Alright I'm pretty easy going about certain things but we talk about the problems let's be completely honest... Speaking of MY experience on the thunderbird and by association some of the other charters as well.. 1) Show up and the crew seems a bit cranky. buy they're out doing multiple trips so it's understandable 2) We hit the bait barge and get an ungodly amount of bait.. (I'm thinking sweet we're going to fish heaven..) I was wrong the crew begin to explain we won't be using any live bait until around halfway through the trip and we all go what the heck...( who or what we're like 20 scoops of bait for) I mean I'll never know but from me about 22 other folk you're welcome I guess... 3) I'm an experienced fisherman and tend to shoo away the crew when they come to assist me but as I'm looking around I'm seeing alot of help being needed with not much urgency to provide it.. like I get it there are like 10 times more people than crew but no one genuinely seemed too concerned with helping the poor souls who actually needed it... a bit sketchy but whatever technically I'm good so I'm not too upset... 4) just after hitting the bait barge the crew announce that they had major luck using squid.. we all knowing the past few days were a bust we're stoked to jump on the chance to get a hot bait especially knowing they found some success recently.. im like I got $30 bucks on it, I could use some calico and sculpin... well to summarize we never quite found ourselves in a sculpin spot but don't panic because whitefish would pop in from time to time.. please sense the sarcasm there... so now we're all angry we have gave extra after spending 200 on a trip on something we were hyped up about just to have nothing to show genuinely... oh I wish this point was over.. however there is still mad squid swimming the live well so those of us that bought in on the squid requested a few since the trip is practically over and we're headed home... we were so stunned to find out that we would not be able to obtain any... and I've bought, recieved and bartered for bait on many charters before so I'm having some issue with being told no... but I'm not salty I'm like whatever I just know to avoid these issues in the future... From here on out this will just get general about the overall experience launching from Davey's (and in no way am I intended to hurt feelings or lie but maybe give some effort to help fix the following 5) Davey's locker charters are usually fun, easy going trips in which we meet new friends, connections, rivals and so on but a major problem that seems ever too coincidental is getting on fishing spots and immediately being moved or re positioned.. hear me out.. its a 3hr ride to the first stop like minimal... you would think after barreling that big boat 40miles we would park it broadside for like atleast an hour and a half.. well that's wrong we're generally moving from the first spot within 30 minutes.. (I know some will defend with "well if the fish aren't biting don't you think we should move" absolutely not... its not like any spot you take us too we'll just be pulling up non stop so while people are catching why not let them enjoy it a moment.. I get that there are plenty of people on the boat but if 2/3 your load is pulling why not try to educate the 1/3 whom just may not being fishing properly.. use your knowledge to put people on you fish these same general areas frequently enough to know there are fish there why am I moving and im catching fish.. deeper than that, why move us from one hit and miss spot to another... we go from catching to nothing at all.. with all the high tech giggets and gadgets on those boats sonar, fish finder GPS why aren't any of the results reflecting that???? If you move from one place with fish market to another with fish marked and we catch in one spot and not the other.. we damn well better be catching at the spot we move too.. its just mad frustrating because now what's a day of careless fun turns into a day of stressing about getting your money's worth.. its kind of enough to encourage individuals to look for other charters quite frankly... 6) time management.. short sweet and to the point.. if you know the days been a bummer and we've being moving around and just haven't got on the fish the way we want too (which is like good for your business or whatever) you would think coming to the end of the trip we would pick somewhere and just go for broke.. however in our final 2 hours the running theme is to move 3-4 times to spots anywhere from 15-30 minutes apart.. how am I getting any fishing done atleast one of my 2 hours is being spent being driven around.. if I wanted to drive around I would book a tour or a ferry... you actually mean to tell me on a windy overcast day with water conditions off that yellowtail is still our focus?? Like sincerely no disrespect but I'm super unhappy and ill be booking elsewhere for a bit in the hopes I don't encounter this again read more

