Have you ever gone sportfishing in San diego?

Question

if you did, which did you think was the best to go on?

that would be, which sportfishing boat..lol

Answer 1

I've fished about a dozen overnight boats (and 5 or so long-range boats) out of San Diego over the past 30 years, with generally good to excellent experiences, though there were a couple horrible trips mixed in. (This is in reference to the service -- the catching varied as well, but that's not closely related to the quality of the service. I won't name those horrible boats, as they were 10+ years ago and the offending captains/crews are elsewhere now. WIth all the fishing message boards around these days (www.allcoast.com), when there's bad service the news spreads fast, so there's very little bad service these days.)

The boats which do most of their trips as long range generally have the best service, even on their 1 or 2 day trips, but they cost considerably more for those trips than the "local fleet".

There are boats which do "open party" which can be a zoo when the bite is on. I caught my first albacore way back on a 90 foot boat with 75 passengers. I never want to do that again. Pay a bit more to get on a "limited load" trip (30 or fewer) or "ultra limited" (20 or fewer) or get a spot on a charter (generally limited to roughly 20 passengers) (These load sizes vary with the size of the boat -- 30 passengers on a 100 foot boat is a light load, 30 on a 60 footer is a tight fit.) With a lighter load, it's not only more comfortable, there's more chance to get help or instruction from the crew.

When the bite is on, often the charter boats which aren't chartered run limited load trips. Other times the regular open party boats may limit their loads or be chartered or otherwise offline... so it's impossible to say which would be the best boat to get on for any given night.

You can watch the catch counts at www.sportfishingreport.com to see if any boat is particularly "hot", but in general I'd just get on a boat with a light load and expect the best.

(By the way, boat size really doesn't matter that much. I've made great catches on boats from under 50 feet to over 100 feet long. Stick with the bigger boats if you have problems with seasickness, though.)

Answer 2

I assume you have not gone sportfishing in SD. While I agree it depends on how long you will be out there, I can at least give you a few pointers on what to look for in choosing a boat

(1) 1/2 or 3/4 day boats fish fairly close. They usually do not catch the same kind of fish that the 1 day+ boats get. They leave in Morning and return in the PM. Half day boat go out at noon also. 1 day or more leave at night and you sleep aboard the boat and start fishing the next day. Meals are usually extra. The longer you are out there, ther farther you go out and the more likely you will catch fish.
(2) Boats come in different lengths. 65 ft to about 120 ft. The bigger the better. More room to fish and its less bouncy. The boats descriptions can be found at sportfishingreport.com. They will also give out catch reports per boat.
(3) If you want to eat your catch, it is worthwhile to see if the boat comes with brine chiller or cold storage and if they store the fish as soon as they are caught. 1/2 and 3/4 day boats usually do not do this but all long range boats (3 or more days) do this. 1-2 day boats may or may not do this and they still use gunny sacks. This means your fish could sit in a wet gunny sack in the sun for hours.

Answer 3

Yes I have,.....but that was way back when and the boat we took is probably still not afloat...LOL Meaning I graduated from Santana High in 1967, and it was about 6-7 yrs before that. Before my dad got us our own boat to fish out off in the ocean.
Not sure where to tell you to even look, might try sport fishing charters in the yellow pages, call and ask for references and what kind of fish they go after. Also ask if any meals are included in the price, as well as if the gear and bait is supplied.
Not sure how it is now but back then most of them went out of mission bay with a few out of San Diego harbor.
Good Luck and have fun.

Answer 4

it depends on how long you want to go for. I own the Shogun and we do long range. right now the boat is on a 9day trip.
You can go on 1/2 day 3/4 day 1day 2 day etc. I think most boats in san diego are good i recommend the Topgun 80 for 1 to 5 day trips. 619 397 0563 for reservations. or h & m landing or fishermans landing are good places to check. the albacore is biting now so fishing is good