Island Princess

I went on a Thursday 12 – 4:30. The time is great because it gives an hour more than majority of other boats. However, the crew were not so friendly. Everyone fished on half of the boat. The other half was not used. My spot was directly in front of the men’s room. When I asked if I can change the spot, the girls kept saying when we go out, we will spread everyone. I just wanted a place to sit preferably away from the men’s toilet. I just feel like for $ 45 + tip, I can be treated better on other boats.

For the second year in a row — these guys provided a great fishing trip for about 20 of us as a birthday party. Everything was awesome. See ya next year.

Clean boat, helpful crew, fairly priced! What more could you want?
You can tell just by walking past all of the boats in Captree that this one is the best cleaned/​maintained boat. The crew was super helpful throughout, from beginning to end. There was a large group of us and they were kind enough to make sure everyone got to the boat before taking off (there was a significant amt of traffic to the beach, so the boat left about 5 after).
When we arrived the crew was super helpful with bringing our coolers on board, etc, as well as throughout with re-​doing our lines, making sure lines weren’t crossed, and re-​baiting. Definitely environmentally conscious and abiding by not only laws but being conscious of what’s best for the fish (i.e. ‘please don’t pick the fish up w your t-​shirt bc if it’s not a keeper it won’t do well when it goes back into the water’ etc)
Definitely wouldn’t use anyone else! And if you go don’t forget to tip the crew! =)

Clean boat, great crew. Sometimes on party boats the mates have attitudes and seem to mock the patrons. I’ve seen, not here. They were all courteous and on top all the fisherman anytime there was an issue. Unfortunately, my group didn’t have any «keepers’ but it was a good time.

Awesome Boat, and Crew. The Island Princess is kept immaculately clean, there is plenty of room to fish on deck, or enjoy the sun on the upper deck. The galley is roomy, and is fully stocked with candy, chips and cookies for sale, and complementary coffee. The Captains always do their very best to locate the fish, and the crew is always there to help you when you need it. It is a very family oriented boat, focusing on 4 hour trips during the summer. I have fished on the Island Princess for over 12 years and will continue to fish there in the future.

Four of us booked the 7:00 — 10:00 PM evening bay charter with their other boat (The Island Pride) but there weren’t enough people so they moved us over to the Island Princess after we were all settled in. The Island Princess was full/​crowded which is obviously good for business but didn’t make for the best experience. The only upside was that this boat goes out for 4 hours instead of 3 and they fortunately didn’t try to charge us the difference in price. This was our first night fishing trip so after numerous day trips for fluke, we had high hopes/​expectations for blues/​stripers/​bass/​weakfish/​porgies. Within the 4 hour trip, we made at least 10 stops at different spots and only 1 fish was caught for the entire boat. Either the fish were on vacation or this captain doesn’t know where to find them. We spent the majority of the time trying to untangle our lines with other passengers. Sometimes the crew assisted, but for the most part we were on our own. Speaking of the crew, it was mostly teenage kids who are obviously less experienced. Needless to say we were all very disappointed and felt the evening was a waste of time and money.

One of the best boats in the fleet… I’ve been on all of them. Captain tries hard to put you on the fish. Mates were very helpful. Would fish that boat again in a heartbeat.
Prices are the same as the other boats in the area.
Remember folks it’s called fishing not catching.

Going out to Captree State Park at the end of Ocean Parkway, you can find a fleet of different Charter Boats that will take you out to fish for whatever is in season and available at that time of the day. We came down to the docks on a Saturday evening for the 6pm — 10pm trip, and decided to try Island Princess which was fishing for Striped Bass with live eels as bait.
For $ 50 (cash or credit: AMEX, Visa, Mastercard), they will take you out to catch fish for about 4 hours. Fishing poles and bait are provided. You can also opt in for the $ 3 pool, which you win the pot if you catch the largest eligible fish. You can also bring your own cooler of beer and food and whatever other snacks that will help you get through the day. Inside the cabin, there is also a small counter that sells several items varying from Cup of Noodles, hot dogs ($ 3), hot chocolate ($ 1), and more. Complimentary hot coffee is served with powdered creamer and sugar. Inside the heated cabin area are about 5 – 6 tables that seat about 4 ppl each, and a small LCD TV with satellite to watch. There are also two single-​stall bathrooms near the aft of the boat, one for men and one for women, that was decently clean though got slightly dirty as the evening progressed.
Captain Nick Manzari took us out to about 12 – 15 drifting spots. Whenever there was a problem, the crew were very helpful and courteous. They would come as quick as possible to fix your line, put live bait on your hook, and other issues or questions you may have. For the ~30 people on the boat, only two people had caught ~2 foot stripers. The captain was nice enough to take us out for 2 – 3 additional drifts until around 10:30pm, but no such luck for the majority of people hoping to catch anything.
For the most part, charter boats are a nice alternative to get out in the ocean and catch some larger fish (striped bass, sea bass, bluefish, porgies, fluke) when the docks limit you to smaller fish. But for $ 50, I found the price to be pretty steep, especially if you come back empty-​ended. I would have expected the captain to use his radar and fish finder to find us some good fishing spots, but after speaking to one of the crewmembers, he commented that it’s been pretty slow and not too many fish have been caught.