[Codfisha15]

Hey folks,
I was thinking of trying party boat tuna fishing in the coming fall, and was wondering if you thought the helen h trip is the best boat to take one from RI north. I saw their tuna rental setups at the worcester show: TLD50 two speeds with custom G Loomis rods. Pretty **** good for rental stuff. Does anyone have any experience fishing on the helen h tuna trips? Are they better than the yankee fleet or frances fleet, or are they all pretty much the same?
Thanks,
willy

 

[623159]

My friend is a huge fan of the helen H..He does Cod and tuna with them. He's gone on two day trips with them and came back with no fish. In fact, on few of those multi day trips, not one fish was landed.
Its a nice boat, but its **** far. Depends where you're coming from.
I heard the frances fleet really sucks. I know people who have gone, and been very disappointed not only with the fishing, but the service and crew.
I dont think the trip is really worth it. I wouldn't travel for more than an hour for a partyboat. No matter where you go, fish is never guaranteed. Atleast you dont get any fish, you're not too far away from home. But when you're 5 hours away, pissed off, tired, and have to drive home--thats really sucks!!! Good lucks guys,

Andrew

 

[618412]

You all KNOW How I feel About The Frances Fleet!!!!!!!!!!

-------.......-------

 

[unHOOKT]

what was that all about??

Why all the long faces?

 

[23seacraft]

Boston to the Helen H is 1hour 15 minutes on a decent day and much longer in the summer.

In the fall, no problem from Beantown.

 

[Codfisha15]

hey folks,
ya, as seacraft said, only an hour and fifteen minutes from where i am. Matrix,that is one of the reasons why i'm shying away from the frances. Not to say that it will definitely happen again, but only because they have had a bunch of problems in past years.

 

[DaveB]

how about New Bedford?

The Yankee Capts moves down from Gloucester to New Bedford for the tuna season. That should make it a shorter drive than going to the Cape.

unHOOKT - the reason for all the long faces in the picture was an engine room fire. Notice the CG boat in the background? I beleive that was how the passengers got back too the dock.

(This post edited by DaveB on 04/14/2003)

 

[625605]

I fish the Yankee Caps out of New Bedford every year. We charter the boat and its is an all around good trip. Crew is good, and Capt. Greg treats us well. I would suggest for your first time. Its about a 45 minute ride from Quincy.

 

[unHOOKT]

I ask because that looks like the USCG Training Barque Eagle in the BG - I didn't know they participated in active rescues.

I guess it's whoever's closest...

 

[Codfisha15]

hey guys,
i've fished the yankee many times for overnight cod trips, and know greg well. However, their rental tackle certainly leaves something to be desired. Eelin, how long of a trip do ou charter?

 

[625605]

Codfisha we do a 2 day trip. Have done very well in the past. Last years trip wasnt that great, but we are hoping to bounce back this year. I agree with the rental gear, not to be disired. Our crew all has there own gear i dont think anyone rents. I think they are using 116's.

 

[618412]

Eagle........

The eagle was 20 miles away from us and were returning from six months at sea. It took us 24 hours to get back to
New London Ct.IT was also a shot in the arm for the Coast Guard ,because of
rumors that the Eagle was going to be
retired. Of that I am happy, for the Eagle is a Magnificent boat.

(This post edited by matrix1 on 04/15/2003)

 

[625872]

I fish frequently on the yankee capts out of new bedford . The yc is docked for easy loading and unloading and parking is 50 feet away and ample . As far as tackle they fish penn reels loaded with fresh[ every trip] 100 lb hi seas mono with stand-up daiwa graphite rods .The reels are well seviced between trips and I have never heard anyone complain....in fact i would venture to guess that the vast majority of fishermen rent and a lot of tuna and some of subsatial size[200+] are landed. Trip is really well run with experienced mates helping in all capacity..Never fished the hh for tuna but was never impressed with the cod fishing trips i took several years ago

 

[Codfisha15]

you were never impressed with the helen h;s cod trips? Those are definitely the best bet for george bank: only a four hour run, allowing the trip toi be only 14 or 15 hours long and still allow plenty of time to fish. I'm not sure if what you said is what you meant but if you've never been impressed, you must have been on some of their worst trips, because even a slow trip will generally yield at least 20 keepers per person;.

