Captain Winter is a stand up guy who knows his stuff. I contacted him about the salmon opener for 2025 which is a very exciting event for all of us in the fishing community after having two years of straight closures by California Dept of Fish and Game. Captain Winter answered his phone promptly and promised to give me a callback first as I was the first person who had contacted him about reserving the charter. He made good on his promise and we discussed some details -- ultimately, I went with a different option for my needs, but I felt great about the whole experience and could tell that he really knew what he was talking about. I have him on the top of my list for captains to contact for chartering in the future and highly recommend him without reservation to any others that are interested in getting out there for some fish! Plus, he is quite close by in Half Moon Bay meaning that you won't have to drive all the way up to SF for the charters there and deal with the traffic/attempting to find parking. Tight lines Captain Winter! read more

Another fantastic trip in the books. 1st day of commercial was a great experience. Thank you Mooch Better team. The crab was terrific Dal read more

Amazing time with an awesome captain and best deck on hand to guide us! Great weather and awesome fishing site. Learned a lot during the process. We got our limits! Can't wait to do it again! read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Best fishing with Mooch Better Fishing! - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Yes excellent captain and deck hand very knowledgeable knows their stuff. Very skilled at cleaning the fish the boat was clean and captain and deck were very professional read more

Absolutely a five star business. Nice ,Clean boat with a very talented Captain (dewy) and deckhand (justin) who is not only very personable but he is a super hard worker. These guys actually give a shit that you have a great experience! Everyone in our party was very pleased with our catch and the experience. We all got our limit of Salmon within 2 or 3 hours. Captain Dewy is professional and so knowledgeable about all the technical aspects of fishing, it is cool to learn a little from him. He also has Loads of Transparency and Integrity, as well as Exceptional communication before your trip. We choose Mooch Better for the previous five star reviews and now I can say 'Yes!' this is 5 start at for sure. . Can't wait to go back many more times with Cap. Dewy and Justin. What a great team!! read more

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My son and I had an amazing time with Pablo and Justin. Both were friendly and really worked hard to make sure we caught fish, were comfortable, and had a great experience. Caught our limit of cod within a few hours and we then switched to Salmon fishing. They were more excited than us when we got a 20 lbs Salmon onboard! Appreciate their hard work and hustle. We will be back. read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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We went on Captain Duane's boat last Friday. Both Captain Pablo and Captain Duane were helping us fish. Yes we were spoiled by them. We had an amazing time and caught over 60 fish. It was non stop fishing fun. We highly recommend Captain Duane and Captain Pablo. They filet all the fish beautifully. One of my fishing friends owns Roma in Menlo Park and we took all the fish there and had a dinner for family and friends which was also amazing. Thank you Captain Duane and Captain Pablo! read more

We like this place. Very entertaining to watch and see who is doing what. Very friendly people here as well!

Great day of fishing thanks to Captain Pablo and Justin! Top notch charter from start to finish. Both Captain and Justin, very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful!! We will be enjoying our catch for a while. 5+ stars! read more

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Wow! What can I say? Captains Winter and Pablo are so sweet, knowledgeable and fun! My son was scared and my husband sea sick and they were so good to us! When I got a bite I was excited but scared! Coolest experience ever and Pablo was so calm and explained what to do; so relaxed he assuaged my concern! Wish I could have been out there all day!!! I am coming back and bringing some people who are game for the experience next time!! read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Coming into the harbor so smooth - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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This was by far the best deep sea fishing trip I've been on, and that was the consensus among my two brothers, my dad, and myself. We have all been on day trips numerous times but none of those trips or crews compared to level of professionalism, knowledge, and the great personalities of Captain Dew and Pablo. Never had such hands on assistance on a fishing trip! Pablo and the Captain would bait, set and remove hooks, and make you laugh along the way...while you either joined in or decided to sit back and wait for a strike. When we got back to the dock, Captain Dew filleted all 70+ cod we brought in to perfection. All we had to do was throw them on the grill when we got home for some amazing fish tacos! We're already talking about our next trip with Mooch. Thanks for the great day and experience Captain Dew and Pablo! read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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Booked three time and each time everyone caught fish and had a blast Love fishing with Captain Dew read more

These guys got their fish together! They were on top of it. They put us on the fish and we caught our limit. They were very friendly, outgoing, accommodating and fun guys. Our group highly recommend them to other people and we will definitely go back again. Excellent trip. read more

I have a group of business executives from China visiting and they wanted to do something new. I called Captain Dewy, and got booked for a full day fishing trip that turned out to be just perfect! We got 64 Cod and 1 12-lbs salmon. Limit is 10 fish per person. Captain Dewy is not only professional as you expected to be, but also very knowledgeable, we chatted about politics and economics. And he has such deep diversed knowledge about the financial world that you almost feel he is hide away wall street guru.... I certainly enjoyed chatting with him. Justin works hard, efficient and has been very helpful. He taught us how to fish and along with captain saved us multiple times of mistakes. I hope to be back in the future. read more

