I'm a veteran of many ocean charters out of San Diego and Orange County, CA. My main expectation is to have a good boat ride and a reasonable CHANCE of catching fish, hopefully of the desired species. Follow the local fish reports and you will see that no one brings home fish every trip. Even the best skippers get "skunked" occassionaly and they hate it!
I expect the skipper to have a decent idea of where the targeted species, be it albacore, other tuna, halibut or whatever can be found. I expect the crew to be knowledgeable about which lures are working on the troll. I expect the coffee to be hot, the beer to be cold and hopefully a decent breakfast burrito. Do you have burritos in Oregon?
I expect the crew to keep the rail rats moving and hopefully insure everyone's lines are straight. I do not expect "ringers" who are buddies of the skipper to hog the best spots and win the jackpot, splitting it with the skipper late ron. Yeah, this practice happens but it is rare and an ethical skipper won't do it.
I expect the bait to be in good shape, although the crew may not have much control of it. An alert skipper and crew will scrutinize the bait closely as the boat is loading up from the bait barge.
With the exception of very inexperienced anglers, I hav enot seen the crew bait anyone's lines for them. Most do it themselves, fight the fish, reel it to the boat. A deckhand will usually gaff it because the deck is high enough to make other landing methods impractical.
I expect to meet some interesting people and see some beautiful sights out on the ocean.
I expect a darned good time and if I get a fish, or two or five, that's a bonus!!!
Yeah, I've been skunked once or twice but those things happen. I have enjoyed every charter trip I've taken.
Stanster