queen mary fishing

Sam,It was a pleasure having you and Aidan aboard. Your son fished hard all day, and he reaped the rewards of his efforts. Thanks again for your kind words. The crew of the Queen Mary always attempts to work as best as we can with all our customers. You and your son were very kind to let others slip into your spots so they could catch a few fish too. This was very courteous and appreciated. Hope to see you aboard in the futureCapt Dave Riback

Joe,Always a pleasure having you and Mike aboard! The cleaning operation on the way in is a pain in the….. especially when we have a nice crowd. Unfortunately, in the summer months it's a true necessity due to the hot sun baking the mess onto the paint. If we can keep it wet and get clean quick, it saves hours of clean up. I have been on the mates about being extra courteous when asking customers to move for a few minutes while they clean. It must be nicer to return to a cleaner environment. Please let me know more of your thoughts, as constructive criticism is always helpful in improving our relationship with our customers

Always a pleasure having families aboard and teaching people how to fish! Glad you gave our day trip a try and had a fun, fish filled day! Hope to see you aboard again in the futureThanks Capt Dave

Sounds like your group had an enjoyable day aboard! Thanks for the kind works. The crew always appreciates it. They try their best to help people and show customers a good time. Hope to see you aboard on your next visit to NJ Thanks again,Capt Dave

Melissa,First I would like to say, I'm sorry you and your boyfriend did not enjoy your afternoon. Unfortunately, the afternoons this season have not been calm. I want you to know that we would never take families out in dangerous, unbelievably rough, conditions. Weather is a tricky thing, and often changes rapidly. When I brought the boat in an hour and a half earlier it was getting nicer and nicer as the day had grown long. Capt Nick said the ride out was nice and an hour after getting anchored up the wind picked up dramatically. The forecast was for the wind to keep diminishing not pick up and blow harder. The fishing end was OK-good that evening. As for the ride home, you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT about the lack of judgement by the head of the crew. Capt Nick instructed the crew to clean what they could and to have the customers seated inside and out. Myself and Capt Nick have reprimanded the crew and have made it clear to never move customers when the ride is not comfortable and dry. Thanks Capt Dave

It's unfortunate this summer has brought lots of wind and rough seas. As mentioned we canceled the previous Tuesday as well as many others this season. We only cancel for rough seas or dangerous weather. As far as rough weather, yes it was a bit choppy this past Tuesday afternoon, but far from too rough or dangerous. All boats in the afternoon fleet fished that same afternoon. This is a tricky sport, many get motion sickness on both calm & choppy trips. We make it a clear recommendation in our reservation response & website to please consider motion sickness medication. If motion sickness medication is taken correctly most who use it find success. If you would like to try again please contact me directly. Thanks Capt Dave

I'm so glad to hear your husband had a wonderful time aboard! The Captain and crew always appreciate the kind words. Thanks againCapt Dave Riback

Hi,Sounds like you and your son enjoyed the day and caught lots of fish. The crew always appreciates our customers accolades and tries to improve on the constructive criticism. I'm glad you felt the crew was helpful, skilled and did a nice job. The Fish Cleaning fee has been $1 per fish since I was a deckhand in college, that's over 25 years ago. I understand it may seem steep when the fish are cocktail size, but we do not charge more all Spring and Fall when the fish are 10+ pounds. If you ever have an issue please being to my attention. The mates are trying the earn a living and are happy to negotiate the fish cleaning fee, something is better than nothing. The smaller fish do take a few seconds less time to fillet, overall, it's very similar and care must be taken to maximize the fillet. Hope to see you aboard again in the futureThanks Capt Dave Riback

Glad your family had a nice day aboard the Queen Mary! Early July has been tough fishing for the second year in a row. Hopefully your family will try us again when the fish are biting. August into October the past few years has seen very good fishing for Bluefish. As for the motion sickness, it happens, but most people do not take any medication. We find those who properly take Bonine usually do not get affected. Give it a try next timeThanks Capt Dave

George,I'm sorry your experience aboard was unsatisfactory. Not sure of the date you joined us this season, as our season opener was May 3rd, we never sailed in April 2014. If you were aboard one of the first 2 trips of the season, yes they did absolutely stink. The beginning of every season comes with many question marks. First, where are the fish? This can be very easy some years but most it's a hunting mission taken on by the whole fleet. When most of the fleet started 2 weeks before us and caught nothing. The Queen Mary opted to wait until the latest ever to start, in hopes some fish would present themselves. After the coldest winter in decades at the Jersey Shore, I knew it would take a little longer than normal. As for the riding around all day, I never understand this one? If I'm riding around, it's in search of, remember fuel costs more than $4 per gallon. I could do what many others do, go a planned distance, stop and let you catch nothing for hours. I try and find fish! If I know there is nothing why stop? Sometimes the search goes longer than others. If you ever want to know what is actually going on please read the daily fishing report, http://www.njqueenmary.com/reports.aspx take a look it's the truth. When it's good, it's good when the day stinks the report reflects the actual. I hope you will give us another try.Thanks Capt Dave

Ray,Thanks for the kind words! Thanks for coming aboard and look forward to fishing with you again this season! Always nice when someone goes out of their way to say good not just the bad.Thanks again,Capt Dave

I'm so glad you and your family had a wonderful time! Fishing is not always catching! Aboard the Queen Mary we strive to provide an enjoyable and fun family atmosphere. Working with kids and novice anglers is our crew's forte. Seeing a big smiles on faces always means we are doing our job! Hope to see you aboard again in the future Thanks for the kind words, Capt Dave

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you lucked out with the weather. Most evenings this summer have been windy which makes fishing tough. You had one of the nicer evening and the fish were actually biting for a change. Hope to see ya aboard again soon! Thanks Capt Dave

I'm very sorry you felt I did not do my best to find you fish. Unfortunately, this Spring 2013 fishing season has been very poor overall. The month of May had many poor results, but fishing has improved in the past week or so. I did not make the 30+ mile run to where the fish were biting early in the day because the tides were not favorable. The fish had been biting only on the early morning tide that week. We would have arrived on the scene as the tide was switching and caught very little or nothing at all. The long run also gives us only one place to look. If we miss the window of opportunity then we are out of time to look another direction. When I feel we can make the run and catch lots of fish in the short time we have, I don't hesitate to go the distance. The crew and I pride ourselves on doing our best to find fish for our customers. Unfortunately, it's fishing not catching sometimes. I hope you give us another opportunity to show you a good time.

We had a really great time on this boat! The captain and deckhands were all fantastic and knew their stuff about finding and catching the fish. We had caught plenty to bring home and cook for a few days! Although our boat was full, unfortunately, we had a good handful of newbies who ended up getting quite sick on the way out. After the fishing excursion, on our way back in, the deckhands started to wash down the boat, forcing everyone to move from one side to the other, then inside the boat, until they were done. Once finished, everything was soaked and there was no where to sit any more, except for inside, which held all of the poor sick people and not enough room for everyone. I had asked one of the deckhands why they couldn't wait to clean the boat until everyone had gotten off at the dock, and he said that they rinse it down with salt water first, and then at the dock, clean it with fresh water. But again I asked why not wait till at the dock, when everyone could exit the boat, and he responded by saying it would take longer and they'd be there an extra hour at the dock cleaning... this way, they already knocked off an hour of cleaning. I was kind of surprised at this, and the overall experience on the boat was really great, but to end the trip on the way back, moving all around the boat, and then not having anywhere to sit until getting back to the dock was a little disappointing, and strange. I've been on other fishing boats off the shore before, and this was the first I'd ever been on that they started washing down the boat WHILE we were still on it, and while they were still trying to filet the fish off the back.