The guys down at daveys locker do an amazing job! Me and the family will definitely be making the drive down to Newport just to revist them and go on another charter! read more

Well run boat, friendly & helpful crew on deck esp Jake and Tomas who were always guiding and assisting anglers as needed, and kept the mood light. read more

Recently went on a twilight fishing trip with daveys locker on ther freelance. The captain and his crew were very polite and helpful on the trip. Both me and my girlfriend were able to catch our limit in sculpin. The only complaint i have is that the boat was very crowded. I think we had about 60 passengers, which unfortunately led to lots of tangles and other passengers getting upset. But overall I had a good time out there and would likely go again but probably on a limited load trip. read more

Signed up to go deep sea fishing for half a day. The last time I went deep sea fishing was over 20 years ago and it was with this same company. I included the fishing license and added rods while I was there. The confirmation you receive says to arrive an hour early, but it meant sitting in the dark (4:30 am) longer than needed, but that is okay. The boat takes you out about an hour and a half away and then you start fishing. If you rent a rod and buy the tackle (lure/hook and weight), the crew will set your weights and lures for you. We caught a lot of sculpin, which is a spiked fish, so the crew was helping a lot of people remove the fish from their hooks so people wouldn't get stung. Also, my group ate some breakfast burritos and my son, who is a picky eater, said it was his favorite breakfast burrito he ever had. That's pretty high praise. Between the 4 people in my group, we caught about 30 fish. There are limited to how many you can keep, so many fish were released. Make sure you bring a hand towel, hand wipes, snacks, drinks, light jacket (for early times), a hat and sunscreen. If you want to give fishing a try, going with Newport is a great option because the people are so friendly and helpful, we all had such a great time, that we already booked another trip and are having a bunch more friends join us. read more

Davey's Locker - Fishing. - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I did two overnights in a row recently on the Thunderbird out of Newport Landing. First thing is it's hard to unload gear near the landing. There is a 20 minute loading zone but it's a small area. There was no street parking available near the landing big enough for our small Chevy truck so we had to park at the Balboa pier parking lot which costs $45 a night, $90 total for two nights parking. The thunderbird scheduled departure was 9pm but we left late both nights. The Thunderbird boat itself is a nice large safe vessel, but it is high off the water and although it's quite large the sides are narrow making it a tight awkward space when people are going for their rods. The tackle storage area is also a tight awkward area. The boat has two smelly old heads (restrooms) that need to be renovated. The showers did not work, which was disappointing. For the crew, on deck we had Jose and Jared. Both were not very personable at all. During the trip while we were moving from spot to spot I saw Jared pee on the rail of the boat. I think there were people in the heads but he couldn't hold it for a few minutes like a normal adult so he peed on the rail, there was a small child and woman on board too but I don't think they saw. Jared also caught live squids for people to use for bait and then he got mad at the people who were using them as live bait telling them they were doing it wrong by using them live, very confusing and toxic behavior from Jared. Jose didn't speak English very well so he mainly only talked to the passengers that spoke Spanish. Watching old Jose climb up on the baitank to throw bait was painful, you'd hear the captain tell them to throw bait on the stern to chum and they think it's a good idea to have the oldest crew member climb up on the bait tank to throw bait, he's like 60. Once he got up there I asked him if he could put some more bait in the handwell and he told me to use the other handwell.. thanks Jose. But at least they wore boots. The first and second captain and the cook all wore sandals and would walk around the boat near sharp spiny rockfish and sculpins with people swinging weights and hooks over the rail with sandals on, which I'm pretty sure is a direct OSHA violation. I understand they basically live on the boat during the season but when we are fishing and catching it would be nice if they would take things seriously enough to put on proper footwear. The cook and two captains helped from time to time but they also fished a lot, and even though the fishing was slow they didn't hand off any fish to the passengers. One of the captains hooked a nice yellowtail which he could have had one of the younger passengers reel in for a memory of a lifetime but instead he reels it in himself and takes a photo with it wearing sandals like he's on vacation. Also there was no descending device on board which is a California Fish and Wildlife violation. While fishing for rockfish some of the passengers caught cowcod rockfish, which are federally protected. Jose stabed them and threw them back in the water and they died floating on the surface. This was an incredibly frustrating, uncomfortable, and borderline unsafe trip. The issues I experienced on the Thunderbird range from poor customer service to major safety and legal violations. read more

