5 brownie points for Crazii (Joe Chan) Charters
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An excellent day of fishing for groupers with Joe Chan |
That brings me to fishing with Joe Chan and I wasn't disappointed. Fishermen are often skeptical of "comfortable" fishing charters since most productive boatmen are old timers and they don't really own luxurious boats. Joe Chan shatters all of this with his huge boat equipped with air con cabin and even a sun deck.
The first trip with Joe Chan to Southern Islands was a real treat and it shook me so much that I am writing about him! Below are five points that you can consider if you are taking his boat.
1. Fishing on Joe Chan is actually cheap
Air con cabin with two deckies & still affordable? Joe Chan's boat can take 10 anglers comfortable and his boat costs only about $800-$1000 to charter based on how much prawns you order. That's about only $100/pax which is the price most anglers are paying these days to fish on smaller boats.
Life will never be the same again.
2. Service is top notch
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Good service knows no boundaries |
Oh, did I mention that he has like 4 bait wells places in strategic corners of the boat?
3. Boat is woman friendly
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Air-con in the toilet. Need I say more? |
It also has a sundeck which is usually popular among the women (and their selfie sticks)
4. Joe is familiar with using artificial lures & bait
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Bring your jigs! |
Remember, truly experienced captains will tell you when to jig and what you are expecting. Instructions can be very detailed and might even consist of tips like using certain colours & techniques. Most of the time, the best advice is 'don't jig now, it's no use'.
Meanwhile, keep jigging.
5. Joe Chan is considerate and adapts well to your fishing needs
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A boatman for every need |
That's where Joe Chan scores well. On my first time with Joe Chan, he told us that current was too strong for our setups and went to somewhere with mild current. That was impressive because he adapted to his customers. Very often, we encounter boatmen who simply just drive to the spot anyway and when the customer loses the fish, the boatman will just say because your tackle cannot make it. Familiar?
Now, the second time I tested this theory was when a friend of mine booked Joe Chan for a corporate fishing trip. Same scenario here - how do you ensure a group of newbies on a company fishing trip catch fish? The standard request would be small sinkers, easy spots please. Joe Chan handled this well and the newbies caught some good fish on that particular trip.
In essence, a boatman cannot simply be good at finding good fishing spots, he/she must be considerate to factor in what your audience can do or cannot do. This is much easier said than done as you have to integrate this mindset into the fishing spots and expectations.
All in all, I would seriously recommend Joe Chan if you're looking for a fishing trip out to the Southern Islands!
Here are more pictures of Joe Chan's boat:
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Grouper with the woman |
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Yup, you can play ping pong on board I think |
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Plenty of leg room for jigging |
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See the two square containers? Those are live wells! |
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Lunch on the deck! |
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