All and all I'd say this was a pretty good trip.. I had a good time anyway. We left out at noon, would have left earlier but we had to wait for this couple that got there at the last minute (I'll refer to them again in a minute). We ran straight to the Norfolk Canyon which took about 4 1/2 hours on the Rudee Angler. Stopped off just short of were we spent the night and dropped for Tile fish in 300-400 feet of water.. Had a great time there, killed the tile fish and black bass.... That was where most of the fun was. We ran another 2 miles to where we anchored in about 600+ foot of water... This is were we stayed the rest of the night, trying to chunk for tuna and anything else that would bite... It was really slow, and everybody else on the boat went to sleep except for me, two other guys, and the mates.. At times the mates, and the other two guys went to sleep as well... I stayed up the whole time walking around the boat, listening for the click. Finally, after everybody else had been asleep for about 5-6 hours, I heard a click!! I could tell it was on my side of the boat near the bow... The mates start running up from the right side where they think it's coming from... I told them it was on the left side, and I reached for the pole I thought it was on... They said, no, it's this one up here, and by that time that couple I was talking about, that had been sleeping for the past 6 hours, runs out to the front of the boat, and they hand the pole to them.... I was extremely pissed off!!!!! Anyway, slow trip, no tuna.... We hooked into three swordfish, boated two.. The largest one weighed in at around 60 pounds, that's just what the mate guessed. The only other thing put in the boat that night were a couple of 3-4 foot sharks.... At first light, we saw tuna tearing up the water a good ways from the boat.... We kept chunking for a while with no success on the tuna. After that we made one more stop for the Tile fish again... Killed them just like the day before.. I know some of those guys are on this site quite a bit too... To Carl, Terry, Topper, and Mario, I had a great time with you boys even though we didn't hit the tuna. You guys get in touch some time. Too the two mates that were worth a darn, Wes, and the real big fella(can't remember his name), I had a great time, and appreciated you guys hard work.. So, anyway, that's the report. It was slow all night, with the action being the Tile fish. I'd recommend going on the 28th. That's what I wish I had done... Carl was the one that caught the biggest swordfish... He's got some good pictures of it, and I know he's on this site, because that's how he heard about the trip, same as me.... I've got a few pictures as well.. I'll have to figure out how to post... All and all it was a fun time. The captain and two of the mates were really helpful.....

Pretty work boys! My hat's off to the Captain and crew of the Rudee Angler. That's an excellent plan, hitting the deep drop to make sure the customers get fish for their money! And three sword hookups is fantastic! The tuna will be happening any day now! I'm going to try to make it up there for one of these trips before the weather turns bad! Once again great job!

I thought you would take your own rod? You said the mates hand to rod off to anyone?

Still sounds like a good trip, sea bass and tiles are good to go. Then throw in the chance for swords and tuna.

sounds good but no tuna??? they will be there soon

Sorry for your luck with the rod going to someone that has been laying in the cabin. I have been their done that on a overnight charter up all night chunking and feeding the line out to have someone get up to take a leak and step in front of me to get the only hit of the night.Just feel like throwing them over, without the rod of course. At least the capt got all of you on some thing to pull. Where you responsible for your own rod or was it up to the mates to take care of ? How many rods were they fishing? How many mates did they take? Thanks for all the info. And most of all would you go again?
thanks
Scott

Yeah, I took my own rod and rented one.... See, what happened was during the overnighter, people got bored and everybody went to sleep... Since everybody went to sleep, and nobody was on deck, the mates took a bunch of different rods to different locations on the boat.. There were plenty of rods on board, and if you payed to use one, you could use any of them.... Everybody on the boat was used to the steady fishing off the bottom for the tile fish where we stopped first to drop to the bottom..... The fishing, of course, was fast there.. None of them had been offshore before, and didn't really understand how the waiting game was going to be for the big game, so they all went to sleep... After they were asleep for a few hours, the mates took around 10 different rods, and we dropped them to different fathom ranging from 10 or so on down... That was only when me and the mates were the only ones awake on the boat... Everybody else was asleep in the cabin... I don't think most of them really understood what was going on.. Definitely, if you were awake, the rod you rented (or your own rod you brought) was all you...