They advertised 300-500 feet deep sea fishing- yet they were close to the shore. More like 40-90 feet. He could've brought my own fishing pole. He rented their pole and bought their tackles and weights. On hand crew customer service was terrible and not communicative. Fish handling was not it. They did not give him nor his friend's applicable time to take picture of the fish they caught. They walked by while he was reeling the line and they yanked it off and did not reimbursed the weight or the tackle he lost. Overall they made the best out of it- although they were sprayed on while the crew were cleaning the deck. They were not asked to move like the other guys on the boat. read more

Today the coast of So Cal had no bait. The Capt. put us on local popular spots. The boat was full, but manageable. With no bait the crew took to cutting frozen squid which saved the day sculpin was the prize for the day which means the crew had to tie like thirty dropper loops to make the people happy catching fish on those scampies nice work making the day successful, PHISH BY PHIL read more

Davey's locker had great staff and were very helpful and accommodating to the guests on board. We had a 2.5 hour tour and were able to see whales, dolphins, and sea lions. They say that whales are seen only about 10% of the time but dolphins, sea lions, and other sea life are seen regularly. Price per person is around $40 but with larger groups and coupons you can get down to $25 per person. The boat itself accommodates around 50-60 people and there are drinks and snacks on board for purchase (similar to vending machine prices). You are allowed to bring your own snacks and drinks as well. Great pictures are taken on the bottom deck as you are closer to the wildlife. Expect to get some sea spray as you are travelling around. read more

Davey's Locker - common dolphins - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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My family and I were in Irvine and booked a whale-watching tour. Unfortunately, we didn't spot any whales, but we were encounter with dolphins. The cruise offered both interior seating and deck seating options, allowing us to choose our preferred comfort. The tour lasted approximately two hours. We conveniently found street parking just a block away from Davey's Locker, which cost $28. Despite the absence of whales, we had a fantastic time on the cruise. read more

Davey's Locker - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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The staff was amazing. The burgers hit the spot. And the fishing was excellent. Had a fun time on the freelance. Caught some nice fish.. Thanks gentlemen read more

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The tackle shop is great. I mostly just hit up the twilight , half days, and three three-quarter days. Twilight is great for dates if your girlfriend or someone else is up for it. I take my girlfriend for twilight and half days she loves it. She said 3/4 days are too much for her she not ready lol. Overall The boats are clean . Captain and staff are great. All of them are helpful and has jokes. P.S. don't forget cash and please pay your galley tabs when they ask to because I don't like waiting. read more

Davey's Locker - Twilight fishing. My girl got a tree fish. - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

We had the best time with Davey's locker!! We didn't end up seeing any whales but we saw dolphins!!! And we love dolphins! The babies were the cutest. The staff was so friendly and helpful. The boat is so beautiful with a ton of seating and inside booths PLUS a bar and snacks. We had the best time!! read more

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We decided to go on a spur of the moment and purchased tickets online for the 2pm session. We saw a coupon code from the hotel we were staying at but once we started driving it was actually 20minutes from sunset beach. The check in locations are different depending on when the session is scheduled. We got our tickets and wrote our names on it and once we lined up, we were able to embark quickly. The boat was pretty big in size, it had a little cafe inside and plenty of additional seating upper deck and inside as well. Cafe sold alcoholic drinks, snacks, and candy. There's also two restrooms available. It took about 20 minutes until we reached open ocean and we got to see common dolphins and sea lions. But no whales. We ended up going back and we were ok with the experience. The boat does rock and sway once it stopped on ocean so I did feel slightly seasick. It was nice to try out! I really wished we were one of the boats that got to see the whales! read more

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My boyfriend and I did the Deep Sea Fishing 1/2 Day AM tour with Davey's Locker. We arrived at the parking lot at 5 AM, which left us ample time to go check in to get our gear and fishing licenses. Do note, that if you do need to use the bathroom, you have to wait until boat opens at 5:30. We were on the Patriot, this boat is cash only (which we didn't know about until getting there in the morning, and so we did not bring any cash), and everyone needs to purchase the $3 bag fee. There is an optional $5 that you can pay to enter the jackpot for the biggest fish. The crew rigged up our fishing poles to catch sculpin, and also demonstrated a quick fishing seminar about how to catch said fish that was super informative. We caught around 10 sculpin to take home (5 each) and 2 sand dabs. Another hidden cost we didn't know about was the $3 per fish cleaning service, which we opted in for since sculpin has poisonous spikes that we were not experienced at all with handling, and we were allowed to go to the ATM that was nearby to pay cash for our fish. We made fish tacos at home with our sculpin, and they were delicious! We would definitely come again. read more

