This week, host Butch Thierry checks in with co-host Joe Baya for a special deep-dive on planning and executing two-night offshore trips in the Gulf—covering safety, crew coordination, food and logistics, and how to turn 48 hours on the water into maximum fun, and fish.
Conditions Recap
Overnight Gulf missions are defined by long drifts in blue water, changing sea states, and electric night life in the underwater lights—think squid, flying fish, blackfin blitzes, manta rays, whale sharks, and swordfish rocketing to the surface. With 48 hours on the clock, you get multiple dawn and dusk windows to relocate, reset, and re-rig, but it only works if someone is always on watch and the crew is ready to pounce when a short feeding window opens.
Safety & readiness: keep a dedicated watch 24/7, use radar and AIS around shipping lanes, and verify USCG requirements for trips exceeding 12 hours. Choose operations with true redundancy—spare generator, spare tackle, spares for critical systems—and enough qualified crew that at least two people can safely get the boat home.
Offshore – Overnight Playbook with Joe Baya & Butch Thierry
The “dictator” plan: one organizer picks the dates, books the boat, sets the menu, and gives the crew a single all-in price. A proven framework is a $9,000 charter, a 20% gratuity that also covers fish cleaning, and roughly $10 per person per meal for six hearty meals (night one dinner, three meals on Day Two, two meals on Day Three). For a 10-spot boat, collect from nine anglers so a last-minute cancellation doesn’t blow the budget; if all nine show, the organizer can cover his own spot, roll the surplus into a jackpot, or upgrade the galley.
Food & comfort = more bites: plan real meals—steaks, barbecue, hot breakfasts, and fresh fish tacos on the ride in—brew coffee on schedule, and keep everyone fueled so they fish hard. Pack headlamps, legit rain gear (decks are wet at night), a good pillow, light bedding, and galley gloves so food service stays clean and quick.
Fishing tactics: be ready to live-bait and chunk for tuna, run a kite when conditions allow, and stay ruthless about spread quality—swap washed-out ballyhoo, keep the chum flowing, and rotate fresh baits. Many trips are made in a 30–45 minute burst; fatigue kills bites, so assign roles and stick to them.
Walk-on option: if you don’t have nine friends lined up, consider walk-on overnighters. Expect shared-catch formats on big pelagics and easy camaraderie with like-minded anglers.
Boats & operations referenced: long-range style trips like those aboard the Lady Ann and the Escape with Capt. Mike’s Deep Sea Fishing were discussed as examples.
