At Bite Me Sportfishing, our customers are anglers of all levels of experience to the novice up to the professionals. We also often take non-anglers who are looking to enjoy time on a boat with their families.
Because we take such variety of guests we wanted to make sure our guests are familiar with our style of fishing and what to expect on their fishing charter. Regardless if your charter is a shared charter or a private charter the most important thing to remember is to have fun!
Meet and Greet
Before departing our Captain and Crew will introduce themselves and give a briefing on the boat itself such as; where to store any of your belongings, where the marine head is located, and coast guard regulated safety instructions. If you are on one of our shared charters feel free to introduce yourself making new friends with the other guests on board as you will be a team for the next few hours!
Fishing
As soon as we leave the harbor, the crew will set out the lures. Guests are encouraged to ask questions and try to understand the technique involved. For some, it’s hard to understand how a plastic lure dancing along the surface behind a 40-foot boat churning up the water will result in a fish being caught, but these are techniques that have proven to raise and strike the pelagic fish we target. Large leaders, heavy line, and big-headed lures have all proven successful over time.
With five lures all our skippers run their patterns differently, but in general, we will have a short and long corner, and a short and long rigger, and a fifth rod that runs the middle in the “pocket” or way back behind which is known as the stinger. The lures will generally run on the front of the waves of the boat. There are many types of lures; some colorful some not, some will swim side to side others will dive or plunge causing a bunch of sprays or some less spray. The lures are generally based on the time of year and what’s been working, or even the Captain or Crew’s lucky lure!
After the lines are all set and lures are out our crew will give everyone a run down on what to do when we catch up. We will choose an angler to sit in the fighting chair and demonstrate how to bring the fish in, feel free to volunteer or if you were not chosen and feel you need the hands on demo ask our crew if you can jump in and try it out too.
Once we have been trolling for an hour or so the anticipation can start to wear off and everyone becomes more focused on the fishing. It’s important to understand that your Captain and Crew have been doing this for years and they know a big fish can strike anytime. You might not realize it but you Captain and Crew are very in tune with the surroundings, i.e. depth of the water, bottom structures, current, and many times they can predict a strike while you have no idea what is even happening. Often they may continue to work the same area in a figure eight running the same lures knowing the area has had recent action.
The Bite
As stated before the bite can happen anytime and when it does our Captain and Crew are ready for the fight. During this intense time, they are bringing in all the extra line, encouraging the angler to keep fighting and clearing the deck to help safely bring in the fish. They may not have time to use “please” and “thank-you” when asking for assistance and will coach the angler sometimes trying to get across encouragement to help bring in the big fish. Keep in mind the instructions they are trying to get across are important and are meant to help coach, encourage, and/or to initiate the fast paced action we need during this time.
Las Vegas
Keep in mind for every trip that brings in a marlin many do not. For every trip that results in a nice Ahi, more don’t. For every trip that winds up with multitudes of mahi-mahi, some people go home empty. Understanding this is like understanding the lure of Las Vegas. When you play the slots in Vegas you do not expect to walk away a millionaire, but you enjoy the sights and sounds and the anticipation of winning. Maybe, just maybe you’ll be the one that walks away from the slots a huge winner. It’s about the dream and the pursuit of the dream. Most guests do not walk away feeling they were ripped off, they understand the risks and the potential reward and simply look for ways to enjoy their time as long as possible. It’s much the same with fishing in Hawaii! So long as your Captain and Crew are professional and the boat is in good condition and you are pursuing the fish with enthusiasm and enjoyment from beginning to end one should never walk away feeling empty if at the end the result is no fish on the boat.
Captains Discretion
Due to the fishery, type of fish and other factors, it will be at the Captains Discretion as to whether the fish caught will be killed or not.