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Captain Dew and his deck hand Pablo really took care of us. We booked the boat for salmon and in no time they had us on the fish. It was a ton of fun and I highly recommend this charter. Both guys were super personable and everyone had a blast. Captain Dew was even kind enough to filet our fish at the end of the day. This will definitely be my go to charter for any type of ocean sport fishing. read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Raw salmon hearts are the best. - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Captain Dew and Steve we're top notch. They made sure my crew had an awesome experience. We opted to go for rockfish and we were not disappointed. Everyone caught a ton of fish and they were good eating! Dew was nice enough to fillet everything for us while Steve cleaned up. Great boat, clean and good equipment. Awesome value for a very long day on the water. Highly recommend this charter. read more

Captain Duane and Pablo were awesome. Amazing day on the water. Could not have asked for a better experience. We will be back for sure and will sing the praises for Mooch Better Fishing to anyone who wants to go fishing. And even more to anyone who want to catch fish! Thanks Duane and Pablo. Hope to catch you again soon. Great experience. So happy to get on the water with you guys. read more

Fabulous, fun and lots of fishing! Captain Dave and Captain Pablo were both patient, kind, gave good instructions and had a hint of comedy about the day. They were professional in demeanor, language and interactions. We moved locations a few times as needed to get on the fish. Would happily use them again for another family fishing trip. read more

Incredible time and crew. Couldn't recommend them more highly. I joined the boat as a single, and we went rock cod. We weren't disappointed. I just came from grilling the fillets for my family of 8, with leftovers to spare. Now the rest of them want to come. We'll be back! read more

I fished all the time growing up and loved it. As an adult, it's something I always say I'm going to do, but never make time for. So, when a friend told me he was getting a small group together to go deep sea fishing with all the details taken care of - bait, tackle, pole, etc. - and all I had to do was show up, I said, "Sign me up!" We arrived just before 6am and coffee and donuts were waiting for us. YES! After a quick introduction by Captain Dew and Pablo, our deck hand, we headed out to sea just in time to see the sun rise. An hour later the sun was shining and we were 20 miles out with no one around. Now, I fished in plenty of streams and lakes growing up, but it had been 10+ years since I touched a pole and I had never deep sea fished before. No problem. By the time we arrived, Pablo had our poles ready to go with bait standing by for each of us. We dropped our lines and within minutes we all started catchin big fish. (Check out the pics!) When my weight got stuck in the rocks and my line snapped, (Yup, I was that guy..) Pablo was right there getting me setup again. Within three hours, we caught our limit of rockfish. We were suppose to call it a day at that point, but Captain Dew heard there was salmon nearby. A few hours later we each had a salmon to bring home too. Once we docked, Captain Dew filleted our fish and gave it to us in a Ziploc bag to take home. Man, did I feel spoiled! My bag of salmon came in at 5lbs, 10oz and rockfish came in at 8lbs, 5oz. Can't wait to come back in a few months for crab season! read more

We simply had the best time with Captain Dewey and his deckhand Steve. I took my 11-year old son salmon fishing for his birthday Saturday morning. Dewey is the nicest, accommodating and professional captain. He even served us great coffee and donuts! We were not even out of the harbor for 5 minutes and my 11-year old reeled in his first salmon. We ended up catching our limit by 4 pm and brought home 55 lbs of salmon! If you want to catch them, call Dewey, he will make sure you will! And they are BIG!!! read more

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Amazing experience! The crew was friendly and on top of things. The boat was comfortable and had plenty of space

Captain Dew has his boat in Half Moon Bay. Pablo, the deck experts was awesome! We met at 8 a.m. in the morning for deep sea fishing and crabbing combination. There were six of us and the boat size was just nice and it's just us so it's a better experience rather than in a bigger boats sharing with strangers. They also have bathroom, sofa and indoor area that you can sit if you get too seasick. The boat was maintained clean at all time which we really like. They gave us coffee and donuts too. All baites and fishing gears were provided. They use a very high quality fishing gear with the weighted metal ball weight and squid for bait. They have the GPS to navigate where the fish are and we always catch them pretty fast because of that. Fishing is definitely more fun when the fish bite and it wiggles, that feeling was awesome!!! For crabbing you just sit and watch them do it for you so it wasn't as fun as fishing. They help to fillet the fish and next time I would ask to have some whole and gutted out. It was an awesome adventure and experience just be prepared to bring a big cooler for your catch to keep it fresh. To thumbs up for Captain do and his crew :-) read more

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This was the best trip ever !! My friends and I had a great time ! Caught the limit of fish and crab. Shout out to the best crew, Captain Dew, Pablo and Steve. I was a newbie on the boat and they were on top of everything. I can't say enough about how professional they were. If you are looking for a great trip with a knowledgeable crew, this is the trip for your group !! See you next year Captain D !! read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

TRIP OF A LIFETIME!! My family was in town from Missouri over Christmas and we were looking for things to do. We went into the city, but needed a real taste of the Pacific, we decided to take a fishing trip! Captain Dew and Pablo we're SO accommodating, and we had an incredible time. Captain Dew (Duane), ensured a good time! He was so wonderful, provided coffee and yummy pastries, water, and soft drinks throughout the entire day out. The water was bumpy, but we never felt unsafe! We caught our limit in Rock Cod and Crab! I highly recommend Mooch Better Fishing with Capt. Dew and Pablo! They made our weekend!!! read more