Here an update on the Rudee Charters forum RUDEE LINK

Yeah Scott.. You have a better understanding than the other person I replied too... Only difference was, when this one hit, everybody on the entire boat was asleep except myself and the mates.... What happened was, the mates were on the right side of the boat towards the rear.. I was on the left side of boat walking around the middle with my ear open... Both the mates and I heard the click, I ran up to the bow on the left side.. They were running up on the right side..... They thought for sure the hit was on the right side, but I told them I was almost certain it was on the left of the bow.... It was on the left side of the bow... Only problem was I went to check one, as I was checking it and the mates were checking the other, the mates figured out it was the one they grabbed..... By that time, the people that had been sleeping inside the cabin for the last 5 hours came runing out because they heard the real whining.... Ran right passed me, and the mates passed the real to them..... I was fairly pissed..... I think there were 4 or 5 mates on board.. As far as rods, they must have had 30 or so out, but not that many lines in the water... Of course there was only around 15 people on board, not the whole 25. If you payed the rental fee, you could grab which ever one was closest to you... Hell, it isn't spot fishing.. If you're in the bathroom, and a sword or tuna hit, you have to grab him.... I definitely would recommend the trip... Those tuna will definitely be there any day.... Whether it be Sunday, or the Sunday after, I'd recommend going.... Just realize, it's not spot fishing... lol And it's not like fishing on a wreck or like trolling... It's either they're there or not.... They'll definitely hit them next weekend or the one after that... They dropped to the bottom for tile fish and sea bass too, before we got to the anchor spot, and the day after..... There were plenty of those caught.... I caught less than anybody else, and I bet I have 50 pounds of fillets in the freezer...... It was a good time for me.......... I'll just remember next time to go to sleep in the cabin, and just run out and jump in front of the only man(besides the mate) that's been manning the poles for the last six hours... Bastards!!!!!!! I'd reccomend the trip..

Yeah, I definitely recommend this trip to anybody thinking about going.... I couldn't have asked for a better captain and crew.. I'm not experienced with doing any of the fishing we did, and all those guys were extremely helpful.. Learned quite a bit from them....... I don't know if the boats trade off mates, or how that works, but if any skippers read this, I'm making a recommendation for that guy Wes....... He was really on point and really helped out alot....... And Carl, if you read this after you get back from hunting today, let's get a good picture of that sword fish....... I've got one of it, but I took it on my regular camera.. Have to get it develped, scan it in, and figure out how to post it up here..... I'll keep checking back on the site to answer any more questions you guys have about the trip.... I'll answer them the best I can...Great trip guys!!

Thanks for the report.... informative read. You got 50lbs more meat in your freezer than I do I'm one of those guys who would have been awake with you also. And my luck runs about as good as yours too! I am curious about the spliting of the meat though. I understand about the bottom bouncing (you put in your cooler what you catch), but what are the guidelines on the tuna. Sometimes on the 6 man charters you draw straws or whatever for "reeling order", but the meat is always equally divided. I can really imagine some hurt feelings if the "reeler" keeps the tuna to himself. Especially with the senario you described.

Definatly sounded like a fun time with a good Capt. and crew. Havn't done an overnighter yet....would like to go out with an experienced crew myself to learn the techniques used (glow lights? whats up with that?)

Again, good job,

Mike

Hey Mike.... The Captain hung one big light off the bow hooked up to a battery... Then we ran lines with glow sticks on the leader line, some blue, some green... The main light at the bow was green, and, as far as I know, every line that the swordfish hit on had a green glow stick on the leader... Everybody kept their own limit of fish..... There wasn't any tuna boated this trip. We didn't split the weight or anything, the mates just threw the fish on stringers with our names on them and put them in the slush tanks...... The guy that got a hold of "my" fish finally got the swordfish up to the top of the water, but it got off.. Great bunch of guys on the boat for the most part...... I had a great time out there.. The next trip is on the 28th... I'm calling tommorrow, and if they have enough room, I'm heading back out.....

