In a nut shell, your day fishing with us should go something like this. We like to leave the docks at about 4:30 AM in order to get to the fishing grounds in time for the early bite, so you should show up at about 4:15 AM to give us time to stow your gear before pulling out. It's about a two hour cruise to 'lines in', during which time you can snooze in the salon, watch your favorite DVD, listen to music or chat with the captain and mate as you wait for sunrise.

The mate will begin brining the bait on the way out and start rigging baits about 30 minutes before we start fishing. You can watch (if you want to learn) or help if you'd like... with the mate's permission. If it's your first time offshore, or if you have kids with you that want to learn how to rig for big game fishing, this is a good place to start. It also helps pass the time.

After lines in, we'll spend the next seven or eight hours fishing. The mate will deploy the spread (We usually drag eight baits.), then watch the spread carefully for fish in the baits. Meanwhile, the captain is scanning the ocean, the sky and the boat's electronics looking for weed lines, temperature breaks, water color changes, rips, birds and anything else out of the ordinary that may hold fish. When a fish gets in the baits, it's the mate's job to hook it up. That's his ultimate quest, to drop back, tease the fish or do whatever it takes to get it to eat.

Once we have a solid hook-up, the angler will get in the chair, and the mate will hand him the rod while making sure it's securely in the chair's gimbal. If needed, he'll help him with fighting the fish by giving instructions and commenting on the correct way to fight. You'll probably hear the captain shouting instructions and suggestions too, as the mate also has the responsibility of clearing any remaining lines and teasers that may interfer with working and/or landing the fish. At the boat, the mate gaffs the fish, puts it on ice, redeploys the spread and the whole thing starts all over, hopefully non-stop until it's time for lines out at the end of the day.