Davey's Locker 5:30am 1/2 Trip (Monday) Real Review BreakDown 1 Star = Parking To start parking was an issue for a 5:30am start time if unfamiliar with the area and needing to get there 1hr before as instructed. Street parking was available but would not allow for 6+ hour trip as most were meter parking. The Valet Garage was not too difficult to find however at the time we arrived and it was not even open at 4:50am. Eventually the garage opened their gates at 5am which again could have been better detailed to inform future customers for am 1/2 and/or full day fishing trips. Parking Garage Cost $14 Cash Only and would jump to $30 dollars if arriving past Noon. I get 5 dollar difference but double the cost. Would have been great if Newport Landing provided a voucher that would eliminate at the very least the change in price and would honor the $14 original cost. -5 Star = Professionalism Don't get me wrong the main host/Lead Crew Member was not rude. And for most part crew assisted patrons that needed their lines rigged in the beginning. However, would have been nice to have the captain/lead host introduce himself and his crew members so we could easily know what was the appropriate etiquette in regards to novice clients that were first-timers and newbies such as how to hold the rods, what not to do if/when a fish was caught etc. A quick initial intro was provided but was muffled and unclear as it was being described while the boat was still running. Having a microphone would have been helpful. When a fish was caught by the patrons there was no real enthusiasm or excitement felt as the crew spewed dull generic reactions "Great. Keep reeling. " almost like the customer service experiences you feel when employees are at their jobs that they hate and hate to get "needy" customers asking them questions. I was lucky to be one of the first to catch a bass but being new to fishing which with very obvious having rental equipment which is clearly marked by the brightly colored tips of the rods there was no crew member instructing me on what to do next? I had no clue other than real it up on the boat. Then some other man who I thought was just some other patron helping me as he was wearing tank top was not talking to me but simply waiting to for me to initiate next steps. He asked me obnoxiously "what do you want to do?" to which I stated " Um...I might need help" he again did little conversation or explaining and told me "Well you need to get the fish off the hook"...I don't know if he was hoping for me to naively try to grab the fish with my bare hands so I simply more forcefully requested, "Well can you just help me then as I don't know how to remove the hook". He then sarcastically responded, "yeah that is a wiser decision unless you want your fingers busted up." Again these are new patrons that are "NEW" to fishing. I can imagine someone that may be a foreigner who can't speak English. Would have been wise for them to state outloud, "hey guys if you catch a fish we'll come to you so if you need help unhooking the fish, Be Careful as you don't want to use your bare hands" something in that line would have been ideal. And the worst part was that most of the crew that were clearly wearing crew member shirts were not helping the over packed crew but simply FISHING themselves. So honestly, I felt ripped off. You are paying for an experience not to pay of crew members to being fishing themselves the entire time. Extremely disappointed. My older friend who I brought while I was on the other side of the boat fishing was stung he later told me. His fingers were swelling up with complaining of pain throbbing, redness, and numbness. I attempted to make a crew member aware again No real concern or assistance in basic First AID? No assistance entire trip back only to have the Lead crew ask "How's the finger" when my friend was already embarrassed and did not speak english fluently just said "Um..it's okay i guess but still hurting". To which he responded, "Well LESSON Learned You won't be doing that again? while chuckling. ARe YOU KIDDING ME. If you're crew was looking out for the patrons accidents would have been avoided all together. Worst part during drive home he finger got worse so I ended up driving him to a local friend place cleaning his wound with SOAP/Water and placing in hot water which was the basic instructions provided via GOOGLE search. If that did not work it would be a trip to ER. Would have been nice if the crew new these basic strategies to help as this a typical injury that could occur in the ocean. No assistance and/or instructions. EXTREMELY P/o in regards to this as this could have been WAY WAY worse. 1 Star = Experience Not much to say as lack of professionalism & poor safety protocols for stings from fins of fish if accidentally catching a poisonous fish? Also majority of patrons did not catch any fish? Terrible Terrible experience and WAY over crowded. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND. read more