That's a good write-up of your trip...appreciate the info. Personally I would like to see these kinds of trips catch and become popular out of Virginia. One because I would like to book one myself and two, it exposes more folks the wonders of offshore night fishing. It is tough to stay awake the entire night, my hats off to those that can. I was thinking maybe they would let me bring a bean bag chair so I can just plop it down behind my rod. Then even if I doze a little, I'm right there when a hear a few clicks. I think they will work through a set of fair procedures for determining whose fish it is to make all satisfied.

Great write up! Sounds like a decent trip. I'm surprised so many fell asleep...sleep the 4.5 hours out and the 4.5 hours in and fish the rest of the time. Anyway...sounds like a good time regardless of "loosing" your spot. I hope these trips catch on and may be they can run another boat to cover some more ground...great for the area for sure.

I'm in on the 28th with one of my buddies.
Another guy at work tried to sign up as well & was told the 28th trip is sold out, but they have added dates in November.

The trips worth a shot at a swordfish alone .... the Tilefish and Tuna are a bonus.

I was thinking about going again on November 4th. Do you guys think we'd have a better shot with the yellowfin then??? I was thinking by that time the water would be a bit cooler............. You guys let me know what you think..... Thanks

Thinks are running late this year with all the Al Gore Global Warming...Novemeber should be great.

My question is do you tip the mates? With that many mates and you have a different one each time. I do not understand. Do they work for tips ande if so what is customary? Or is there few included in with the price.and the headboat captain is responsible for there fee.///???????? Jut curious because I am thinking on going the second weekend of Nov. I believe the tunas will be here then.

[quote=robhay,Oct 20 2007, 06:24 PM][quote=drawinout,Oct 16 2007, 08:21 AM]All and all I'd say this was a pretty good trip.. I had a good time anyway. We left out at noon, would have left earlier but we had to wait for this couple that got there at the last minute (I'll refer to them again in a minute). We ran straight to the Norfolk Canyon which took about 4 1/2 hours on the Rudee Angler. Stopped off just short of were we spent the night and dropped for Tile fish in 300-400 feet of water.. Had a great time there, killed the tile fish and black bass.... That was where most of the fun was. We ran another 2 miles to where we anchored in about 600+ foot of water... This is were we stayed the rest of the night, trying to chunk for tuna and anything else that would bite... It was really slow, and everybody else on the boat went to sleep except for me, two other guys, and the mates.. At times the mates, and the other two guys went to sleep as well... I stayed up the whole time walking around the boat, listening for the click. Finally, after everybody else had been asleep for about 5-6 hours, I heard a click!! I could tell it was on my side of the boat near the bow... The mates start running up from the right side where they think it's coming from... I told them it was on the left side, and I reached for the pole I thought it was on... They said, no, it's this one  up here, and by that time that couple I was talking about, that had been sleeping for the past 6 hours, runs out to the front of the boat, and they hand the pole to them.... I was extremely pissed off!!!!! Anyway, slow trip, no tuna.... We hooked into three swordfish, boated two.. The largest one weighed in at around 60 pounds, that's just what the mate guessed. The only other thing put in the boat that night were a couple of 3-4 foot sharks.... At first light, we saw tuna tearing up the water a good ways from the boat.... We kept chunking for a while with no success on the tuna. After that we made one more stop for the Tile fish again... Killed them just like the day before.. I know some of those guys are on this site quite a bit too... To Carl, Terry, Topper, and Mario, I had a great time with you boys even though we didn't hit the tuna. You guys get in touch some time. Too the two mates that were worth a darn, Wes, and the real big fella(can't remember his name), I had a great time, and appreciated you guys hard work.. So, anyway, that's the report. It was slow all night, with the action being the Tile fish. I'd recommend going on the 28th. That's what I wish I had done... Carl was the one that caught the biggest swordfish... He's got some good pictures of it, and I know he's on this site, because that's how he heard about the trip, same as me.... I've got a few pictures as well.. I'll have to figure out how to post... All and all it was a fun time. The captain and two of the mates were really helpful.....

