Hello all-
I am new on here and this is my first post. I just wanted to know if anyone here has experience in taking girls out fishing. I am thinking of taking my girlfriend fishing, but I dont know where to take her. I live in Irvine. I've had some bad experiences in the past taking ex-girlfriends out fishing. The last time, I took an ex on a 3/4 day and the fishing sucked, we were followed by sealions everywhere, and the deckhand decided to amuse himself by stabbing the fish in the eyeballs while fish cleaning. The girl who is a marine biologist, did not find this amusing. I am thinking of taking my current girl on a 1/2 day or something like that. What do you guys think?
Also, I would be interested in the Seahawk trip on the 16th. I grew up fishing on the old Seahawk with Merit and the gang. I know Merit is already gone, but I would like to go on the last trip, especially if the target is wsb. I caught my first wsb and got my first jackpot on the Seahawk!! Who are the deckhands on the Seahawk now? Are Mike and Lance still working?? Thanks for reading.

Fumio

If I could find a girl who liked going fishing with me I would marry her in a heartbeat

Fumio
Good subject, maybe my wife can make a post on this one :-)
If you're taking a girls fishing just do what you can to ensure an enjoyable experience. Go on a boat where you know the captain and or crew and you know what to expect fishing wise. Pick a day where the odds of good weather are good. Bring seasick medicine! Focus on having a good time not just catching fish.

As for the Seahawk trip, I don't know who does deck these days. I think Chaz is still around and possibly Mike. Luke does deck on the Seahawk sometimes too. Don't know about Lance or anyone else.

Hope to see you out there on the 16th. I'll put a post up when I have more details.

Ricky, Chas, the little blonde haired kid, Luke, Lance (once in a while)... I don't know if Rick has his own crew or if the normal crew is working on the Seahawk right now.
-Brian

Lately, the crew has been Ricky and Herbie...

Just wanted to clarify the question about who the deckhands are now: Mike Winn moved to San Diego (we miss him very much!). Luke and Chaz only work aboard the Stardust as our deckhands - and they are AWESOME! The Seahawk is leaving this week to LA so will their deckhands.

Hi Donya thanks for the clarification
Any tips for us on taking girls fishing?
I suppose Jason has gotten you out there a couple of times :-)

Donya-
Do you know which boat Mike is working on down in SD? We used to fish together when I was down there. He used to work on the Producer and the Fisherman III. Do you know if he got back on those boats? I am thinking that maybe he might be at Seaforth b/c he's good buddies with Shawn Trowbridge on the Legend.
By the way, what is Merit doing? A friend of mine told me that he was thinking of doing some marine biology stuff.
Thanks.

Fumio

I have so far taken three girls fishing with me and they have all had a good time and wanted to do it again. I would suggest taking her to a lake rather than the ocean so that you know she wont get sea sick, also sometimes party boat trips dont make good company for a normal person (good for people who are atleast a bit into fishing). It would probably be easier to go and target trout, or panfish on a lake. I would rent a boat and then go out with some worms or powerbait. Your pretty likely to catch fish and have a good time, and also your not surrounded by a bunch of raunchy guys that are cussing and scratching there asses while reeling in fish. (no offence to all of you guys that do that, i am one of those guys to! Well, at least the cussing part)

So i'd say go rent a boat and head out to a local lake for some panfish or trout, I have had three successful trips and on one of them my lady friend caught the bigger trout than me!

Brian #2

Good luck

Hmmm, fishing and girls ha? I have been taught that the two don't usually go together well. But, in the event that you want to mesh them I have a couple of suggestions that will probably make life a bit easier on you, and on her. Here goes....