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There are moments in life where you have to choose between fear and living--and this was one of them. I'll be honest, booking a whale watching trip with Davey's Locker felt like a risky decision for me. I have a brain aneurysm, and something as simple as getting sick and putting pressure on my brain isn't just uncomfortable--it can be deathly dangerous. But I refuse to live my life scared. Adventure still calls my name, and I came prepared.Dramamine? Check. Ginger candies? Check. Motion sickness goggles that made me look absolutely ridiculous? Double check. (Honestly, if my outfit made someone laugh, even better--whatever it takes to stay nausea-free.) Thankfully, this experience couldn't have been more perfect. The boat is a large charter, which made a huge difference--I barely felt the waves. There are restrooms on board, and even a cozy lounge area that feels like a little restaurant floating on water. It made the whole experience feel comfortable and safe, which meant everything to me.And the wildlife? Unreal. We saw dolphins, whales, and sea lions--all while snacking and soaking in the ocean views. It felt peaceful, exciting, and honestly kind of magical.Best part? I made it all the way back to shore without getting motion sickness. So apparently... cars make me nauseous, but boats don't? Good to know--I guess I'll just be traveling by sea from now on.Another adventure, another day of life, another day grateful. read more

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good morning I been fishing all my life but for my first time fishing on the thunderbird I was very impressed of everything clean boat, food ,clean bunks with ac captains Wer out there helping too and the cook very nice guy when u ask for something very polite. deckhands Wer good. but there's only one problem that I didn't like is how this guy was talking to some customers about using bait or they wanted to replace there bait with a live one and he was telling them No so this customers paid $$ to go fish and have fun not tell them wat to ... sorry I didn't like tha maybe you need to talk to this older guy to me he was ok. Thank you I will be back and this time with my son read more

Overnight on the Thunderbird 6/14 - told there most likely will not be bait - I had iron, check, plastics for bass, check - let's go. Was able to score some bait from another boat on the way, not cured but it will do ... and it did. We broke off more yellowtail than we landed. I hooked 5, landed two. First one I couldn't even turn on 25lb string - insane. Outside from great fishing, the captain and the crew were phenomenal. I'm really picky when it comes to how a the fish are treated ... had one barracuda which I typically filet myself because of how the slime affects the way the flesh tastes. The filets were perfect for sashimi. Can't say enough about this boat and the crew. Total professionals, knew how to joke around - looked after everyone. read more

Davey's Locker - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I've been on a few different boat tours through Davey's Locker and it's always a fun experience! Last night me and my fiancé went on a Holiday Lights Boat Cruise during the boat parade. It was a wonderful time, got to experience the boat parade from a whole new perspective, right in the middle of the action! We were on the Catalina Flyer which I love. We paid for the VIP so we could be on the top deck with the best 360 degree view of the whole harbor. It was a great time, I recommend them for any of your boat tour needs. read more

Davey's Locker - The Catalina Flyer all decorated for the boat parade - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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Well when I booked our Whale watching trip through Newport Landing I never expected it be foggy outside today but we made the best of it. Our Crew was great on our boat !!! The Crew was very friendly and attentive and helpful, plus very knowledgeable about sea life. Which we greatly appreciated and enjoyed. Unfortunately we did not get to see any Whales today but we did see a spectacular show of Dolphins and Sea Lions Furthermore we got to see a Shark it was small they said but all I needed to hear was SHARK and it might have been Small too them but looked Big too me It was a nice trip and it was colder than we are normally use to because we normally do our whale watching trips in the month of February when there are more Grey Whales migrating in our waters traveling. Thank you too the entire staff a great group of Men! read more

Davey's Locker - The Line Starts Here - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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Davey's Locker Room gave us an absolutely amazing fishing experience. We rented their premier fishing rods, reels, and tackle, for the day and everything was top-notch. We caught a bunch of different varieties of fish, and I was even competing for the top fish of the day! The boat itself was excellent, and the entire experience was smooth, fun, and memorable. The people on the boat were awesome, and the crew members went above and beyond for everyone. They were respectful, helpful, hardworking, and brought great energy the whole trip. My buddy flew in from Texas for our yearly fishing trip tradition, and this trip could not have gone better. We honestly couldn't be happier and will definitely be back. Highly recommend Davey's Locker Room for anyone looking for a great day of fishing! Thanks capt Phil! What an experience! This was the 3/4 day read more

