Favorite drift boat

Info on Fishing Party Boats in the South Florida Area.
Username28
KING MACKEREL
Posts: 914
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2010 11:38 am

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by Username28 »

I've been on them all...and everyone here knows my thoughts on them....as of now, it's Kelley Fleet :reeling:
There is a fine line between Love & Hate.Hate is pushing them off a ledge. Loving them means you don't taunt them after you've pushed them off.

Ken+
Old Salt
Posts: 315
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:39 am
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by Ken+ »

I've been on these boats one time each...but here are my thoughts...

Mayport Princess, Mayport

My first experience with party boats in Florida. Great boat with lots of room to store gear. There was a designated area for coolers and gear bags...so once everyone put their gear away, there was lots of room in the boat. The captain knows how to find fish and get the anchor quickly enough to there's no wasted time. People who know how to fish larger baits for ARS, AJs and grouper go their fair share no problem. A newbie like to to AJ fishing dropped down a live grunt twice and got slammed twice. The mates are very helpful and genuinely loved to see you catch fish. One of my best experiences on a party boat.

Orlando Princess, Cape Canaveral

My second experience with party boats in Florida. Great boat with a nice cabin with couches, benches and tables. Lots of room inside to put your gear. The captain was great and were always on the move looking for fish. The mates are very helpful with newbies. They were quick on line tangles, replenishing bait and gaffing fish. We were plagues with OOS blacksea bass...but aside from that, we did managed some nice flounders and a few nice mangroves on the boat. There were a couple of gags that needed to be released, as well as one ARS.

Double Eagle, Clearwater

My third experience with party boats in Florida. Double haul boat was OK...a little dated...but very fishable. The only thing really uncomfortable was that the benches were set too close to the rail. There was little room to stand behind the rail and in front of the bench without bumping the back of your leg all the time...and I'm a small guy already. But aside from that, the captain and mates were great! The captain moved spots quickly when the Key West grunt and grouper bites dries up. The mates were very quick on tangles and re-rig. They brought out and cut frozen squid on the way out so the bait is not sitting in the sun for too long a period (2 hour ride for the full day). We caught lots of 1-2lb grunts and many short groupers with a couple of gags that were just keeper size if the season was open. Lots of short reds to be caught. It was full on bent rods all the time so it was fun. The last thing I didn't like about how things were run. All the fish were clean on shore. Some people had stringers of 30+ grunts to be cleaned. The order to cleaning stringers were more or less random...with some preference to clean catches from "regulars" first. My friend and I waited over 1 hour for our 3 grunts to be cleaned...but after 1 hour wait, we still have no sight of our fish...so we gave them to fellow anglers fishing next to us. We were on the road and we couldn't wait much longer. On the west coast (California), the mates clean the catches on the way back to port so that the fish were packaged and ready to be picked up as we leave the boat. With so many grunts to clean and a 2 hour ride back, I don't see why fish needed to be cleaned on shore...just seems like a little waste of time. Not a knock specifically against Double Eagle since all the boats from the same harbour practiced the same thing. But overall, Double Eagle was great!

Sea Legs III, Hollywood

Now...I will have to go against the grain here...and I hope I don't step on too many toes...this is just my honest opinion after fishing 3 other boats in different parts of Florida...maybe it was an off day...but I have no intention of checking things out again with them...

This was my fourth party boat experience in Florida. I had my little cousin and uncles with me who were both new anglers. I was prepared to have rigs for them to use and to do much of everything on my own.

First off, the boat was OK...not great...but not bad. There could be more space between the bench and the rail. It seems like every time the mates needs to pass behind you, you are squeezed to the rail. I'm a small guy and I can manage...I can't imagine how someone who is 200lbs would feel about this. The benches were a little short (or shallow...however you want to describe it). There was little space to store gear on the bench. The cabin of the boat was bare bones...so aside from the benches, there was nowhere else to put gear.

The mates could have better prepared the boat for departure. We were 10-15 minutes late for departure. I read this is common with Sea Legs and didn't think much of it. However, the crew was chatting it up with regulars during that extra wait. They waited until everyone was on board to distribute rental rods. Now, on all my previous boats in Florida, this was done in two ways...either the rods were put at the bow and anglers were instructed to grab their own rods...or the rods were already places on the rod holders so all you have to do is walk up to your assigned spots and have the rods ready. With Sea Legs, mates were constantly walking behind or in front of you in that narrow space between the rail and the benches distributing a few rods at a time. It was quite annoying after a while. I felt that this could be done just a little better...maybe distribute the rods before the passengers board the boat during the wait to board.