Excellent service by Captain Dew and Pablo! It was a great day and super fishing! They went above and beyond to help us and prepare us for a trip back home to Missouri with tons of fish! Can't wait to come back. read more

What a great day of fishing with Mooch Better fishing charters out of Half Moon Bay. Captain Duane and Deckhand Justin are a friendly, patient team. They also mean business when it comes to finding and hooking fish. Extra gas/time - whatever it takes to fill the box. Highly recommend! read more

Mooch Better Fishing - The first catch of the day! - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Awesome time and excellent crew. I took my son and friends for his 16th B Day, incredible day, we hit our limit and came home with tons of fish. I highly recommend this boat and crew. Captain Duane (Dew) did a great job finding the fish and keeping us busy catching while Captain Pablo the second mate for our trip was the best, he did an awesome Job not only with the rigs and tackle but keeping it fun, great energy. Boat was great and all the gear was top notch. We'll definitely be back again. read more

Took my two teenaged kids salmon fishing with Mooch Better Fishing yesterday. It was a wonderful experience. Captain Winter and Pablo took care of us newbies and everyone went home with the bag limit. I'd happily fish with Mooch Better Fishing again and would recommend them to anyone looking to have a good day of sport fishing. read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Everyone caught the limit on the day we went. Thanks captain. - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Had a great trip on this boat. Captain Dewey and his Deckhand Justin worked hard for us and put us on the Kings. The gear and boat were top notch. Will definitely book again. read more

Had a awesome time with Captain Dewey and his deck hand Steve on the Mooch Better memorial weekend. Everything was dialed in when we got to the boat and we were the first to leave the harbor. Ended up with our limits of kings and 3 of them were between 9 and 18 lbs.. I can not say how satisfied we were with the service. read more

Mooch Better Fishing - Boat Charters Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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Had a great weekend at Mooch Better Fishing! Great service and fun atmosphere. Caught 7 the first day and limited out on 12 slabs the second. If you want to catch fish this is the charter to do it! read more

We had a great day. We caught some really nice salmon. I have been wanting to take a ocean fishing trip with my sons for some time. Captain Dewy and the crew, Justin and Steve, were really great. We felt safe and secure. They went the extra mile to make sure we caught nice large fish. Friendly, up beat and very helpful. The boat is very comfortable and in great shape along with the equipment. We went home with lots of salmon fillets and good memories. I have no complaints, It is all good. I will be back for sure. I highly recommend. Thank you for a special day. read more

Awesome time fishing with Captain Dew and Pablo!! We all limited out of fish and crab by noon. Great trip with great folks. I would highly recommend fishing with Captain Dew and Pablo. read more

A group of Breast Cancer Survivors met on a non profit fishing retreat called Casting for Recovery, https://castingforrecovery.org/ in April 2018. We created a bond that will last the rest of our lives as a result of that weekend retreat and continue to support each other to heal. We have since stayed in touch and decided to continue the fishing theme by booking a Charter for crab and rockfish in early November. Mooch Better got our business and will continue to get it for future fishing trips! Captain Duane and Deckhand Steve were amazing! Most of us had no sea fishing experience. Steve and Du were patient, hands off and helpful. I caught my first fish ever on this trip! NOW, I understand why folks love fishing so much. Steve and Du unhooked the fish and put them in the cooler for us, baited the hooks, pulled in the crab pods, cleaned the crabs and filleted the fish, etc.; which for me, being a newbie, was fantastic!! The absolute best part of it all was when we went to provide the tip for such great service Steve requested that the money be donated to Casting for Recovery!!!! Our hearts melted. We are grateful for their generosity and thoughtful gesture to the program that brought us all together in the first place. Mooch Better is number one!! Casting for Recovery (CfR) provides healing outdoor retreats for women with breast cancer, at no cost to the participants. CfR's retreats offer opportunities for women to connect with nature, learn how to fly fish, find inspiration, and experience healing relationships with other women. If that wasn't enough, the gentle motion of fly casting can be good physical therapy for increasing mobility in the arm and upper body. read more

Can't say enough good things about Mooch Better. The Captain worked hard until he put us ON THE FISH. Outstanding customer service. The deckhand we had today was superior. On the spot. Personable. Not just a help but educated us as well. Can't wait to go back out again. read more

We chartered yesterday with Captain Duane/Deckhand Steve this past weekend and had a blast. Duane is knowledgeable, professional and all around a fantastic captain. Deckhand Steve had us as involved as we wanted to be in setting the lines, baiting, netting and helping to get as many salmon caught as possible. We caught our limit for the day by about 3pm. Total was 15 fish caught (not including the 2 thrown back) with the largest being 18 pounds. Highly recommend this crew for serious fishing. Thank you Duane/Steve! read more

I have been fishing on Mooch Better with Capt Dew for 5 years, I always choose him because he fishes harder, longer and has always provided a trip that catches fish. His boat is a great mix of a hardcore fisher and a yacht. I plan to fish tuna, salmon and rockfish this year as many times as I can. read more