I don’t like to give negative reviews, having been a guide myself in Ontario long ago. However, I would ONLY go again with Captain Hill with these circumstances: agree beforehand on what fish to target, take only 2 people (for room with casting), and take only expert casters.
First, the good. Nick, the mate, was great – always there, and very responsive. He freed up multiple lures. The Penn reels and rods and lures were good. I would have liked a longer fluorocarbon leader than 18” (I use at least 6 feet) from the high-visibility braid. Captain Hill clearly has a great range of tackle and lures.
Second, the less than optimal. I had suggested going for blue catfish, since I was going with 3 novice casters. Instead, we went for striped bass using jerkbaits. My three novice casters (I had practiced with them the night before) had great difficulty reaching any of the target areas. Particularly around Hart-Miller Island, none of them could reach the shore where the rockfish were. We never attempted to get closer so they could (I don’t know that area enough to know the dropoff.) With 4 of us, we spread out on one side, as suggested. The roof of the cabin prevented the middle 2 from getting enough room to cast. (I tried snap-casting and could not get even close to the shore.) I was the only one who could get close to the shore and had 2 good hook-ups. Expert casters would do well.
Finally, the one keeper we caught had red-pink sores on both sides of its body. See Unhealthy looking Striped Bass? | Virginia Institute of Marine Science **hidden content** This was – at least to me, as a doctor and biologist – clearly mycobacteriosis. Captain Hill explained that the striped bass “get injured being next to the rocks.” I have seen muskies run into the motor, but never rockfish getting injured by rocks. Plus, the scales were intact. Maybe he has seen this, but to me it makes no sense. He did filet the fish at the end of the trip, and did wash his hands at the conclusion. I made sure those who handled the fish used cleanser, and we did not eat the fish. (Don’t eat fish you would not buy at the market.) Others with less biology background might get infected. My daughter (a surgeon and expert filet-er) and I both noted that he wasted a lot of the meat on the fish when he fileted it (he was at least ¼” from the backbone.) That’s just my observation, used to filleting freshwater fish where every centimeter counts!
So, take the good with the bad. I won’t go again, but expert casters might. This was the conclusion of all 4 of us, independently. He clearly knows the Bay and Middle River area, has great tackle, etc. and would be great for a group of expert fishermen.
I don’t like to give negative reviews, having been a guide myself in Ontario long ago. However, I would ONLY go again with Captain Hill with these circumstances: agree beforehand on what fish to target, take only 2 people (for room with casting), and take only expert casters.
First, the good. Nick, the mate, was great – always there, and very responsive. He freed up multiple lures. The Penn reels and rods and lures were good. I would have liked a longer fluorocarbon leader than 18”...
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I don’t like to give negative reviews, having been a guide myself in Ontario long ago. However, I would ONLY go again with...