Saltwater:
Probably not a good idea to take her floatubing if it's her first time fishing! :) I would recommend a nice 1/2 day boat (my favorite is the Stardust, but that's also the only one I've been on). You can go for just a few hours so she will have a good time and not get too warn out or bored. If she does get bored she can go lay in the sun and watch you try to catch fish...or because she just slayed you and doesn't want to make you look bad in front of all your buddies. Either way, you get the picture. I would definitely get some Drammamine so she doesn't get sick and make your life hell. All that said, the most important thing to do when you take a girl on the ocean is let her catch some fish. This could mean any of the following: bait her hook for her unless and until she wants to do it herself, fix her snags, basically fix anything that goes wrong, and if she can't catch a fish herself.... let her keep trying but hand her your pole if you happen to hook one. It would also be a good idea to tell the capitan and/or crew that she's never fished so you are hoping to help her have a good time. If they are smart, they will assist her here and there during the day. I know when I go on the Stardust the capitan and the crew help me bait, cast, and land the fish... if they think I need the help! They pretty much want everyone happy, and that means your girl too so make sure you altert them to it.

Freshwater: The first thing I would be concerned with here is the weather. If it's cold and/or windy she will be pretty bummed out, especially if you keep fishing...don't do that! She will think you are a selfish $#!*&. Make sure that she brings a bathing suit and a book or magazine in case she gets bored, sorry she might. Don't take this personal, she may just see this as her best opportunity to sunbathe and/or read some gossip. When she does fish make sure that she is having a good time, help her get some good line on, some good lures... and I would recommend letting her fish with your lure once and a while so she knows she's not getting jipped with a crappy one! If you are using it why can't she?? That's what she will be wondering- so don't say I didn't warn you. It's fine to bore her with stories, brag a little, and tell her how good you think you are, she might even believe you a little or else she wouldn't be out there with you, would she? Don't EVER get upset with her or that will be the last fishing trip she takes with you. Don't make her hold the fish if she doesn't want to, but let her if she does. Let her reel in some of your fish, if she's not already hooked up herself. Basically, have fun, don't get mad at her, and let her do or not do as much as she wants. Whatever she doesn't want to do, you do for her. Eventually you can wean her off of you doing stuff for her, but not for a VERY long time...

And remember, she's mostly going fishing to be with you, not to fish. No matter how excited you are, don't take it personally that she's not as stoked as you.... she just wants to be with you so make sure you make her time enjoyable!

-Summer

"If it's cold and/or windy she will be pretty bummed out, especially if you keep fishing...don't do that! She will think you are a selfish $#!*&."

LOL, do I sense some speaking from experience here??? j/k :-) I fully expect to see you on the overnight Seahawk Summer... Afterall, you've only been on the 1/2 day... Would sleeping in scale covered clothes next to a bunch of smelly guys in the bottom of a boat go on the "things to do" with your girlfriend, or "things not to do" side??? (it's not THAT bad...) LMAO.
-Brian

Mrs. Swimbait - great handle - I love it!!!!

you make a great point stating that they are probably more interested in just being with the guys than fishing. My wife does fish with me sometimes and she says she likes it but I know she'd never go without me.

Although I have never tried it I think one of the best fishing trips you could take your significant other on is a two person kayak fishing inshore on a beauitul, calm summer day when the halibut are hitting minnow baits in shallow water. That way it is not fishing it is kayaking with some fishing thrown in :)

My wife has been out in the float tube a few times in the ocean and aside from occasionally thinking about sharks she likes it. She enjoys the harbor/wharf area when it doesn't smell. I think she likes the "touristy" scenery and atmosphere of that area. She's caught halibut and wsb and knows how to cast a conventional reel. Her first largemouth ever was a 19 incher. She broke one of my rods pulling on a yellowtail. Ya just gotta love her!!

http://www.sresearch.com/images/pw/jen_fish_collage.jpg

Rob - putting together this collage gave me an idea for your site. How about adding another photo section devoted to women and fish?

***********************

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

My suggestion, Twilight out of Dana Wharf. As a deckhand there (yes, I'm back full-time, somewhat to my dismay) I can give some possibly unthought of reasons to try this.