We have been customers of Davey's Locker for the better part of ten years. We were excited to join Davey's again on the Western Pride for a full-day trip on 9/3 5:30AM. Unfortunately, this was far and away the most disappointing fishing trip we ever attended. The reasons are as follows: - The trip was purportedly a 'limited load' trip, and we paid extra for this feature. However, the boat was very crowded with nearly forty anglers. Our prior full load trips with Davey's have often only had twenty anglers. I don't know why a trip with twice the headcount would be considered 'limited load' and would be charged as such. This severely impacted our chances of catching anything. - Loads were apparently supposed to be limited even further due to COVID precautions. We were charged extra to reduce headcount and for extra cleaning precautions. Not only was the boat crowded elbow to elbow, it was filthy. The bathrooms were unsanitary and the galley tables hadn't been cleaned since the prior tip. - The crowded boat meant our lines were frequently tangled with those of other anglers. Long casts, line drift, and any line slack were all chastised with little explanation. This made effective fishing very difficult. - We were charged for tackle packs with multiple hooks and weights. When our lines were rigged, the crew only used one hook directly tied to our line with what appeared to be a simple clinch knot. Our questions about the simplicity of the rig and lack of weights were rudely dismissed. We ended up using only one hook out of our tackle pack and were effectively overcharged. - Our reels were so tangled that we couldn't even fish at our first stop. One of the more helpful members of the crew finally admitted that one reel was incorrectly set up and had to entirely re-rig a new rod for us. This cut our total fishing time by a third. - The crew chummed consistently to only one corner of the boat, and to a part of the boat where apparent regulars who knew each other were fishing. - The simple nature of our rigs which the crew insisted were appropriate presented a problem. We couldn't cast more than twenty feet out and five feet deep. Sea lions swarmed our bait the entire trip. Each Yellowtail harvested appeared to be out of reach. When we tried to cast to their supposed location, we were chastised for slack line. Other anglers were also suspicious that our rigs were set up not for effective fishing, but so that they crew could easily manage the large crowd. - The boat was incredibly disorganized. The rush of the moment is part of the fun of fishing, but the crew had expectations for how anglers would cast, retrieve, maintain line, and position themselves on the boat that we only learned about when being chastised in passing. Five minutes of instruction prior to fishing would have helped all aboard. - The crew fished. We didn't think this was allowed, and if it was, it's inappropriate with the number of anglers who needed help. One of the crew caught one of the few Yellowtail harvested on the trip. Later, they announced that they had 'extra Yellowtail' for sale for cash tips. The boat was crowded as it is, the last thing each angler needed to harvest a yellowtail was more competition with the crew, the people who were supposedly there to help uscatch one. - While an employee was fishing, he snipped my line to move me out of the way when he had an apparent bite. It goes without saying this is incredibly rude. - The crew was generally rude, disinterested, and inattentive. They frequently complained into hot mics they were unaware were turned on, were away from the galley, and dismissed sincere questions that anglers had. - One of our galley tabs was likely wrong. The crew were confused and forgot our galley numbers. In one case, I had to remind him of my number three times. We both ate/drank the same amount of food, but one of our bills was $20 higher. We couldn't figure out why, but I suspect the crew was wrong. There's no way to dispute this, because the crew appeared to be keeping tabs on a legal pad and simply charged us a final amount. It wouldn't technically be difficult for another passenger to charge to our tab. - The commute to and from our fishing spot each was more than four hours each way. The crew stopped for nearly a half hour for bait on the way out. Typically, boats are ready to go as soon as passengers board. - When we returned, I requested a call from the management/ownership of Davey's Locker. They've yet to reach out or respond to my requests. The experience resulted in not even a bite for most of the anglers aboard the boat. We caught nothing, treated horrible by people who hate their jobs! A waste of $50 read more

After my last trip on the Freelance, i promised my uncle he could go with me on my next trip. That trip was on Thursday the 14th of August, it was the only day i could play hookey from work that week.The trip was not limited load, more like unlimited..lol..The boat was packed to its capacity as it pulled away from the dock that morning, lots of rent rods and first timers. After getting 3 tanks of sardines, the capt pointed for the east end, he claimesd they had good action there on Tues and Wed.. Getting right to the point, im sure glad i decided to stay that day. ( the same day the guy that posted before me complained about) funny, how he forgot to mention why the boat ran out of bait and why it took longer to get home...Ill get to that, just bare with me.. After our first stop was shut down by 6 or 7 sea dogs, the capt moved us about 3 miles up the north side...What came next, most were not prepared for, . As we slid back on the anchor, the sounds of line peeling of reels is all you could hear.. I mean everybody was hooked up, it was one of those bites that most only hear about and here we were right in the middle of it.. The bite lasted until we were out of bait, thats how good it was...I landed 6 myself and my uncle caught 2, im not going to say how many we lost...lol.. The guy who complained about running out of bait left out the fact that the boat caught over 200 yellowtail that day. He was just mad cause he didnt catch one. The only thing a person might complain about that day was the number of people on the boat. It was hard going around, up and over with so many people.. To see someone complain about a bite so good that the boat ran out of bait, is really something! This was the boats best day of fishing in several years according to one crew member, yet still there was someone who didnt catch anything and blamed the boat.. . As for why they went home slower, they had hours worth of fish cleaning, had they went straight in they would of sat at the harbor mouth until they were done. Fish cleaning is not allowed in the harbor, all boats must finish before going in.