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Awesome experience! It was a beautiful day, perfect temperature out on the water even though it's been unseasonably hot lately. Great breeze. Got to see sooo many dolphins swimming with the boat and got some amazing video. Also got to see exactly what the tickets were bought for. WHALES! A mother, her calf, and then another adult close by. Bryce, the captain, was informative and entertaining! 10/10 experience! read more

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We went whale watching at the earliest time slot. The boat arrived on time and came back within two hours as promised. It wasn't overbooked, there was plenty of seating and space for everyone to experience the ride. While we weren't lucky enough to see whales we did get to see two dolphin pods. Overall I was happy with the experience. read more

I got to see my first Humpback yesterday playing out in the oceansuper cool ‍ Captain Mike was great as was first mate Tanner. We stayed for several surfacings. It was incredible and worth trying several times for read more

Wow! Where do we begin. We took a whale watching trip for Mother's Day on the catamaran boat and they provided a significant discount for our entire group of 6 people for Mother's Day. The captain took us out and found a fin whale and kept tracking for over an hour allowing everyone to get numerous photos and videos. We then saw some sunfish before she had to take us back. The staff did a tremendous job. read more

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Overnight boat was great and crew is always willing to help. Definitely recommend the thunderbird or aggressor.

Parking sucks! $45 a day. No parking for fisherman. No week day discounts for Kids. (Most 1/2 day boats are free for kids under 12). Western Pride was a good boat and crew. Great for family experience. Not good for fisherman. The boat just went up to Long Beach oil rigs. You can go to 22nd street, Berth 55 or Pierpoint, and park for free. read more

This was the worst experience I've ever encountered at a business. My psychiatric service animal was denied onto the boat, causing my husband to have an episode due to staff yelling and raising their voice. The deckhand denied entry, saying no dogs allowed and mentioned being bitten and lunged at by dogs before. We asked to speak to the captain and provided explanation of why this dog was a service dog.... It provided emotion support and this answer was not accepted. Just to clarify and ESA cannot enter the boat but our dog is a PSA, which is protected by ADA. They also told us it was up to the CAPTAIN. Which, by law, he doesn't have a choice in the matter. Then when we called the manager to explain, THE VOICEMAIL BOX WAS FULL! The staff was ill prepared and ignorant on the laws of service animals. read more

Denied boarding of a service animal. We had paperwork to show which we were instructed to do. We were told emotional support dogs are not service dogs. We clarified it is a service dog not emotional support dog and again had medical papers but they refused to review and denied boarding. This is a protected class by the American's with Disabilities (ADA) yet the girl who claimed to be the captain and dock worker refused because we did not explain what the service was for which is a HIPPA violation. read more

I had an amazing experience on the whale watching tour with Davey's Locker. The 2 hour trip with plenty of dolphin and sea lion sighting (sadly no whales) was somehow only around $20 on a weekend morning. Even though I felt a tad seasick, it was all very much worth it in the end. read more

My son and I had an amazing time on the Western Pride. We each hit our limit on rockfish. Saw whales and sea lions. Crew was super helpful and kind. They filet your fish for you for super cheap. My son managed to hook (and release) a mako. Awesome experience. read more

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We went on the Catallac which is smaller and faster than some of the other ferries. We only had 11 people on our cruise and it was nice. The boat has a great viewing area in front but we were warned we would get wet on the way back so we went inside. We saw two gray whales and tons of playful dolphins. The crew was informative and made a point of going around so we saw the whales twice. Highly recommend this on a sunny afternoon! read more

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We just finished a whale watching tour and our tour guides Christine and Addison were amazing! We had the VIP package which allowed us to spend all our time with Christine the captain. It made this experience so much more enjoyable. We were able to see the behind the scenes. Couldn't recall his experience more! read more

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Took some kids twilight fishing for sand bass. The crew on the trip was helpful and was able to help the kids with their catches. The boys had a good time hanging out staying up late and catching fish. One tip for twilight fishing, the parking lot nearby is available after 6pm and so you won't have to drive around the neighborhood looking for parking. read more

