About Your Trip
Guided Trip Information Sheet
This sheet is provided to answer questions you may have regarding your guided trip and make your trip as memorable and enjoyable as possible. I want you to have a good time
and catch a lot of fish. Read carefully! All your questions should be answered here.
and catch a lot of fish. Read carefully! All your questions should be answered here.
Prices for licenses are as follows:
Resident
- Saltwater Package – $35
- All-Water Package – $40
- Senior Saltwater Package – $17
- Senior All-Water Package – $22
- Year-from-Purchase All-Water Package – $47
- One-Day All-Water License – $11
Non-Resident
- Saltwater Package – $63
- All-Water Package – $68
- One-Day All-Water License – $16
- I will not know which dock we are leaving from until the day before we are scheduled to fish. If the fishing is not good at one dock, I move to another dock to give my customers the best chance to limit out on fish. Guides who only leave from one dock don’t always catch fish because sometimes the fish move and you can’t catch what isn’t there. I will call or text you the day before your trip to let you know what dock we are leaving from. Please make sure you are available! If you need to leave from a specific dock, I can accommodate that request but the fishing may not be as good. I leave from Goose Island State Park, Cove Harbor, or Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Aransas. Plan your lodging around those three docks.
- You do NOT need a fishing license if you meet the following requirements
You do not need a fishing license/package if you:
- Are less than 17 years of age
- Are over 81 years of age.
- You should receive a tag on your license for a red drum over 28″. If you don’t the clerk selling you the license is making a mistake. Ask for additional assistance. Licenses may be purchased at many sporting good stores and even some convenience stores in Rockport, and Port Aransas. Examples of stores selling licenses are Wal Mart, Academy, Tackle Town in Rockport, and some of the docks. YOU NEED TO PURCHASE YOUR LICENSE THE DAY BEFORE YOUR TRIP.
- If I can not contact you by 9:00pm the night before we are scheduled to fish to tell you what dock and what time we are leaving from I won’t be at the dock the next morning. I turn my phone off at 9:00pm and you will not be able to contact me and I will not be fishing with you the next day. Please make arrangements to be available for dock time/location via phone or text at some point during the day preceding our trip. I’m very flexible. If you have to leave from a specific dock, I’ll do it. Please be aware that the fishing may not be as good as it could have been somewhere else.
- You need to bring the following on the boat:
Fishing license, cooler with food and drinks. Beer is fine but no bottles please. The glass is dangerous on a boat. Smoking is fine. Bring Hats, Sunscreen, Sunglasses, any personal items you may need. If you need me to provide a cooler, I can do that. Just let me know the night before. If we are fishing on the airboat, please remember that it’s designed around weight so try and pack as light as you can. Don’t leave out the food or drinks, but don’t pack for a week stay either.
- I clean and package all fish for you except in Port Aransas. In Port Aransas you will have to pay additional fees for fish cleaning services as there is no where for me to clean fish at the dock. In Rockport, there is no charge for fish cleaning and packaging. Fish can be left on ice for three days before they need to be frozen. If you need freezing services it can be arranged with advance notice. All fish should be frozen completely covered in water. It will last a long time and is very good if properly frozen.
- Smoking and alcohol is permitted. I want you to have a great time and I’ll get you home safely. Many of my customers are down here to have fun and drink some beer. That’s fine. I’ll get you home safely and we’ll have a good time. Sadly, I have to include this sentence as it’s becoming a problem. If you bring drugs on my boat your trip is over and you will pay in full. If I’m caught with drugs on my boat, I lose my boat and my license. Please don’t put me in that situation.
- If we have special requests, such as wade fish, redfish only, trout only, airboat only, drift fish only, special equipment etc. Please remind me the night before when I contact you regarding dock time and location. I want to make sure I’m providing you exactly what you want. I can do many specialty trips and I want you to get what you want. I can provide special help to the older customers or customers with disabilities. Just remind me in case I need to bring some extra gear.
- If there’s anything I’m doing on the trip that is not what you like, tell me. I’m here to make this a great day for you. I want you to catch fish and have fun. It won’t hurt my feelings if you tell me you want to do something different or if I’m not doing something you would like. My goal is to catch you the most fish we can and have fun. I can’t control Mother Nature and the fish eating, but I want you to fish the way you’d like. Please let me know if you’re not having a good time!
- You are welcome to bring your own fishing gear. Just let me know the night before so I can leave some of my gear out of the boat. Please make sure you are capable of casting your gear at least 20 yards with a light bait. Sometimes you may be casting against or sideways to the wind. If you can’t cast at least 20 yards, you need to use my gear. All my gear is set up to work with the wind and conditions we’ll experience in Rockport and Port Aransas.
- We are on a boat fishing. There is a chance that you might get saltwater spray on you at some time during the trip. If you bring your electrical items, cell phones, cameras, kids games, etc. It may get wet. I do my best to keep you dry and we don’t get wet very often but it can happen. We are dealing with Mother Nature and sometimes it gets windy and we might get some spray over the boat. I do not have waterproof storage for your electronics. I personally use a waterproof case for my cell phone and it works great.
Boat Rules
I never thought I’d have to have boat rules or guidelines but I want everyone’s trip to be safe and fun. All the things listed here are common sense and shouldn’t have to be addressed. Unfortunately, there’s folks out there who continue to do these things. Here’s a list of things that will make your trip better and avoid a trip to the hospital.
- Do not bring a catfish (hardheads) in my boat. They are dangerous and have a poison that hurts very badly. I had a guy swing a catfish in the boat and stick his wife in the back because he wasn’t thinking. It turned a great day of fishing into a really bad day in about three seconds.
- Do not lift fish into the boat with the rod. Most of our fish are large and if you lift the fish into the boat with the rod, you’re going to break a rod or lose the fish. Please let me net the fish or let me bring it in the boat with the leader.
- Do not crush beer cans on the bottom of the boat. It chips the gel coat. It also makes noise on the bottom of the floor that can scare fish. Put your trash back in your cooler or in my cooler. I provide a place for all your trash.
- Have fun! Relax and don’t be in a hurry. We’ll catch fish and see some neat stuff. Don’t get over excited. I’m a good fisherman and I’ll help you catch fish. Just be calm and cool and you’ll do great.