Skipper Profile: 

Captains Joe’s Early Years
Captain Joe has been fishing ever since he can remember starting in the streams and ponds around the small farm he was born on in Southern New Jersey ( South Jersey ).  Captain Joe’s family moved to Maryland and lived on the Patuxent River where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay during his junior high school years. He spent every spare moment catching Blue Claw Crabs and fishing for Stripped Bass.  “After we left the farm and moved to the  place on the Patuxent River, I thought I had gone to heaven. This is where I say my charter fishing experience started. Captain Bill Dixon the father of one of my good friends took me on his charter boat the RayLee and let me think I was part of the crew. I got a $5 tip on one of those trips which was a lot of money for a young boy in those days. I think gas was 29 cents a gallon at that time and we use to sell a bushel basket of crabs for $5.”  Captain Joe spent his high school years in Meridian Mississippi where he did some fishing for Big Mouth Bass and Catfish but admits during those years he was more interested in the young ladies and hot rod cars.

Captain Joe in Hawaii  
Captain Joe arrived in Hawaii in 1968 just a few months after graduating from high school.  “ I tell people I came here right after high school, a couple of weeks ago, that always gets a laugh.”  After a couple of  years of surfing he returned to his fishing. First from the shore then a small boat to just get out a little further in hopes of getting that bigger fish. It didn’t take long and he was in to deep sea fishing for those monster Marlin and Tuna he had dreamed about catching since he was a young boy while fish stream and ponds.   “ A few friends and I decided to charter a boat and go deep sea fishing. We didn’t catch any thing that day but I was hooked. I had a small boat that I could fish just off shore with but after that fishing trip I immediately started looking for a bigger boat.”

It wasn’t long before Captain Joe started fishing a lot of the tournaments around the islands and soon got a reputation for being in the money. He placed first in several tournaments and lost count of how many times he was in the money.  “I have a hard time blowing my own horn but looking back on my tournament accomplishments I have to admit we did pretty good. I say we because as I have said many times it is a team effort. Captains don’t win these tournaments by themselves, it takes a well groomed team. But a little luck doesn’t hurt!”  

Captain Joe got in to running charter boats when a couple of friends talked him in to get his license so he could run their boats when they wanted a day off.  “I have always enjoyed fishing and meeting people. As a Charter Boat Captain I’m able to meet new people plus show them a good time fishing. Living my dream!”  Captain Joe looks forward to meeting you and invites you to play hooky from the everyday routine or the hustle and bustle of site seeing and come out for a fun day of fishing with him aboard his pride and joy Play n Hooky.

How Play n Hooky Got Its Name
Captain Joe’s family dug deep in to his past to come up with the name Play n Hooky.  “My Grandfather had a nick name for everybody some we had on idea were they came from and others, well this may not be the place to mention them. But everyone knew where my name came from. Whenever I got the chance I was fishing or building rafts to fish from. He called me Huck, short for Huckleberry Finn. So when the family took on the task to name the boat I told them I would like the name to have some meaning. When the name Play n Hooky came up it reminded me of how Huckleberry Fin always played hooky from school and went fishing.”