We had a great time on board the Queen Jean! Here are the points that matter for my review:
Overall, I would guess there are options for a more personal experience, better equipment, newer boats and different types of fishing, but you won't find it for $60-$70. For myself and my girlfriend, for well under $100 each including food and tips, we had a fantastic time. If you want a basic experience that is fun and affordable, look no further.
4: the trip out is between 12-15 miles. The boat is 70' long. It takes a minute, folks. The trip out to the fishing area is about an hour long. I found it a fun experience. We saw a dolphin, had some food from the galley, and enjoyed the ride.
7: the mates happily cleaned the fish back at the dock. They filleted them out and packed them in plastic zip lock bags with ice.
6: I personally caught only grunts and Black Sea bass, but other fish that were caught included red snapper, a grouper and a mackerel. We saw amberjack, but none were caught.
2: the boat is an older boat, but who cares? I was not buying the boat, I just wanted something seaworthy to fish off of. It did the job just fine.
8: I tipped the crew $20 and tipped another $20 for the fish cleaning. I tipped a couple bucks for the food also. Tip whatever you are comfortable with, but honestly, for a 5 hour trip, I figured $20 was fair.
5: the galley...basic, but good food and quite reasonable. $1 for bottled water, $2 for a Coke, $4 for a quesadilla. It is a counter with a griddle, basically. Bring cash and remember to bring some smaller denomination bills, as change is limited.
The best fishing on the coast
1: originally scheduled to go out of Wrightsville Beach but the trip was canceled. We received a discount for our inconvenience and went out a different day from Topsail Beach. The discount was appropriate for the trouble.
I went with my 3 sons and we caught 14 fish between us. The 2 mates were helpful. At one point, 3 of our lines crossed with another person who was fishing. I It took the mate 40 minutes to get all lines back in the water. The mate told us that there were no other rods available. Throughout the whole time we waited for the lines to be untangled, the captain and 2 other workers fished 10 feet away from me. That is poor customer service. That was a lot of time considering we only spent a total of 90 minutes fishing (5 hour trip with 3.5 hours spent traveling out and back). So, we caught 14 fish in a short time, I had a good time with my sons, but the customer should come before the employee.
3: the mates, Matthew and Jeremy, were awesome! They were young, fun, personable, helpful and genuinely got excited when fish were being reeled in, coaching the people on what to do in order to get the fish up. I was slightly worried about the crew based on other reviews, but we found them to be the best part of the trip. I don't know what other people expected, all I wanted was to be shown what to do, and assisted in identifying what I caught. These guys would do whatever you wanted or needed. They happily baited hooks for other guests, removed the fish from their hooks, helped drop the lines, demonstrated techniques and coached very respectfully. The captain (not the mates) did drop a line off the back of the boat. I have no problem with that at all. He did not put himself first, he just joined everyone else in doing what we were all there to do.
Fun people, great mates! A great time with family, catching plenty of fish!
Folks, don't waste your time or money! The only reason this company is able to be in business is because he is the only one in the Surf City area doing it. ( and bring your cash, they don't take anything else from us tourist)? Drive the hour south of Wilmington, spend a little more money and see what a real head boat charter is all about. I'm from the Great Lakes area and have been on plenty of head boats that offer far better service, with far better professionalism! First off don't expect a five hour fishing charter. You'll spend three plus hours idling out (top speed) into the ocean and back on his antique boat. Spend another hour cruising around looking for fish due to his inexperience. Honestly, your line may be in the water sixty to seventy-five minutes tops. I actually caught fish, but very few. My two daughters, none, because we never stayed in one spot more than fifteen minutes! The boat was packed with at-least fifty people and it was elbow to elbow. The back of the boat was roped off and I asked if we could fish out the back since I was fishing on top of the person next to me. I was told "No that area is reserved for the captain and his crew." (We call em deckies!!!) How professional! Saw a young lady get sea sick. Apparently she was using a bucket to get sick into. She walked up to one of the deckies, asked if there was a way she could rinse out her bucket, he said "sorry, we don't have any fresh water on the boat". What a lie!.I am a business owner and would NEVER think of running my operation like this is ran. Bottom line, if you want a sight seeing tour of the coast, go for it. If you want to deep sea fish, stay in your condo and sleep, and donate your sixty bucks (cash) to the local turtle rehab.
Brad
Queen Jean Charter is a US Museum based in Topsail Beach, North Carolina. Queen Jean Charter is located at 720 Channel Blvd, Topsail Beach, NC 28445, USA.
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