1) It's the shortest trip you can take (4 hours)
2) It's very likely that other guys will have their ladies out also. Many guys use the twilight for what you're thinking. She'll be more comfortable if she's not the only lady out there.
3) These trips do tend to focus more on fun than hardcore fishing.
4) 99% of the current deckhands at the Wharf are good guys, and want the passengers to have fun and catch fish. We all have our bad days, but over all there is many great crews there. We are all a bit weird, but I can't recall too much eyeball stabbing. Though there's probably been other gross acts best left in the mind and not acted upon.
5) After it's all done, you'll both know if she likes it. If she does, be stoked. I sure wish my wife liked to fish. She thinks I'm nuts, she can't fathom (pun intended sorta) liking it, let alone living for it.


Good Luck,
Amish Ed

What worked for me was to have my wife ride the front seat of my Malibu Two kayak. We just hit the local kelp beds in Santa Barbara on nice days and she really loves it. No extra work for me other than removing fish from her lures, changing lures for her, and watching her catch more fish than I do. :) I do all the paddling from the rear seat and she holds the two rods between stops. If nothing else, it is just nice to be out on the water together and we usually see some marine life (dolphin, etc.)

Mike

Thanks so much for all the great ideas and insights on taking girls fishing. I really appreciate all the input. Thanks especially to Summer for the ladies point of view. I guess I have to return that float tube I got for her... j/k.
I am leaning toward a 1/2 or twilight. Panfish and trout sound good, but I must admit that I have not fished much for either fish. My freshwater fishing is limited to bass fishing, and when it comes to bass, the tougher the bite, the longer I fish... not good, when you are with a girl, I assume. I am however, concerned about all the butt scratching that goes on on the party boats (j/k). We've gone kayaking together, so maybe that is an option too. Amish Ed, which boat do you work on? Maybe we can go when you are working. The only problem would be that my girlfriend gets cold easily. She wears sweaters during the summer sometimes. We have gone whale watching twice, and one time she got seasick, but recovered pretty quickly. I was pretty impressed. I think I will have to bait her hooks, tie her knots, etc.
Swimbait and Leapin' Bass, you two are two really, really lucky dudes!
Changing the subject, has anyone fished off of a longboard? I just got one to learn surfing, but the first thing I thought of when I got on one was if I can fish off of this thing.
Swimbait, I am definitely up for the Seahawk trip. If my girlfriend turns out to be a fishing nut (ok, not likely), I will bring her too (maybe the ladies are cringing that I am thinking this already). By the way, who is second ticket on the Seahawk? Is Mike (Winn) still around?

Fumio

Fumio, I work on the Sum Fun. I just got back from a twilight. It sucked bad tonight. We had 5 bass on the boat. Last night I fished the twilight (wasn't enough people for me to work), and they bit o.k. I had 7 legals, and I think we had 50 for the night. Our Schedule varies, so send me an email when you get a better idea of when you want to go.

As far as longboard fishing goes, yes you can do it. I haven't tried it, but many people do it. Me, I just grab the tube if I want to fish. Someone around these boards used to hit West Reef (just North of San Clemente Pier), but I don't know if they still hang out here.

Where do you tube?

Good luck,
Amish Ed

Hey Amish Ed-

Thanks for the info. I am thinking of taking her maybe next weekend, or maybe something like Tues or Thurs night. I shall email you. Do you think the giant squid thing will happen this year on the twilights?
I've tubed before at Lake Miramar, when I was in college. Usually, the bass fishing there is really tough. Now, I am in grad school and butt poor, and I dont own a tube anymore. Maybe I should save up and buy a new one, but I just bought my longboard.

Fumio

Awesome thread! you guys have some stud wives! Mine has gone with me 2x only. if you have a boat and are going freshwater, a picnic lunch is a good romantic thing. Mine loves to cast lures as opposed to soaking bait--now that is cool.