( that is a law, not something they made up) I have had two trips in a row on the Freelance both of which were awesome..These guys deserve alot more credit than they get for their hard work. The problem is that too many people have such high expectations, they come out thinking that fish are going to jump on the boat. Then when they realize how much work it requires just to catch one ( baiting their own hook, tying their line, untangling their lines, etc ) a lot of people wont do it.. They would rarther catch nothing and blame the business then put a little extra effort into it.. That is a fact too, the people willing to go the extra mile and try a little harder usually go home with a smile... So, i hope anyone who reads this understands what im trying to say.. Dont judge a boat by its reviews on here, too many of the reviews are bogus. If you are thinking about going out on a certain boat, the only way to really to get a true review is to go out and see for yourself. This review comes from a honest guy who is in NO way affiliated with this business. In fact, ive only been fishing out of Davey's Locker for around two years. Of the 8 or 9 trips ive made in that tme, the only thing ive found to complain about is the parking.. It costs 15.00 for all day parking in the main lot, that is: if you cant find street parking 2 blocks away.. My trips on both the 3/4 day Freelance and the overnight boat "Thunderbird" have all been enjoyable. A couple trips were slow, i mean really slow, but thats how it goes.. Fishing is a gamble, just like Vegas. If you get lucky and catch, thats great! If you dont, blaming the business isnt going to change your luck.. read more

OK, have my friend and I booked previously for a limited load 3/4 day which had us catch fish. This time August 15 a full day fishing which is not a day and a half but 12 hours. We didn't catch 1 fish. We didn't get 1 bite. It was a total waste of time. We fished for about 30 minutes total, and for the rest, that boat was driving the whole day long. The 2 guys on board and the cook were helpful, and the food was good too. Here is what I do not understand, that captain has been chasing phantom fish the whole day long; why not let it go if you cannot find yellowfin or bluefin and let us fish for something else. It's a big ocean. Furthermore, when ordering food, we had to pay $ 2.00, and I still do not know what that was for? Was it for catching the biggest fish, was it for the gunny back, which we didn't use because we didn't catch 1 single fish, so what was that $ 2.00 payment for? The only bait on board was sardines, no squid, no mackerel, which is the preferred fish for yellowfin tuna. I was tired and bored out of my mind, we came across a school of yellowtail on the port side, within seconds, I had 20 guys leaning over me because everybody wanted to catch a fish, lines got tangled up, and by the time we fished, the fish was gone. We were told that there was fish under the boat on 90, 100, 120 feet, then after the first and last school of fish was gone, they told us to put weight on our line so we could fish deeper!! Of course, they can tell you that there is fish under the boat. Still, you can also tell us that there are fish in the ocean; we don't know if they are under the boat. Still, at least on our way back to the harbor, we were proud to say we fished another 5 minutes before they closed us down, making the total amount of fishing coming to a stunning 30 minutes, give or take. And then, and this really boggled my mind, the boat we were on was the Thunderbird; they put up a catch of the day total for that day on the boat we were on; (keep in mind we did not catch any fish.) They stated we caught 1 yellowtail, 200 white fish!!! And 20 sheep heads!!! Really? and we had 27 anglers on board; I think it was a lot more than 27. Then you have those guys who find it necessary to smoke, so as a nonsmoker, you get invited to inhale secondhand smoke, which is disgusting and to top it all off, they throw the cigarette buds in the ocean!!!! There was 1 young man, he smoked and had the common sense to throw his cigarette bud in the trash. I cannot believe that you let people smoke on board, especially when there are kids present. You cannot smoke in or on any property, and yet smoking onboard a fishing boat seems to be normal. At least have ashtrays, so those idiots don't throw their cigarette buds in the ocean. All and all, a very disappointing day, not susceptible to another booking, at least not for a whole day on that boat. And please, explain to all of us who were on that boat where you got the fish from we surprisingly caught that day!!!!!. read more

