Dona Nina Fishing Tour, Charter Privado 4 heures (6 personnes en adelante)

Caught Lots of Fish- Rough Seas

I am an experienced offshore fisherman and wanted to fish during a recent cruise stopover in Puerto Plata. 6 hour trip 8am-2pm. We fished with Capt Carlos on the Dona Lucy with mates Saul and Jimmie along with my two sons, ages 14 and 16. They are experienced inshore but not offshore. First let me say this, there are windmills on the coast of PP for a reason...it is a windy area...which makes for large swells and rougher than normal seas than you might be used to. If you are prone to seasickness, this is probably not the area to try offshore fishing for the first time. This day swells were running 6-8 feet with a solid chops and whitecaps...it was quite rough for me, my 16 yr old handled it well, my 14 yr old, not so well. We fished in his 45' boat...I think he said they have 3...a 33 a 45 and a 54. I would suggest fishing the larger boats as the 33 would really make for a rough day. His boat was basic, nothing fancy, but well equipped with Tiagra 30 and 50 wides and roller rods. Line was in fair condition but overall fine. He was on time and waiting for us at pick up. Made a short drive from cruise terminal to the marina and got our paperwork done, we were on the boat in 10 minutes. Capt Carlos stays up top...very little interaction with you unless you go up. Saul and Jimmie were both very personable and were quick to offer snacks and drinks. They provide basic snacks, water, beer, soft drinks. Capt Carlos fished a 5 line spread, 2 on outriggers, 2 flat lines and 1 shotgun. Later in the morning, one of the flatlines was put on a planer for wahoo. You will put in the lines as soon as you clear the marina and troll for 1.5 hrs or so out to a fishing buoy. Apparently some of the captains got together and put a fish attracting buoy in about 1500m. As we neared the buoy, the mates checked all baits and then mayhem broke loose...4 lines hit with dolphin (mahi-mahi) everywhere...we landed all 4 and then made several passes past the buoy...ended up with 10 fish total with 2 nice bulls of 30-35lbs each...all dolphin. Wished we had caught a wahoo or tuna but not this day. After we left the buoy things slowed down and we picked up a couple more dolphin. At this point is was 12:30 and my 14 yr old had had enough. I told Saul we could call it a day and we turned back into to shore. Trolled all the way back in without another hit and were at the dock at 1:30. This was at my request so I had no problem with the early return. Concerning money...I've read other reviews about them being insistent on getting their cash at the dock. They did me too but I expected it. I would guess that because the waters around PP are so rough, some folks bail after 30 minutes because of seasickness or whatever and can't take it...then probably gripe about having to pay full fare for a short time on the water. Keep in mind the Capt booked this time for you and there's no reason to gripe (or not pay) if your party quits early...so there's that. The mates Saul and Jimmie are both experienced fishermen and good at what they do. How the hell Saul stayed on the boat while gaffing fish I don't know...it was rocking on rolling for sure...but all in all these guys are good fishermen and excellent mates. I tipped $80/each and the Capt $100. Not sure if this was too high for the area or not but they did a good job and I was happy to tip them. So bottom line is these guys are good fishermen and will put you on the fish if you can handle the seas. A 4 hour trip might be cutting it a bit short as I said it's about 1.5 hours out to the buoy so that only leaves about an hour on spot...I'd suggest a 6 hour trip minimum and my crew had had enough at that point. If I was in PP again, I would not hesitate to book with The Dona Nina Fishing Tour guys again and give my recommendation to anyone considering.