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Whale whale whale... had a great time at Davey's Locker for both their Whale Watching Tour & Sunset Cruise! Parking: Park either in the medium sized lot adjacent to the Balboa Village (free after 6 PM) or across the street at the beach parking ($4.10/hour during peak season). Check-In & Boarding: Super easy - check in at the desk, fill out a quick name card, then line up right outside to board. Arrive 20-30 minutes early to find parking & check in. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you're in front or back of line. Once you're aboard, you can move around to see different views. Whale Watching Tour: At check-in, you get option to get some binoculars for $5. In my opinion you don't really need them... though they are fun for kids! Whale sightings are hit or miss... but your chances to see dolphins are almost guaranteed!!! We saw sooo many pods! We saw one whale breach and tried to follow it, but sadly it never came back up. Supposedly they need to breach every 15 minutes or so. Also another adorable guarantee - the sun bathing sea lions on the buoy :) They log their sightings and type of whale of the season on a board outside their store and you can see the ratio - whale sightings that week were like 1-3 per day and dolphins are hundreds to over a thousand! Sunset Evening Cruise: Same boat, different vibe coasting in the harbor area, so no rocky waves. I would dub this the "Fish Watching tour"... oddly... we kept seeing fish leap out of the water! Love this chill vibe cruise for different pace and scenery after a loooong workday :) The boat first drove out to the rocks before the big blue ocean to wait for sunset to set more. Heading back after the big orange sun dropped was GORGEOUS! Pink/orange skies against silhouette palm trees and Newport luxury homes. So relaxing. My fave spot? Bottom deck for a 180 view... perfect for sipping a drink, chatting, or just peacefully self reflecting on the day. Tips: -Grab deals from Groupon, especially with drink tickets! -Grab one of the discount cards on the way out for future whale watching trips. -Feeling seasick? Stay on top deck with some fresh air. read more

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We got to ride on the 12:30 excursion and Hunter was our boat captain for the day. We saw a humpback whale that actually breached, 2 gray whales swimming up the coast, and more dolphins than you could actually count. He was super knowledgeable about the different animal species and different fun facts like about the migration of the gray whales. The tour was fun and exciting can't wait to go again. I wish Yelp would let you leave a video review . read more

Davey's Locker - Sealions - Fishing Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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3/4 trip Overall, the trip was decent and the crew was very helpful throughout. I've been on over 15 trips with this company, including out of Redondo, Ventura, and San Diego, so I'm pretty familiar with how things usually go. On past trips, they always let you know at the end how many fish you caught and give you a clear breakdown of the fish cleaning cost before doing anything. This trip felt different in a way that didn't sit right with me. At the beginning, they only asked if I wanted fish cleaning, but never mentioned the pricing or how many fish I ended up with. Then at the very end, I was surprised with a $93 cleaning fee. That lack of transparency left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth, especially as a repeat customer. As for the fishing itself, don't expect much variety--they mainly target rockfish, scorpionfish, and whitefish, with a few random catches here and there. They're not really going after anything beyond that. Overall, everything else was fine, but the way the cleaning fee was handled could definitely be improve read more

A friend got us tickets to the holiday boat parade in Newport Beach, and it ended up being such a memorable experience! I initially thought we'd be on a smaller fishing boat, but we were actually on one of the biggest boats on Balboa Island, which was a fun surprise. The crew from Davey's Locker was fantastic, and our captain made the ride even more enjoyable. I had seen the parade from the island before, but experiencing it from the water was a whole new perspective. Every boat was incredibly festive--there was even a "Wicked" themed boat that was a highlight! The weather couldn't have been better, making it a perfect evening on the water. One of my favorite parts? The drone footage! It captured the parade beautifully and added an extra layer of excitement to the whole experience. Overall, it was a fun, festive, and unforgettable way to celebrate the holidays. Highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance! read more

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My coworkers and I went on the 4/23/26 overnight trip. We had a Blast! The crew were very helpful and knowledgeable. We will be going out with them again soon. Thanks to Goofy, Chris, Jarrett and the Captain on the Thunderbird, I will tell my friends to book trips with the Thunderbird in the future. read more

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We had such a great time with Newport Landing Whale Watching! From the moment we arrived, everything was well-organized and smooth. The crew was incredibly friendly, professional, and helpful throughout the trip. You can really tell they care about both the guests and the marine life. The boat itself was clean and comfortable, with a great selection of snacks and drinks available on board. I felt completely safe the entire time, which made the experience even more enjoyable. What really made it special was having a naturalist on board. They shared so much interesting information about the ocean and the animals we were seeing--it added so much depth to the experience! Highly recommend this tour for anyone looking for a safe, educational, and fun day out on the water. We'll definitely coming back, we saw lots of Dolphins!!!! Bring Cash read more

Good experience Awesome crew they helped out with everything as far as set up your rod, put our fish in our bags , giving us good information on what to use ....... Food was awesome .... Good experience guys thank you Looking foward to my next trip . read more