Fishing charters?

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Who has done a fishing excursion? DH wants to know. He has been tossing around the idea of doing a 7 AM charter one morning on our August trip and he wants some feedback.

What month did you go? What resort do you depart from? (I am getting conflicting info - Recreation is telling me they don't depart from the monorail resorts but I am almost sure they do!) AllEars says you get a membership in BASS along with a one year subscription to Bass Master magazine. Is that still accurate?

Details, please! And if anyone has booked the new charter on the Nitro boat I would love to hear about that, too. I don't think those have actually started running yet, but if you have booked one I would love a report when you get back. Thanks!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

A little bump! I know DH really wants to do this but he is having trouble with the cost. (He has no idea how much the rest of the trip is costing, but we won't go there.)

Please help DH and give him your opinions.

 

[TheIncredibles]

I'm bumping you too...would be interested to know people's thoughts of an excursion.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I think we have pretty much decided to do this for DH and DS, even without any testimonials!

I called back and spoke to a different CM this morning. She confirmed that the booking window is 90 days from the day you want the boat, you do get a 1 year membership in BASS along with the magazine subscription, and the cost is $230 per boat for morning excursions. The "regular" boats can take up to 5 passengers, the Nitro can take up to 2. The excursions don't ORIGINATE out of the monorail resorts but you may request to be picked up at any of them that you choose. That's where I got confused yesterday because the CM said the only boat out of the Contemporary is the Junior excursion for kids. The boats run 7 days a week.

I can't book for another 76 days, so any comments on your experiences are still welcome.

 

[dhcoffey]

My DH and DD12 did an excursion from the Yacht Club marina in December when we were there. My DD7 and I decided it was too early for us!! They had to be there at around 6:45 and left promptly and didn't get back until almost 10:00 because there was not another one booked directly after them, so the captain let them stay out a little longer. They had a great time. My DD12 caught many more fish than my DH did, LOL. They went over to Epcot and MGM from the YC and really enjoyed it.

My DH wants to do the Nitro when we go back in April, so I'm interested in hearing about that also.

 

[ChefBilly]

I might be able to help a little bit.

I've been on two different fishing excursions, and the experience was a little different each time.

Here's a story about my most recent fishing trip: http://theedge.bostonherald.com/travelNews/view.bg?articleid=123712

(We had great luck, a great time, and would recommend it to anyone.)
That said...

Here's the short version of what to watch for: Double check your reservations, confirm them again, get someone's name, have a phone number handy for when they don't show up. Like I said, I've been twice, and we were blown off three times. (Had to totally reschedule the first one, and they didn't show up for the rescheduled trip initially. Had to call the dock and get someone to come over.)
They're great people, and they'll take care of you, but a guide told me they changed their booking system a while back and it resulted in a bit of chaos. I can attest to that.

They leave from the Contemporary (obviously, a monorail resort), Downtown Disney (Marketplace AND the House of Blues - make sure if you leave from there they are TOTALLY sure on which dock) and Fort Wilderness. They may leave from other places, as well, but I can't remember off hand.

Our guide told us that for numbers, fish in Bay Lake - but for the really big fish, go Downtown Disney. We found that to be true, as well. (See the picture in the linked story.)

Our first guide pretty much let us fish on our own - baiting the hooks, boating the fish. Our second guide, a few weeks ago, it was like fishing with your dad. He'd bait the hooks, cast it out for you, put it down and you'd just wait for the fish to hit. He'd take it off the hook for you, too.
So depending on your level of experience, you may find that helpful or a bit of a drag. (Again, he - and everyone else we've fished with - were awesome, but we found it a bit elementary because I fish a lot.)

To sum up: It is a blast, the booking is often messed up, you WILL catch a lot of fish, all the guides are awesome. But definitely have a phone number handy in case there's a location mix up.

Have fun and write here when you get back, I'd love to know how it went!
PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Thank you!! This is awesome! Precisely the sort of info I was looking for!

DH is an experienced fisherman - he makes his own lures, has a closet full of rods and reels, tackle boxes all over the house, etc. We just don't have a boat. DS9 has been fishing a couple of times with DH but it isn't his favorite thing to do, so he would welcome the help with the bait and casting. DH is watching a bass tournament on TV right now, which I am SURE has fueled his desire to do this at Disney.

I am planning to book it for a morning that we don't have anything else happening so there won't be any rush for them to get back. My concern is getting them to the correct dock at 6:45 AM. We're staying at AKL so no matter what dock they choose they will have to take a cab. That fact makes me think they would be better off going out of a resort as opposed to DTD because they would have a better chance of finding someone to help them if the boat ISN'T where it needs to be. I can already hear my cell phone ringing and DH yelling if he can't find the boat.

I guess DH will have to decide if he wants to go for big fish or many fish and then be responsible for finding his guide at the designated dock. I tend to think DS will get bored if they only catch a couple of fish, even if they are enormous.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

This is great information. and I'm defintely going to use it to get DH back to WDW!! DS, DD and I go back every 18 months or so, but DH's last trip was 6 years ago....He just needs something new and different to get him there. Thanks!

 

[MAGGIED]

My DH and DS have done the fishing excursion once and planning on it again in April. Their first trip was out of the POLY - they did the 7 am one and had to arrive at 6:45 -they loved it...my son caught alot of fish and was very excited. My DH said that their guide was great..very helpful to my son..my DH loves to fish and it was nice that the guide was able to help so much... this time they are doing the excursion out of the CSR and it doesn't use live bait becasue of the lake but that doesn't seem to matter to either of my men...they are excited to go. This is one of the highlights of the trip for them... try it