Agate D. I knew what ya meant. hahahahhaa
No offense meant nor taken. hahahah

It is the same as if my Wife buys a trip for me. As long as no fish are actually sold, then their is no law broken.

No worries Agate. Yer fine.

I would be so pissed if my trip was called and then I found out through others. LoPreste needs to get off his #%$ and get the money out.

How can the boats be so slow in returning money when they only give x-time to get money in or your out to the next depositing customer?

I am trying to get the cash together to go on the Intrepi in March.

sometime in a change of plan/trip.


pigsticker , do what i do at times, have them transfer the money , they are only walking distance from one landing to another.

I just talked to Andrea that trip is a go. I am just trying to find another grand and I'm goin.

UPdate on Shogun,

Thanks for the heads up mnrd55, I called Andrea and said I heard the boat was now a go after being told it was cancelled. She was flustured with the change in plans and will graciously let me transfer to another boat.

I am confused on the turn of events as there are still only acouple of people paid on the Shogun. I would ask point blank if the boat is 100% leaving the dock before I sent any $$$. J M O.

There are fewer and fewer openings on the other boats as of tonight. The Intrepid has the most space.

I would be EXTREMELY hesitant to go on the Shogun ever again after that type of flip flopping.

Let's face it folks. When we book these trips, there are a vast number of passengers who are then committed to Airfares, food, lodging, etc. while on the road. These boat owners will not reimburse you these expenses.

If they committ to accepting the monies, only to cancel days before said trip, THEN, reverse course and take the trip after all, I would find another boat, then pursue legal action if I lost serious money or worse yet, was then out ALL the money due to the other boats being full, or not being able to come up with the additional costs.

They should just take the trip with the booked passengers like a Man would. The losses are a business write off.

Look at the Intrepid. She has run extremely light loads since her christening. Some cater to the passengers, others to their own needs.

I myself am customer based and driven.

OK, I'm here. I've been out for a while. New job assignment as a narc and several trips at narc seminars. Then more narc stuff, then two weeks off for vacation over Toikey Day.

No I am not going this year. Can't take another two weeks off since I just got back from two weeks off.

Piggie....I understand that your buds are just paying for this "trip" and not pying for the "fish"---but it may not be that black and white. Just hypothetically speaking, I would argue that you received a substantial "benefit" in direct exchange for the fish...therefore, there was a "sale". There is not law that requries the money to be paid specifically for the fish or that a profit be made. A sale is a transaction--exhange of one commodity or benefit for another. I could be wrong.....and you may want to discuss it with Wifezilla, Esq......Best thing was not to mention it at all. Look it up in the California Fish and Game Codes. Then double check with Calfirnai Business or Cal Civil Codes on what consitututes a "sale". A give away for tax purposes iks just that you give it away nad teh IRS allows you to claim the amount at a fair market price. You don't receive anything from the recipient of the gift but you get recognition for good works and a recognized tax break from a third party-the IRS.

Hey Hoggie...I was in Seattle two weeks ago. Went to visit Wifezilla's brother living on a nice house facing lake Washington. Lunch at the Space needle, Pike Market, etc. Thought about you and our fishing trip last year.

Nope. No compensation or tax breaks for me.

They get every bit o fish, plus pay for processing and for shipping fish home. I have had run in's in the field with the CA. fish and game plenty of times as a guide.

I keep the entire Hunting reg.s section, printed out and in a 3 ring binder. I have corrected every game warden, in the field with his ticket book out, with their own laws.

The wardens were really cool with this. Statistics nation wide show that 9 out of 10 game wardens is wrong when attempting to cite people. ?????????

That is bbbaaaaaaaaaadddddd. That is one of the reasons that help me decide to leave guiding in CA. and focus on the midwest. 99% of our Game wardens here grew up hunting and not hugging trees! DOH!

Welcome back Olliebear. We missedya! Ya tattooed love Gawd!

what's the difference, nobody can tell me who I CAN GIVE MY FISH TO OR WHO HAS TO PAY FOR MY FISHING TRIPS EITHER !!! sHIPPING EDIBLE FOODS ACROSS STATE LINES IS WHAT CONCERNS MOST OF THE REAL IMPORTANT LAWS LIKE PSTRICIDES ETC, DISEASES AND WHATNOT. tHATS MY 2CENTS WORTH, HOW YOU LIKE ME KNOW !!!

WOW! I didn't see that one coming.
Foods across state lines as processed from fresh catch aren't the concern. It is the fruits and veggies that carry insects and pesticides.

I don't give one damn about the rest. Anyone wants to pay for my trips, the processing, etc....I am a very happy recipient.

But yelling? Really?????

We're all friends here.

