Balboa/Newport Beach Sportfishing Trips - Newport Landing

• nicole hartman★★★★★2 months ago

  This was my first overnight Fishing boat experience. The crew was AMAZING!! They will help you prepare for Fishing. They were very nice. I was the only female on the boat. There was a crew member that would help me out as soon as we stopped to fish,instead of squid,he used a sardine and I caught much bigger fish.The bunks are comfortable.If the ocean is super choppy at night, you will feel it laying down.It will rock you where you think you are going to fall out of the bunks. The only 2 complaints I have are: too many ppl and lines getting tangled, especially when you could only fish on 1 side of the boat because of the current. Not all of us could be in the spot to catch a yellowtail, so we didn't get a chance to catch one. The other thing, if it says you will be getting in at 7pm, that's not 100% accurate and DONT park at the valet overnight parking garage, because you may not be able to pick up your car. We were stuck Newport Beach until the next morning because the boat was over an hour late getting back into the harbor and the parking garage closed at 8pm.. DONT park in the overnight valet parking, the boat may not get your in in time to pick up your car if your from out of town. Plus,its $50/day.Other than that, the trip was GREAT and overall we enjoyed catching the fish we caught.. The crew member that caught a yellowtail gave it to my step son, because he helped reel it in..Again, the crew was AMAZING! WE were on the Thunderbird.

• Diana★★★★★5 months ago

  The trip was pretty underwhelming overall. It felt overcrowded and disorganized, and most of the time was spent dealing with tangled lines rather than actually fishing. The crew also fishes alongside guests and at times would push people aside to get to a spot, which was frustrating since we paid for the experience to fish ourselves. They also charge extra for a lot of small things, so be prepared for additional costs beyond the ticket price. The focus seemed to be on catching small fish rather than finding better spots or making the trip enjoyable. Overall, it wasn’t terrible, but it was pretty boring and didn’t feel worth the money. I’d be cautious before booking.

• KYI★★★★★a year ago

  First time fishing out of Newport Landing. Went on the Thunderbird for an overnight trip and we went to SCI. Spacious boat with full galley, bunk beds and sun deck. Goofy the cook was hilarious with the safety briefing. He makes awesome boat burgers too. The crew were helpful and cool. The captains tried hard to get us on the fish. Unfortunately the WSB, halibut and yellowtail didn't wanna bite. Caught some huge rockfish though. Good number of Sheephead, huge whitefish, huge calicos and some barracuda. One elusive blue perch as well. Parking can be found on residential streets, just be careful of the no parking signs. There was a valet parking structure on Adam and Bay street I wanted to use, but that was closed when I got there at 8:10 PM. Would've have been about $30. There's also Balboa Pier/beach parking couple blocks away that's also paid parking. I heard that's about $40 for 24 hrs. I did see a small parking area behind the '47 restaurant that said $50 for parking and I would assume that was for the whole day or something. Also, whoever said in a previous review that giving away your fish to other anglers is illegal. No, it is not. No jackpot on the boat. Was wondering about that, but they didn't mention anything. We just paid $2 for the sacks. They'll keep your fish in a cold storage. Plenty of rod holders and tackle gear shelves.

• Julie Walsh★★★★★2 months ago

  This Fishing trip was booked by my kids for me for Mother’s Day. We went on a half day afternoon trip aboard the Patriot, on May 9, 2026, out of Newport Landing in Newport Beach. Although my kids and I loved being together, and had a blast fishing, the boat crew, however, including the captain were very stern, rude, and non friendly. They also shorted my son the fish he originally caught and he had to confront them to give him back what he caught. They also accused me of swinging my fish over people when trying to reel it into the boat as a first time beginner, then scolded me for it, without showing or telling me or any of us, or properly educating us ahead of time how to put the fish into the boat. They were all mean and the whole time they seemed angry and short with us and like they were scolding us. The only decent one was 1 deck hand who was Asian with long hair, he was at least pleasant, and helped us, but none of the other crew members were nice or made us feel welcome. I would not recommend this charter or ever return. Maybe my son and I will start up our own private one someday with a way nicer crew.

• Steven Keirn★★★★★2 years ago

  I have been fishing on shared charter boats for nearly a decade, and this company provided the worst experience imaginable. The issues began right from the start. The day before the charter, I called Newport Landing to inquire about the fishing plans and bait. They informed me we would be rock fishing with live bait. Since it was a limited load boat, I thought it would be ideal for myself and my younger sister. When we arrived at Newport Landing, we were told our charter had been outsourced to Davey’s Locker. This was surprising and concerning. Despite my reservations, we proceeded since we had driven two hours to get there. Once on the boat, I was informed that we were not targeting rockfish but sculpin instead. Although initially disappointed, I decided to remain open-minded. After an hour and a half, we reached our fishing destination. When I asked for live bait, I was told there was none available, only squid. They assured us that live bait would be used later for rockfish. Another hour and a half passed, and everyone on the boat started complaining. The captain then relocated us and said we could now use live bait. However, the ration of live bait was astonishing—only one sardine per angler for the entire trip. Having been on hundreds of charter boats, I had never heard of a bait limit. The reason became clear when I saw the bait tank: there were only two dozen bait fish for the 20+ anglers on board. I can tolerate switching boats, changing target species, and different bait options. However, the final straw was observing the deckhands fishing instead of assisting the anglers. Worse, they were placing the fish they caught into people’s gunny sacks without their knowledge, which is illegal. It is against the law to help another angler with their limit. They also charged per fish filleted, presumably to generate extra revenue for themselves. I reported the situation to the manager, David. His response was, “If fish were placed in your bag to fill out your limit, it’s done simply as a gesture of goodwill so our passengers can take more than their catch home when they aren’t experiencing the same success as other anglers on board.” This practice is incredibly illegal.

Sections marked Destinaitor data draw on the verified catalog; anything marked Sample is illustrative content pending verification. Confirm specifics with the venue.