[/quote]

My question is do you tip the mates? With that many mates and you have a different one each time. I do not understand. Do they work for tips ande if so what is customary? Or is there few included in with the price.and the headboat captain is responsible for there fee.///???????? Jut curious because I am thinking on going the second weekend of Nov. I believe the tunas will be here then.

[/quote]

The mates work for tips only.. They passed around a tip jar I think... I just gave my money to one of the mates to share between them........ I tipped them just like any regular charter.. Between 20%-25% the cost of the trip.... I tipped them 50 bucks, which they seemed to be satisfied with...... They deserved it... That's how everybody should tip them, but I know that's not the case.... I'll bet some of those guys didn't tip at all........

[quote=drawinout,Oct 20 2007, 08:47 PM][quote=robhay,Oct 20 2007, 06:24 PM][quote=drawinout,Oct 16 2007, 08:21 AM]All and all I'd say this was a pretty good trip.. I had a good time anyway. We left out at noon, would have left earlier but we had to wait for this couple that got there at the last minute (I'll refer to them again in a minute). We ran straight to the Norfolk Canyon which took about 4 1/2 hours on the Rudee Angler. Stopped off just short of were we spent the night and dropped for Tile fish in 300-400 feet of water.. Had a great time there, killed the tile fish and black bass.... That was where most of the fun was. We ran another 2 miles to where we anchored in about 600+ foot of water... This is were we stayed the rest of the night, trying to chunk for tuna and anything else that would bite... It was really slow, and everybody else on the boat went to sleep except for me, two other guys, and the mates.. At times the mates, and the other two guys went to sleep as well... I stayed up the whole time walking around the boat, listening for the click. Finally, after everybody else had been asleep for about 5-6 hours, I heard a click!! I could tell it was on my side of the boat near the bow... The mates start running up from the right side where they think it's coming from... I told them it was on the left side, and I reached for the pole I thought it was on... They said, no, it's this one  up here, and by that time that couple I was talking about, that had been sleeping for the past 6 hours, runs out to the front of the boat, and they hand the pole to them.... I was extremely pissed off!!!!! Anyway, slow trip, no tuna.... We hooked into three swordfish, boated two.. The largest one weighed in at around 60 pounds, that's just what the mate guessed. The only other thing put in the boat that night were a couple of 3-4 foot sharks.... At first light, we saw tuna tearing up the water a good ways from the boat.... We kept chunking for a while with no success on the tuna. After that we made one more stop for the Tile fish again... Killed them just like the day before.. I know some of those guys are on this site quite a bit too... To Carl, Terry, Topper, and Mario, I had a great time with you boys even though we didn't hit the tuna. You guys get in touch some time. Too the two mates that were worth a darn, Wes, and the real big fella(can't remember his name), I had a great time, and appreciated you guys hard work.. So, anyway, that's the report. It was slow all night, with the action being the Tile fish. I'd recommend going on the 28th. That's what I wish I had done... Carl was the one that caught the biggest swordfish... He's got some good pictures of it, and I know he's on this site, because that's how he heard about the trip, same as me.... I've got a few pictures as well.. I'll have to figure out how to post... All and all it was a fun time. The captain and two of the mates were really helpful.....

[/quote]

My question is do you tip the mates? With that many mates and you have a different one each time. I do not understand. Do they work for tips ande if so what is customary? Or is there few included in with the price.and the headboat captain is responsible for there fee.///???????? Jut curious because I am thinking on going the second weekend of Nov. I believe the tunas will be here then.

[/quote]

The mates work for tips only.. They passed around a tip jar I think... I just gave my money to one of the mates to share between them........ I tipped them just like any regular charter.. Between 20%-25% the cost of the trip.... I tipped them 50 bucks, which they seemed to be satisfied with...... They deserved it... That's how everybody should tip them, but I know that's not the case.... I'll bet some of those guys didn't tip at all........

[/quote]
thanks for the reply, I emailed rudee chaters and Capt. Skip replied the same as you just said. I was on a charter last weekend out of hatteras and 6 of us on board we tipped 40$ apiece to the mate. And we did not catch anything. all day did not put us on fish. The fish were there everytime he reeled in the bte was gone. Not a bad tip of 240.00 for a full day of sitting. tight lines