Wish I could "no-star" this experience.... DO NOT... I REPEAT, DO NOT GO FISHING WITH THIS COMPANY... SAVE YOUR MONEY... DON'T WASTE A DAY WITH THESE CON ARTISTS... Ok, so my boys (4), I have an 18 year old, 16 year old and two 15 year old boys wanted to go fishing when we visited our cousins here on Newport beach. We typically fish in Cape Cod Massachusetts. This started out expensive and got WORSE ($93.00 PER person was ridiculous) but we had a coupon which only worked for 1 person so we saved 20 bucks. After arriving for a half day of fishing at 6am we were greeted by "Carnie" who informed us that we couldn't get on the boat without California fishing licenses, I had to buy three 1 day licenses for $16.00 for each person over 16 years of age $48.00 bucks down the drain (stupid I know) , but it gets worse. We head out and it takes 90 minutes to get to the famous fishing grounds because we need to stop and get bait(honestly) for 30 minutes! In that time period, I notice that the rods that they gave us don't have hooks or weights (you guessed it, I have to buy those too) $8.00 EACH (another $40.00 bucks gone)!!! God forbid they tell you this when buying the tickets. So we are then told that we need to get bags for the fish, I go down stairs and ask for five bags, you guessed it they cost $5.00 each, I say, I just want one bag but according to California law we need to each have a bag (another $25.00 bucks down the drain) So then we finally arrive and start fishing at the famous fishing grounds with 6 other boat companies nearly bouncing off each other's boats (massive ocean, but we all need to be on top of each other). The only fish that are are caught are these crap fish called Sculpin (spiny, ugly, poisonous fish). A kid next to us got one spine caught in his hand and he was done fishing, writhing in pain below deck for the next three hours. You would figure this moronic company would have some vinegar on board to break up the poison, but, nope... We "fish" for a grand total of 90 minutes all the while inhaling diesel fumes from the constantly running boat engine. After fishing and catching a total of 15 fish between the five of us, we start heading back. I get in line to get the fish cut for us and when my turn comes the fist mate says $2.00 each to cut the fish. Sooooo, I say exasperatedly, "throw them back in the water" and he says according to California law he can't do that and because the fish are dead, my options are, give the fish away to someone else, buy a potato bag for $15.00 and cut them myself or he will cut them for me for $30.00. I feel like a sucker and you know what, I was.... Save your cash please... Death by a thousand paper cuts. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. If I can stop just one person from getting ripped off by these terrible people and these disgusting California state laws, then the time I spent writing this, will have been worth it. read more

I purchased my tickets for the 9 am whale watch on 8/28/2016 through Groupon, and it was a great deal. I was skeptical and did some research before I purchased, because I have been spoiled by East Coast whale watches and was worried we wouldn't see anything based on other reviews. But since the tickets were inexpensive, I figured a day out on the ocean would be better than nothing. We arrived at 8:30, plenty of time to get a bite to eat at a nearby bakery, and line up. We got on the boat around 9:10, and by the time we got to see it was after 9:30. Our captain was funny, but he told us right away that they had not been seeing any whales all week. We were able to sit right next to the captains station, and I watched him frequently. I was disappointed. The captain took about 3 looks in his binoculars to try and find some whales, but then just drove straight. We had an app on our phone that tracked the boats path, and it went in a straight line next to the coast. Eventually, he heard on his radio that there were "a few" dolphins ahead. We found them, and chased them for about 30 minutes. The captain stated "Let's not be disappointed, lets be excited to see these dolphins". He then pointed out the birds, "those white ones are called Seagulls". After looking at 5-7 dolphins (never got close to the boat, had to keep chasing them), the captain said "I'm going to head out in search of bigger things for you, the conditions are perfect!". I then watched as he turned the boat around, and started to head home (10:15 am). But then he picked up his cell phone and chatted for about 20 minutes, without once looking into his binoculars or listening to the radio to check for whales. We were so close to shore that there was no way a whale would be nearby. We went back to the harbor, arrived around 11 am. I was very disappointed, not because we didn't see anything, but because I felt like the captain didn't try hard at all. We saw a few sea lions in the harbor, but nothing else. We received a 7$ voucher to come again. I would go again just to enjoy the boat, and being out on the ocean, but wouldn't go with expectations to see anything. I also wouldn't pay full price, or sit next to the captain (you will get distracted and frustrated and want to ask for the binoculars yourself). read more