Two friends and I recently went on a full day 'party' trip on the Sea Love. We all had been on party trips before in the gulf and atlantic, and are avid fishermen all around. We had issues in the past with rental gear, and old bait. So,we brought our own gear. After a couple of phone calls reserving a spot on the vessel i came to an early conclusion that there were two people in charge, and one was a jerk. Later I found that the jerk was the captain, and the friendly voice that i remembered belonged to a grey hair and mustached man that works the desk. Probably foreshadowing the rest of the trip. After being TOLD to arrive at 7:15, we didint load until 8. So we spent 45 minutes standing on a dock being eaten alive by "no-see-ums", or some kind of sand gnats. Just before 8, a large group of younger people, two girls and 3 or 4 guys, walked towards us with gear and a cast net in hand. As well as open beers. One guy starting netting small pinfish and bucketing them, obviously for the trip. While the others drank and laughed obnoxiously loud. They all had piercings and tattoos, and didnt look like the kind of crowd we wanted to be on a boat with. Then the deck hands and captain approached, at exactly 8, letting me know they had been standing around the office killing time. And instead of welcoming the 20 or so decent people waiting, they started high fiving the drunks and knew them all by name. I tried to ignore it. I was there to fish, not make friends. After the long two hour trip out they dropped anchor and we began fishing. They provide some freezer burnt squid, like all other party boats, and garbage reels full of cheap heavy mono. Bring your own bait and gear. NOONE but my friends and the locals caught a single fish. I caught 4 keepers, a black sea bass, a trigger, two porgies, and some grunts that i threw back. And after getting my stringer when we returned it only had 3 fish on it. The deck hand laughed and said, dude, you only caught one porgie.I only handed him one, but I gave the other to the non stoner looking deck hand named luke. I was so angry I just dropped all of the fish on the dock and walked away. The two idiot deck hands couldnt even keep what few fish that were caught in order. The locals got all the attention from the staff bc they were busy gaffing their fish and cutting our lines so they could keep their rigs. Then we'd wait for ever for one of the deck hands to give us another weight. One local was catching barred jacks with sebiki jigs, and the other slayed barracuda with the pins he netted, but ALL of the gear was their own. And i felt that it was unfair to the people who actually paid for the trip to see all this action and not get any for themselves. My two friends caught one vermillion snap each, and one was missing from their stringer. All the while the hands are trying to sell us on their private charter boat. I dont remember the name, but it looked like a piece of shi* when I saw it docked next to the sea love. We shouldve gone to the gulf or looked further for another boat. I now know that if you go to the docks in st aug you can get a cheap charter there. They just dont advertise online. Just shop around. But stay away from Sea Love Charters. read more