atlantic queen ii deep sea fishing

First, the drive. NO TRAFFIC!!! MUCH BETTER than Hampton Beach. Great fishing there, however, I've waited 2 hours in traffic to move 3 miles.Get there, everyone is relaxed! Half as many patrons as I expected, about 50 or 60 on a boat that easily could have 150. The mates were great.It was a 4 hour trip. I had to stop @ two hours. I filled up a 5 gallon home depot bucket in 2 hours. It weighed 50 pounds when I got back. Enough bait to last a season! Great day!

Wonderful trip with knowledgeable crew. It was a good day and we saw lots of minke whales. No humpbacks this time but last year we saw several. Worth a 4 hour trip on our limited vacation time.

My husband and I went on the whale watch on 8/6-we had an fantastic day that we will never forget. Got up close and personal with Minke whales and dolphins. A large dolphin pod surrounded the boat and several shot very high in the sky. Executive Director, Jen, of Blue Ocean Society was very knowledgeable and explained that what we were seeing was very amazing! Staff was very friendly, boat was clean. Great trip for young, old and in between.

We could not add anything to the previous review. Different day same great experience. Lots of fish. The seas were a little rough on our day, but the boat handled it. Make you take you motion sickness meds before getting underway if its going to be rough.

I can’t say enough about what a nice day we had on the Atlantic Queen II. It was my boyfriend’s first time deep sea fishing so I was really hoping for a stellar day, and we definitely had one! Holy Mackerel! I’m going to share what I can about our day in hopes it can help you plan yours. I highly recommend the Atlantic Queen II; we do plan to go back for another fishing trip soon! Thank you guys!------They encourage you to arrive a half hour early, I agree and glad we did. Tip: keep note of the directions on their website as my NAV system was way off the mark just entering the address on their website. The Rye Harbor State Marina is really easy to locate if you follow their written directions. Cell service was spotty where my NAV put us so plan ahead (though we did get better service once out on the ocean for sharing pictures throughout the day with friends!). Once you arrive, you will be parked on the state marina dirt lot, you are asked to pay $5 for the day. Not too bad at all. Check-in was very easy; I had made reservations by calling the day before as I waited to see what the weather was going to be like. You leave your credit card number to hold your spot and can pay however you want when you arrive (they did not charge the card at time of reservation). If you try to make reservations via their website and get a message saying they are booked, do call! I am glad that I did as they still had spots. After parked you bring all your “gear” and check-in at the little office on the right before heading to the pier. Here you will pay for your trip and to rent poles for a nominal fee if you need them, grab your tickets then head to the boat! We were greeted by one of the crew working the boat who provided us with our rented rods then showed us aboard where we found a good spot on the railing to fish off of for the day. They let you board when you arrive, and our trip left promptly at 8am. It was a beautiful day weather-wise out so ocean was not too rocky. Capitan greets you and reviews some key items, then you enjoy what seemed like a short trip out to the fishing spot. The crew came around and helped those who needed it get started. The boat will have up to 60 people aboard so be friendly :) We met a really nice grandfather and his adult grandkids – we lucked out having good people around us which made the trip that much more enjoyable! So we set anchor… alas our first spot was not too active with fish. BUT! After some time passed and the Capitan noticed that we were not catching much of anything so he moved us in search of a better spot. Well, he did great! From then on he was spot-on finding and putting us right over great fishing spots! I think we moved twice after that. Cast and catch cast and catch - my boyfriend and I each caught over 20 Mackerel each! and a few Pollock which we tossed back. I am guessing that everyone has to have at least caught a few fish on this trip, they were biting! This fishing trip was not overly loud, even some moments of nice peace and quiet then we did have times with lots of laughs and excitement as people reeled in their catches.I did notice that the crew was very attentive, making several passes around the boat seeing who may need help, I was near a mother and her small boy and one of the crew was really good with helping them out which was nice to see. They assisted with learning how to use the rod, taking a fish off their hook to replacing a lost jig if it happened to come off – then at the end of the trip they filleted the fish for you to take home if you chose to. The boat was clean, appeared to be well maintained, they had plenty of fishing rods to rent and they seemed in okay condition, you were also welcomed to bring your own rod too. I did not go inside the boat, but stayed on the rail fishing the entire trip (was having too much fun!) so I cannot comment on the inside cabin; my boyfriend did see the restroom and commented there was no soap so bring sanitizing handiwipes folks! I am sooo glad I did! Things to bring: rag to tie to the railing to wipe your hands on after handling fish, ziplock bags to bring your filets home in and cooler with ice, sunscreen!, dress in layers - early morning departures can be cooler but once stopped out on the water the sun is nice and warm. I did bring a small food cooler with waters, snacks and sandwiches which we enjoyed from the boat’s top deck on the way back after the fishing was done. They do not allow alcoholic beverages and will make you leave them behind if you happen to have any they see. Keep in mind you will most likely get spattered with fish “goo” and blood, and stand in runoff from hoses being used as it runs down the deck, there are not too many places to hang any coats/bags up that I noticed. Did I mention sunscreen? If you burn - don’t forget the backs of your hands and neck! The sun is strong reflecting back off the ocean. Lastly I suggest you bring some cash – I found it good for the parking and also to tip the crew at the end of the trip as well. Overall a really great day, from the quiet moments, to the excitement of the catches, to the nice people aboard we met. Looking forward to our next trip already!