Pigster, I used the Shogun a few times in the past 5 years or so and I have always had first rate service with them. In fact about 5 years ago I was scheduled for a 5 day trip with them & kept checking their website for the load and it was only showing about 14 people signed up, so I was worried they were going to cancel the trip. The day before the trip, I called down to the landing & they confirmed they only had about 14 passengers booked, but they were still going to go, so I showed up & had an entire stateroom to myself as did just about everyone else except for a few who wanted to room with their buddies. It was a great trip & loads of fish were caught. I used them a couple of years ago & had a full load, but still a fantastic trip! I personally would not hesitate to use the Shogun again. I don't know what's going on with them, but I'm sure they'll make it right, if they know what's best for them.

I have fished the Shogun myself and was blessed to have Norm, Bruse Smith, Kevin Osbourne and several others as the crew. Holy toledo, what a trip.

I was only concerned with their last minute flip flops that left some with all new airline and hotel problems and charges.

I see that they did take the trip this last week with a whopping 9 people onboard. Lucky dogs.

That takes ultra limited load to all new heights huh? hahahahhaha

Great boat, awesome crew.

Drawback? MY GOD! that boat is slow.

The Shogun and crew are in fact awesome, hace an eviable reputation in the LR fleet, provide great service and are extremely skilled at fishing.

The reason I got amped up was that I was called and told the trip was cancelled on one day and it was just a few days later the boat became a go and no one contacted me.

I live in Colorado so when told it was cancelled had to quickly sort out my options and make some decisions.

Both Andrea and Scottie were very professional once I called them and asked about all the changes. They made sure I would get on another boat if that were what I decided to do.

Then the "Cows" erupted and all hell broke loose on bookings.

I am on the Royal Star 12/26 and look forward to a fantastic opportunity to enjoy my first 10-day LR trip.

Enough said, I am going fishing.

SD, I can understand the frustration and also the anxiety with trying to rebook everything when you've already made all the arrangements. Anyway, I wish you a successful trip and may the fish Gods look kindly upon you and reward you with numerous COWS! Tight lines!

SD Tuna. I was on that trip last year and I smoked my biggest Tuna to date. A 237 pounder. We caught 15 over 200 that day and had a pretty good trip over all.

Randy nor Tim was onboard, however, we flat caught fish. Imagine how good you'll do if one or the other, or even both are onboard. But, I would plan on them being off the boat.
Even the greatest Capt's in the fleet need their family Christmas time.



We nailed a buch of Dorado's and slayed the Yellows. The crowd onboard was great. A good bunch of first timers from Wyoming that caught on quickly.

I also saw a veteran break off on 400 pound kite gear!!!! The weather was up and down. Didn't matter.....we caught a bunch of fish.

Only 1 Guy was hugely disruptive and it was his EXCESSIVE drinking. It is tolerated because he litterally throws hundred dollar bills around. His sons are all good guys, polite and extremely fun to be around.


The father is the most obnoxious, over the top, DRUNK I have ever seen in my life. The Father and the Youngest son, damn near came to blows EVERY SINGLE DAY. Plus, he will do everything he can to try to teach you how to fish.

They did re-book upon our return to the docks!
His behavior was mostly limited to the end of the day when we were done and mostly headed for bed. Just a nice advance warning.

When he isn't drinking, he is decent to be around.

Everyone else on the trip is so far to the other side of cool. The group also puts on some fantastic card games.

Frank Lux is the charter master from Newell. Frank is the best. His sense of humor is fantastic. Very nice, a great guy to be around. He brings rods and reels that are at the passengers disposal. His incredible knoweledge on Cow catching is awesome. The give aways are thru the roof. Last year there was a ton of reels, shirts, fluorcarbon, jigs, hooks, hats, etc. Frank went waaaaayyyyyyyyy out there on gifts.

If the boat hit's Turtle bay on the way home to fish Yellows, I smoked everyone onboard about 2-1 on the scrambled egg yo-yo. I limited out there with this technique.
When the boat went in to fish the smaller grade Yellowfin, the guys with the 9 foot jig sticks were red hot!!!! Fly lined deens were great as well.

Coach, a tremendous guy is usually on this trip along with several others who have been on the Long Range scene for decades. Coach really taught me a great deal on the techniques for Cows as well as Frank. A better group of veterans you'll be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

When we hit the mother lode of Cows, the entire group became well meshed and worked very well at keeping the losses to an absolute minimum.

Over all, you'll fare well. Just take the heavy gear. I wish you a Super Cow on this trip. Merry Christmas.

I also saw a veteran break off on 400 pound kite gear!!!!


This happens, On the '06 15 day I was fishing the boats kite rig and was jerked 10' to the rail and the line snapped when I wound down the slack. If Fransisco hadn't been on the ball and grabbed my belt I might have been waterskiing at Hurricane Bank. There are sea monsters out there!