 

[625872]

capt joe worked the boat hard and the fishing was very good.....what i had a problem with is trying to sleep on a wet ,unheated cabin floor while the rest of my party tried to sleep in chairs in January.....it was a bug short of a survival episode..........hope things have improved with the bunk situations as the boat does get you fish

 

[DaveB]

Hey Codfisha15 and Eelin

What's wrong with the rental gear on the Yankee Capts? The reels and rods are well maintained and kept full of fresh line. Unlike other boats I've been on, I've never seen anyone have a problem with the rental gear on the Capts. If you know of a problem be specific and share it with the rest of us please!

 

[625605]

No problem with the Yankee capts rental gear. I just have my own, so i do not use theres. If you dont have the $$ for your own gear there will work fine.

 

[618412]

Yankee Capts Tuna Trip........

4 years ago Myself and 3 friends booked a 3 day tuna trip on the Yankee Capts.the boat leaves at 10pm the nite before so I showed up about 6pm.When I
arrived I walked down to the boat and
checked it out. I hadn't fished the Capts since the early 80's. the boat seamed much bigger back then.anyways
I started talking to one of the mates
who informed me that the trip might be canceled because one the engines had a water pump problem. Great, I had no way of getting a hold of the rest of the guys, so they would learn when they got here.My friends showed up about 8pm. I informed them of the
Posibility of the trip being canceled.
It went right down to the wire,the crew
rigged a fire hose to cool the engine
and they let us board at 10pm.We stored our gear and found our bunks.
Man what a nightmare the first section of the boat was freezing the middle was ok and the bow was hot.we were in the mid section so we luck out ,so I thought, when I saw the bunks I new there was no way I was going to fit
in one of those.it was the last weekend in august and man was it hot.
we were headed for Veatch Canyon. We trolled during the day and chunked at night.fishing at night sucked and during the day we picked up some albi's
and mahi.The last night of the trip was
hot I flat lined a butter fish and hooked up with a 180lb yft.one of my friends hooked up with an albi. the mates would make up leaders before we left the dock and left them where the people who rented rods had access to them.we were fishing the stern somthing that I rarely do but was glad I did.All **** broke loose rods were
going off like crazy but people were
breaking off and no one was able to get a fish to the boat except us.This was very strange and got to be ridiculous. One of the mates came over and asked what kind of line we were using, nothing special I told him.He then asked what kind of knots we were tying, and thats when we found out that the mates had tied clinch knots
not the improved clinch knot just a clinch knot. The hooks were pulling free and the lines were comming back with pig tales on the end.I could not beleave that the mates that they had at the time could only tie one knot.
My friends and I went around and tied
polymar or improved clinch knots for
the guys who wanted them and the fish started to come over the rail.the last day was the best and I ended up with
with 3yft to 220lbs a couple of albi's
and some mahi.Capt greg was happy because he had know idea that his mates
were tying bad knots and thank us again and again. I haven't been back
and I doubt I ever will. with 10, 55 gallon drums of Deisle fuel tied to the bow and a fire hose to cool the
engine, Im not taking anymore chances.

 

[skatemaster]

Good story. That's a nice pic of the Excel. Which one are you? Those guys are about 3500 miles from Gloucester Heck of a difference between that boat and any East Coast partyboat. Like the difference between heaven and ****.

What kind of tackle were you using on those yft? Personally I have a problem with tying a Palomar in anything over 80#. An improved clinch is tough over 100#. Hence the clinch for heavy leaders. Or even better, a crimp.

(This post edited by skatemaster on 04/16/2003)

 

[618412]

Yankee Capts Tuna Trip........

I'm the guy with the camera. I was using a Penn 50sw with 100lb izoline
in blue a custom calstar rod and the knot was an improved clinched. I can tie any knot but I like this one the best ,I have never had one pull on me.
I will however tie the palomar in
fluro. I also like the Duncan loop.