i went on the boat that goes out of the malibu pier call the aquarius yesterday with a buddy and it was pretty darn good. there were a bunch of boats out on the water cuz of the halibut derby but that was closer to the shore. we went out not too far about 15 min. from the coast and we start fishing. there were about 5 experienced fishermen and then a group of 18 guys and gals from "sober college" (theyre words not mine) smoking like a chimmeny and spitting skoal all over the place. classy. and when the got there they all found out they needed fishing licenses to fish so they all went to wileys and wasted 45 mins. :evil: however, the capt. was really cool and said he'll just keep us on the water for 45 extra mins. :) anyways, this was the first time i was out on a boat during the day and i caught a bunch of rock fish and a johnny bass... o yeah, and i almost forgot- jackpot lingcod!!!! score! it was 27 inches long and according to the deckhands, the boats first legal lingcod for this season. the deckhands were really cool and all and the 2 for 1 price cant be beat, but there were a couple of fishy things going on (yea yea pun intended :wink: ) like ive never heard that u would have to pay money for the burlap sacks... and then never get them and the jackpot cost 5 bux and on a boat of 23 ppl there's no way the it would come out to $47 :? but anyways, i didnt keep it- tip for the deckhands. besides, i was pretty stoked on my ling. also, the boat had rentals but they were conventional reels and if ur inexperinced it could get tricky and this boat was full of backlashes, so why not just have spinning reels. but anyways, the deckhands were really fun and helpful and i would recommend them to anyone and u can be sure that ill be there a lot more often :D