointed and that he wouldn't have his fish cleaned.

-Deadhead won JP with a lingcod against my GINORMOUS whitefish that fought like a YT and was bigger than the 4 other lings that were caught.

-The captain was asking people if they had their fish cleaned and asked, "you know how this works, right?" in reference to the fact that the crew gets most of their money by having their fish cleaned. To those who didn't have their fish cleaned and aknowledged that they knew "how this works," the captain said, "That's fuc**d up!"
What does this guy think is gonna happen when none of his customers are happy with the fact that we were all going home early!?

-The counts that that they listed were WAY wrong. The report says: Gentleman 3/4 Day - 13 anglers - 3 Sheephead, 6 Lingcod, 46 Whitefish, 130 Rockfish (3)
There were 18 anglers, 3 sheephead, 5 lings, maybe 46 whitefish, and nowhere near 130 rockfish.

So everybody left all pissed off, including myself! I can say for sure that I will never fish Channel Islands sport fishing again! GRRRRRRR!!!

References:
(1)Oxnard Sport Fishing Channel Island Sport Fishing Charter Fishing Boat Fishing Party Boat Sport Fishing Charter Boat Sport Fishing Charters Overnight Fishing Charters Freelance Fishing Trips
(2)http://dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceanfish2007.pdf
(3)Channel Islands Sportfishing Center - Oxnard, CA

[victor101]

wow man...thanks for the report! i was thinking about planning an overnighter on the seabiscuit but now i am having second thoughts.....

[one_leg]

Wow, a real eye opener!!

Sorry for you, Bro.

One_Leg

[FishNChipz]

ya man that sucks sorry to hear about that. I dont know why but some landings have real jerks for captians and deckhands. You would think they'd be cool cause we give them $$$.. again sorry about that. better luck with someone else.

[chris]

wow channel island sportfishing messed up again
what do you do? ask to ride again? not
i heard the place across the harbor is allright that
where i'm going to try next or port huenume

[JapanRon]

Hi fish ballz,

Good report no ........ excelent! Their count shows that they got limits .... of Rockfish thus the justification for leaving early in my opinion. Not agreeing ......... just an observation.

Gentleman ... that's the name of the boat ....... not who's running it!! Cowcod ?! Fishing in an MPLA ?! Now you've really got me wondering!!

Hope you got the name of the skipper .... very important point to me.

JapanRon

[Tail Chaser]

Total bum deal on the early return. Once youve burnt the fuel getting out there, Might as well stay the duration. Lots of fishing spots at the islands,and on the way back to the harbor.
Seems there is a lot of cattle boats that really suck big time.

[jplee3]

Hey bro. Thanks for the report and sorry for the bad experience :( I went out on the Gentleman not too long ago and it wasn't as bad as what you went through :( The fishing wasn't too great when I went out but the crew seemed OK. They did cut us short on time though also - we left at like 7 or 7:30 and came back at 3pm or 4pm or so, so I really wasn't happy with that :roll:

Do you remember any of the deckhands' or the captain's names? Anyway, CI Sportfishing has been pushed down another rung on the ladder of my "places to fish" list :( I wasn't planning to go back anytime soon though.

[plumbertom]

I also have had disappointing trips with CISC of Oxnard. every thing from last minute switching of boats for one unsuited to my needs to Cancellation of charters so close to departure time that some people could not be informed to prevent them from driving to the landing. Short time on their trips seems to be becoming the norm for their boats. (See my previous posts on this forum.)
I have been impressed with Captain Hook's Sportfishing and their willingness to go to extra effort for customer service. I called them in desperation after CISC of O cancelled a charter and they made a try to find me a boat that could accommodate our party. I have switched my patronage to them for most trips and will continue to do so. I am glad to see they have a overnight boat now and just hope they get one that stays year round as the Pacific Dawn moves to San Diego for the summer fishing season.

[christainmetalhead909]

sorry to hear about the bad experience, but at least you caught a big whitefish. lets see it, any pics?

[ironshrimp]

K guys....I'll mention it one last time...STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM CHANNEL ISLANDS SPORTFISHING....one of the WORST operations out there...every experience I've had with them was sketchy to say the least....the guys that run the operation are without scruples or class....stick with Captain Hooks..they know the meaning of customer service and are all around decent folk...'nuff said!

[hakaveli]

thanx for the heads up im headed up there in a few weeks so im going to captain hook on the island spirt or the aloha spirit

[Airborn805]

I agree with Iron shrimp. I grew up fishing out of Cisco's for 20 years. And it used to be great. Up to about 5 years ago their customer service has gone to s%#t. It's a great thing that Captain hooks came in to fill the void. I believe the owner is named Jeff, He does everything possible to take care of his customers. We went down during the weekday in early fall and the number of people that showed up didn't warrant the boat going out. But since my buddy was from out of town and another couple was from out of town, he kept his promise and we went out. There was 8 of us on a 35 foot boat. And it turned out to be an awesome day. I'm now a loyal captain hooks customer.

[Cangler]

Why anyone would go on that boat after all the
bad rap it gets along with CIH Sportfishing is beyond belief !

Captain Hooks rocks ! ...

