Mark, Galveston - 07/30/2010

First, I would like to tell you that I have never fished with Paul, however, I would like to share this with you. I have been fishing out of Galveston as a charter captain for many years. When I am on the water, with or without customers, I try very hard to respect other boats, and certainly do not intentionally do anything to interfere with their time on the water. Twice now, this guy has done just the opposite with me. The first time, I thought that maybe he just made a mistake, or had a moment. However, the second time has shown me his true colors. We were fun fishing a rock offshore, and had a very nice ling on. We had drifted about 40 yards from the rock while fighting the fish. We had not seen another boat all morning, and there were numerous other structures within a mile of our location. We saw him coming at a distance. To my amazement, he came closely past us on plane, bow up, circled the rock (50 yards)twice, past us again, and went to another rock a half mile away. The whole time, I was waving him off, and looking directly at him at the helm. As he passed us, his poor customers even recognized what he had done. What a great way to start your day as a paying customer! The first two wakes came over the stern of my boat. I managed to start the motor and turn the boat and prevent more water. We managed to land the fish and drain the water. Needless to say, I was very angry. I drove to his location and expressed that anger, and he smirked at the helm. Feeling badly that his customers were having to witness this, I left. So, if you are looking to book a charter with this guy, keep this in mind.

Steven, Midwest - 05/03/2010

Worst trip ever! I've been on lots of boats of all kinds, with all kinds of fishing situations. This was the worst ever. First, the boat is rated for 18 people, but there is only room for about 6 or 8 to fish. No matter, THE CAPTAIN DOES ALL THE FISHING! There were 14 of us on the trip I took. The captainHe divides the passengers into groups and one or two at a time from each group get to bottom fish over the side. The captain takes the back of the boat and casts, or freelines or whatever. Whenever he catches a fish, he hands off the rod to someone from the next group in turn. Only then do you get to reel in a fish that has already been played for a bit. One fish I "caught" required only 3 turns of the handle, the captain had it almost to the boat vefore he handed me the reel. He had all kinds of fun, the rest of us mostly got to watch him work.

When someone got on a good fish, EVERYONE ELSE HAD TO REEL UP AND WAIT UNTIL THE FISH WAS CAUGHT. Not only do you not get to fish all the time, you have to wait while someone else fishes. I'm all for avoiding tangles and losing a good fish, but this is ridiculous. One of our party hooked into a huge ray - no chance whatever of getting it to the boat on the gear provided. All the rest of us had to stand around for over an hour by my watch while she struggled with the ray.

Most of the time we caught Atlantic Spadefish which the crew told us were "tiger snapper." There were a few red snapper caught by the passengers as well. Everything else was hooked by the captain who was the only one allowed to use anything but basic party boat bottom gear.

The captain eventually caught a big (70-lb) Cobia and handed the rod to me. Immediately the mate was at my side, but not to help or advise. First he hinted, they he suggested, then he came right out and asked me to give him the fish, this even before I got the fish to the boat. Twice more, on the way back to the dock, he asked for the fish.

The trip was not fun for me. I'm an experienced fisherman and I don't need someone to hook fish for me. I also don't like to stand around and watch other people fish just because the captain took out more people than the boat has room for at the rail.

The trip was not fun for some other folks as well. 4 or 5 people were seasick. THat's not the captain's fault. BUT, one of the best cures for seasickness is catching a fish. One of the worst things you can do when you're sick is sit around with nothing to do but dwell on your misery. This trip, with this captain and this system of "fishing," those people had no chance.

I have been on some bad trips, but never one as bad as this. Absolutely not worth the time, let alone the money

Delroy, Houston - 03/27/2010

The "Island Girl" is a modest sized vessel with the heart of a tigress. She (captain and crew) are sea worther fish hunters that zero in on some of the best spots in the Gulf. I have not had a bad day, although frankly (any day fishing is better than most on land). Captain Paul Stanton is entertaining, and sincere. His crew although rough around the edges have displayed similar qualities and most impressive have been the compassion showed to elderly candidates who have had the heart but not the physical constitution to brave the choppy conditions that sometimes arises in the Gulf. Although a tad bit on the pricey side, this experience makes up for it, due to the fact that the vessels seems to be ideal for private ventures. For this reason I recommend it, if for nothing than a good comparison/contrast to the other party style boats.