Now...onto fishing. I have to say...maybe all my experience was fishing on the anchor previously...but I don't like drift fishing if this is the way it is done. We had the entire boat fishing on one side of the boat. There was literally 3" of space between my uncle on one side, and another person on my other side. Very crammed! It was constant tangle issues since newbies don't know how to keep the lines straight. Luckily I have taught my cousin and uncle how to keep their lines straight so we were not causing the problems...but we were still affected by others. Now...where there were line tangles, the mates were slow on the response. It wasn't so bad if they were already tending other issues...BUT a couple of times, one of the mates were on the top deck flylining a bait for kings when he should be taking care of tangle problems. There was only one mate working and the one who was not working got yelled at a few times by the captain and the other mate. Not sure what the problem was...but it really erks me. I have no problem with mates fishing if everything is well under control...but if customers need help, then they should do their job. Simple as that. I actually had to help the people beside me with a couple of tangles because there was no one around to help. I severely cuts into my own fishing time for sure! I wasn't tangled up...but I was unable to fish because the tangled line was in front of me...

Now...the captain. Like I said...this was my first time drift fishing...so I don't know how other boats do it. On our day, the boat was constantly swinging left and right. There was no way to keep a straight line directly in front of you and straight to the bottom (since the king bite was dead, we were bottom fishing). A few times, just as lines were straightening out for everyone, the captain puts the boat in gear and did a hard turn adjustment...so now the lines are either all swinging to the stern or the bow of the boat. This is not the way to fish on a drift! All the lines should point straight away from the boat to minimize the chance of tangling with the person beside you! That was how boats in California fish on the drift...it is very simple...but I guess in Florida it wasn't done this way.

I also have not idea why everyone was fishing on one side of the boat. When I saw the other side empty, I tried to move to the other side to fish...but the mates gave me an unpleasant look and said I should fish at my spot...OK...hm...

We did catch 4 keeper vermillions and one nice porgy. Catches would be better if between myself, my cousin and my uncle didn't spend half the time in tangles or waiting for the people around us to get out of tangles. All I have to say is the mates and captains can work better on those issues.

Maybe the night anchor trips are better than the drift trips...I don't know...but this was just an honest review of Sea Legs III. I was made aware of the boat after reading your reviews here and everyone seems to like the boat. Maybe it was an off day...but I think I'll try other boats next time even if they were a further drive.

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sepaik
KING MACKEREL
Posts: 832
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:21 pm
Location: Hollywood Florida

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by sepaik »

Surge101 wrote:
sepaik wrote:Sea Legs is definately the best drift boat by far!
http://deepseafishingsealegs.com
The $5 dollor coupon is : http://deepseafishingsealegs.com/images ... 2_kzyi.jpg

You can also fish in the afternoon trip M-F for just $25. They throw in the rod and reel and of course of the bait and tackle.
$25? Really? Is that price always running? Don't see anything about that on their website.

The $25 special was for the afternoon trips last summer. It's no longer running.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~Henry David Thoreau

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sepaik
KING MACKEREL
Posts: 832
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:21 pm
Location: Hollywood Florida

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by sepaik »

Ken +......... Interesting reading. I'll take it to the Captain. :toast: :dude:
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~Henry David Thoreau

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westcoast
Seasoned Fisher
Posts: 276
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 12:21 am
Location: Miami Lakes

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by westcoast »

Ken, i appreciate your comments! i'm from Cali too - and the party boats out there, with their live bait and live chumming techniques, are just amazing. the boats out here are totally different. and they are good in their own ways

i love the Sea Leggs III. i really think you "caught them" on a bad day. the crew and capt are really good and have worked hard for us each time we've been out, and i'm not a regular on that boat.

next time you're in - you gotta try the 39 hour trip off of Hubbards Marina in Madeira Beach (St. Petersburg area). talk about all the snapper you can handle. and it's worth the $300

also try the all night snapper trip off of Kelly Fleet (North Miami Beach) from 1am-7am Sunday mornings - awesome snapper trip!

happy fishing

ps. that was the first time i read anyone write about "flylining"! :) you are definitely Cali. Floridians call it "freelining". that took me back to my childhood. lol
California-Florida fisherman

Ken+
Old Salt
Posts: 315
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:39 am
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by Ken+ »

westcoast wrote:Ken, i appreciate your comments! i'm from Cali too - and the party boats out there, with their live bait and live chumming techniques, are just amazing. the boats out here are totally different. and they are good in their own ways

i love the Sea Leggs III. i really think you "caught them" on a bad day. the crew and capt are really good and have worked hard for us each time we've been out, and i'm not a regular on that boat.