[b20monster]

sorry to hear about the cr@ppy day. next time, make sure you go out with a lot of friends. the good company will make up for the bad fishing.

[ghetto dad]

sorry to hear about the cr@ppy day. next time, make sure you go out with a lot of friends. the good company will make up for the bad fishing.

or lack of good fishermen...

[one_leg]

Sounds like he should go out with the BBFNN/NBU.

[SanDimasLMB]

There has been numerous reports of the Gentleman's crew F'ing up. I can't believe this though, the crew still manages to do this stuff.


Channel Islands Sportfishing itself isn't bad (like the Sea Jay) but it seem to me that just the Gentleman is bad.

Sorry to hear about the stuff you had to go through.

[Wildhorse1966]

another bad report on the gentlemen..... Moo Moo's that treat people like this are the reason i dont ride them anymore ... i would rather take my own boat out or rent a skiff in newport harbor

[ghetto dad]

funny thing is, i have been on sportboats since i was 12, and i think MAYBE i have only had a FEW bad trips like this.....where the hell are you guys fishing...

[Rich and Noah]

Guys,

I had the same experience back in May-Jun when the squid were running. Same landing, different boat. The boat was either the Aloha Spirit or Island Spirit, and they screwed the entire boat which was a charter of all things. I wish i could find my old post.

In any case, the deckhands were all young and dumb, and the skipper didn't have a clue. They never paid the guy who won the JP and offered a free trip of all things. The fillet cost was so much that by the end of the trip, I spent too much. The only reason I went there in the first place was due to the charter. Bum deal.

Since then, I shyed away from cattleboats thanks to my frined who PBs it. I did go on a FNN friendly trip out of Berth 55 (I call it Queens Wharf) and was plesantly surprised- great crew!

Take care! Watch for the d-head boats.... :mrgreen:

[Mike K.]

Chanel Islands sucks. Time and time again, that's all I hear.

Next time have fun when you pay to fish, ride Coloroma.

Much different experience. Believe me. You'll be much happier.

[SanDimasLMB]

Chanel Islands sucks. Time and time again, that's all I hear.

Next time have fun when you pay to fish, ride Coloroma.

Much different experience. Believe me. You'll be much happier.


Channels Islands Sportfishing does not suck. There have been numerous reports about the Gentleman sucking but not any other boats from Channel Islands Sportfishing. Please, think before you comment because you are potentially ruining Channel Island Sportfishing's business.

[Mike K.]

That's the funny thing about opinions, mine is always > yours.

My experience tells me Channel Islands is a bum deal. Albeit aboard Gentleman or Sunrise. Multiple negative experiences. Two boats out of the same landing = ****** landing.

Done and done.

My little comment on this little web board isn't going to ruin anyone's reputation, but I'll tell you, a lot of people's "little comments" on this board and others will seal the coffin of any business in due time.

CISS can choose operate a business with integrity and earn customers through quality service, or they can leave their fares holding the bag. Clearly the latter is the case.

Cheers.



Chanel Islands sucks. Time and time again, that's all I hear.

Next time have fun when you pay to fish, ride Coloroma.

Much different experience. Believe me. You'll be much happier.


Channels Islands Sportfishing does not suck. There have been numerous reports about the Gentleman sucking but not any other boats from Channel Islands Sportfishing. Please, think before you comment because you are potentially ruining Channel Island Sportfishing's business.

[SanDimasLMB]

That's the funny thing about opinions, mine is always > yours.

My experience tells me Channel Islands is a bum deal. Albeit aboard Gentleman or Sunrise. Multiple negative experiences. Two boats out of the same landing = ****** landing.

My opinions are based upon fact, not my opinions.

Just because the two boats you mentioned suck, that doesn't mean all the boats at Channel Islands Sportfishing are bad. Thats like saying you met a person from Long Beach that was rude so you expect all people from Long Beach to be rude.


Finally, please do not use profanity on this website. There are many minors that are registered users on this board.

[Airborn805]

I'm gonna have to disagree with you "No Bananana". I've lived in Ventura County all my whole life and Channel Isalnds Sportfishng has gone down hill. To say the Channel Islands it not reposnible for what happens on the Gentleman is like saying "The owner or a manager of a company is not responsible for its employees or what they do." Channel Island Sportfishing has a direct responsibilty to make sure its boats are running a customer service environment and the customers are treated fairly and get what they paid for. Myself and my fishing friends have had several bad expierences on the gentleman which is he reason were now Captain Hooks customers. The last time I was on the gentleman I watched the captain curse and swear at a 10 year old for getting to close to the boat on his kayak when we were in the harbor. When the kid didn't respond, probably because he was scared, the Captain threatened to kick the child's *** "very appropiate." Now I know there is a safety issue involved but threatening to beat up a little kid is probably the wrong way to do it. It left a bad taste in everybody's mouth and I haven't been back since.

[castlekid]

We got shafted on the Gentleman last year will never go back. My brother won the jackpot and the crew tried to talk him into trading it for another day out. Then only gave him 70 bucks when we were on a boat of 48 and when they were taking the the money in the morning we were seeing most people signing up. we figured it had to be at least closer to 120+. They also shafted us on the time. The crew was also fishing and acted put off when someone asked for help. We will never go back.