I am booking a March trip w/DD and I was wondering how many of you guys bring your own boat (if so what kind?) and how many do good with the bait provided on the boat. it will be an 8 hr. trip.

Man the whole puropse of going out with them is its a charter boat.....I do not think it would be possible for you to do this. You can bring your own poles and bait....Use what they have....you are paying for it and you dont have to worry about your stuff getting lost/stolen/broke

I fish party boats a lot and usually fish with DSH but also fish with DD. I always take my own gear. If your personal gear is adequte for whatever type of fishing being done you will enjoy it more.

As far as taking your own bait is concerned that's probably not necessary unless you plan to take some live perch. In March the target on an 8 hour will likely be Beeliners, AJs, sharks and Kings. There might be a Wahoo or Blackfin too. I spend a lot of time on Bob Hall Pier during the summer gathering pogies and then I vacuum pack them and save them. I take my own bait on these trips.

I went on DD ONE time, the boat was commsioned in 1969, cut in half and had 30 ft added to it. I was on the 40 hr. trip, we had a fuel leak 12 hrs into the trip had to run on one engine the rest of the time. Max speed 9 knots, with one engine. I think 17 knots with both. The second time we dropped anchor, winch broke, took an hour to get the anchor up that time, and had to tie to rigs after that. Fishing SUCKED ON THAT TRIP I'll never get on that boat again.

No refunds?

ive gone out with all of the party boats in port A. dolphin docks is my favorite by far! ive gone on probly 10 trips in the past 6 yrs with them. i had one bad trip last year, if there is any way you can go out on the dolphin express

That sounds like a pretty tough fishing trip there Perch Jerker. It sounds like you may have been on the Dolphin or the La Pesca. They are older boats and they are extremely slooowww.

DD has three boats. The two mentioned above and the Dolphin Express. The Express is the ONLY boat you want to use if you're going out with DD. It's much faster than the other two boats. However, I think the Exprexss only does 12 hours trips or less. I think the two bigger boats are always used on the longer 1,2 and 3 day trips.

I have fished offshore with probably every single charter down in Port A. In my opionion, the bottom line is that Dolphin Docks is the best all around if you're a hard core fisherman, with Deep Sea Headquarters running a very close second. Deep Sea has the fastest boats and a couple of good Captains. Dolphin Docks has excellent deck-hands and Captain Tim is a great guy who'll put you on the fish almost every time. The Scat Cat and Wharf Cat basically suck. Their trips are for beginners/tourists and they have the WORST deck-hands on the Gulf coast.

Perch Jerker, I think you just happened to catch Dolphin Docks on a bad day. Try the 12 hour on the Dolphin Express with Captain Tim and I think you may have a whole different outlook on them.

Just my 2 cents!

Sandie Man is absolutely, 100% correct...I might go out with someone other than DD but it would have to be free. I only fish for one big bite when I go with them and they always have live bait (for me at least) or I get something that someone is about to throw back and hook it on a 20/0 circle and my own rig and have ALWAYS gotten a run that I either brought in or me and the deck hands all could not turn....NO KIDDING!!

I went with Dolphin docks one time and my experience is completely different than what yall are talking about. We went out on 12hour trip drift fishing. The fishing consisted of dropping lines and drifting for literally over about an hour and half, reel them up move for 30min, drop lines float for another hour and half... rinse repeat... 12 hours zero fish(of all 45people on the boat only 3 alantic sharpnose sharks), 90bucks for a SLOW boat ride.

DSH have been moderatly productive this year, nothing to write home about, but it is REALLY nice to have a captain that moves the boat if the people arent on the fish in a reasonable ammount of time.

ELW...years ago I went on La Pesca w/out knowing that captain is virtually worthless...can't even remember his name and don't want to....Tim and Dean, IMO, are the best in Port A...go enough on long range trips and you will see what we all are talking about. However, I will never go on La Pesca again even for free! I don't know if this is the boat you were on, but I bet money it was....stay away...but the other 2 have the best crews down there - and I say this because a number of DD deck hands are actually captains with real licenses (not 6 pack - the real thing)...who else down there can say that? Most of the PA outfitters drag guys out of Shorty's or the Gaff when they need a couple of hands...pretty sorry IMO.

I was out on the La Pesca for 60 hour trips in Oct 2005, and Nov 2006. Capt Ken was the capt of that boat for both of those trips and he did an excellent job. I don't recall who was captain prior to Ken but I have been out on other great trips on that boat and the Dolphin with Capt Dean. It is a slow smokey boat so don't expect creature comforts, but for fishing, it's at the top. The crew has always worked hard and I've never had a disappointing safari.

I should have qualified my response..... a 12-hour trip (at least a few years ago) on La Pesca was just donating your $$$$$. Don't know now; maybe the captain has changed. On the long range trip it's fine...people seem to spend a great deal of time discussing boat speed....well, it's important to a point. If you are going fast to a non-productive area then what's the point. If you are with a captain who is going to put you immediately on fish (Tim is a good example)....an extra 30 minutes is completely relative. All in how you look at it I guess.

Fellas I have heard alot of good things about DD. The trip I was on the Capt. and the deck hands were really good, believe it, I even tipped them. BUT that boat I was on needs to be turned into an artifical reef. I give those guys credit working the boat, I know they wanted to talk about that peice of _it boat. But they were very profesional. And y'all were right that was the slow old broke down boat on the 40 hr. trip. But I can't remember the name, I'll go back to Freeport Elliot's boat ANNA. Until they sell it.