next time you're in - you gotta try the 39 hour trip off of Hubbards Marina in Madeira Beach (St. Petersburg area). talk about all the snapper you can handle. and it's worth the $300

also try the all night snapper trip off of Kelly Fleet (North Miami Beach) from 1am-7am Sunday mornings - awesome snapper trip!

happy fishing

ps. that was the first time i read anyone write about "flylining"! :) you are definitely Cali. Floridians call it "freelining". that took me back to my childhood. lol

Hey westcoast! Thanks for the night fishing suggestions! I did look at those options, but I think they were not running those trips yet (at least during my time of visit). I think the snapper and grouper seasons were still closed so there were not scheduled trips. I'll try the one on the Kelly Fleet first...just to get my feet wet on night fishing and full on snapper fishing. One day I'd like to take one of the multi-day trips for some serious grouper and snapper fishing :D

:lol: I'm not from Cali. I'm a Torontonian actually :lol: But I have fished in SoCal twice, and I have been hanging out on a very good SoCal fishing forum...so I just picked up the lingo from them :lol: I also hang out on a few Hawaii fishing forums and sometimes I may use terms like palu (chum), ika (squid), slide bait, hanapa'a...etc :lol: I'm everywhere man! But yeah, flylining / freelining / baitfeeding...same thing.

Maybe I did catch Sea Legs III on a bad day. If I do decide to try them again, it would be a night anchor trip. Everyone provided good reviews on their night trips most of the time. :D

keepinitreel
Seasoned Fisher
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:39 pm
Location: Miami

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by keepinitreel »

Ken+ wrote:
westcoast wrote:Ken, i appreciate your comments! i'm from Cali too - and the party boats out there, with their live bait and live chumming techniques, are just amazing. the boats out here are totally different. and they are good in their own ways

i love the Sea Leggs III. i really think you "caught them" on a bad day. the crew and capt are really good and have worked hard for us each time we've been out, and i'm not a regular on that boat.

next time you're in - you gotta try the 39 hour trip off of Hubbards Marina in Madeira Beach (St. Petersburg area). talk about all the snapper you can handle. and it's worth the $300

also try the all night snapper trip off of Kelly Fleet (North Miami Beach) from 1am-7am Sunday mornings - awesome snapper trip!

happy fishing

ps. that was the first time i read anyone write about "flylining"! :) you are definitely Cali. Floridians call it "freelining". that took me back to my childhood. lol

Hey westcoast! Thanks for the night fishing suggestions! I did look at those options, but I think they were not running those trips yet (at least during my time of visit). I think the snapper and grouper seasons were still closed so there were not scheduled trips. I'll try the one on the Kelly Fleet first...just to get my feet wet on night fishing and full on snapper fishing. One day I'd like to take one of the multi-day trips for some serious grouper and snapper fishing :D

:lol: I'm not from Cali. I'm a Torontonian actually :lol: But I have fished in SoCal twice, and I have been hanging out on a very good SoCal fishing forum...so I just picked up the lingo from them :lol: I also hang out on a few Hawaii fishing forums and sometimes I may use terms like palu (chum), ika (squid), slide bait, hanapa'a...etc :lol: I'm everywhere man! But yeah, flylining / freelining / baitfeeding...same thing.

Maybe I did catch Sea Legs III on a bad day. If I do decide to try them again, it would be a night anchor trip. Everyone provided good reviews on their night trips most of the time. :D
Yea definitely try the night trip I just started fishing but everytime i go on the night trip I find myself on the boat the next night because I always have a good time. I stick to bottom fishing and it seems to be productive I keep my block happy with yellow tails for everyone. I havent seen a mate fish at night unless it was his day off they usually take care of my issues right away just learn there names and dont be afraid to call them out.

tbone57
Fisher
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:11 pm

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by tbone57 »

I have fished the Ocean Obsession and have done well caught some nice fish amberjack, snapper, grouper,triggers.
Fished on one in tarpon spring forgot the name lots of grunts several undersize gags a few keeper groupers caught.
Fished out of the boat in St Augustine don't remember much about it except being run off the spots by Barracuda.
Trying the keys in April the Gulfstream may check out sea legs. would perfer a boat that goes out all day.

Tiderunner72
Fisher
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2018 6:06 pm

Re: Favorite drift boat

Post by Tiderunner72 »

Starlight 101 - Hillsborough Inlet.
Top operation, HUGE boat with plenty of room.
Great crew
A Jersey boat w/ local top notch crew
Go on website for discount when booking to save a few bucks.
My wife is a gauge for cleanliness and can’t wait to return
Mike

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