Chris' Fishing and Whale Watching — Attraction in Monterey

I want to give it more stars as we had a good day however overall I think they delivered a 3 star experience.

There were a lot of good things about our fishing trip. Check in was organized and the guys behind the counter were nice. We got our gear and were told what boat we would be on. Then we were sent out to find the boat, which was not hard to find. So we get on and....nothing. Cant tell at that time who was crew and who were other anglers No instructions on what to do, where to go, etc. Finally asked another participant who told us what to do (ie: find your spot, tie up your bag, etc.) No worries, we are set!

We get underway and the captain (never did know his name or what he looked like) told us we were going to fish for bait. Ok cool, what do we do? Again, no one came by to instruct us or check on us so we looked at what other did and copied them. Fortunately we did it correctly and had fun catching squid.

After a while of doing that we were told we were going fishing and the crew would come by to help us rig our lines. So we had our lures in hand and waited for the crew. They never came. Finally we get to the fishing spot and everyone else starts to fish. Both crew guys came and started bickering that each thought the other took care of us. It was fine, we were set and fishing in quick order.

Throughout the rest of the trip the crew guys were around and helping all the anglers get lines untangled, gaffing fish, etc. The single most disappointing thing for me is that these guys did not interact with the crowd. It felt like they hated what they were doing and went about the day with the least amount of interaction that could be given. It was sad because the people on the boat were happy, we were all having fun. Instead of engaging with us and having fun the crew guy was just kind of there. I truly believe he hated his job and all about it. And it showed. I have been on many boat trips. Never have I experienced a lackluster crew experience that we did here. If you are looking for a trip that will allow you to be self sufficient and want to channel the introvert in you this is your trip.

Lastly at the end of our day the crew would clean the fish for us to take home. I was told that this service was in exchange for a tip. However after he cleaned the fish he quoted a price for the service. Fortunately i had planned to tip him a bit over that amount but was surprised that I was quoted a cleaning rate. I did not hear him do that with anyone else, nor did I hear the other crew guys quoting rates.

So in conclusion I would definitely go fishing again. We caught a lot of fish and the day was great. The other anglers around us were nice and despite the large rolling waves and smallish boat I only saw 4-5 people get sick. However I think I would try another boat charter to see if the overall experience was better. There was another fishing tour company that offered the same trip for the same rate. In fact we were fishing in the same areas all day. It sounded like their on boat experience was better. If the crew this day would have been into their jobs this could have been outstanding and likely these guys would rake in the tips and earn a 5...

Went on trip today (10/13/2024) on Chris' Fishing 1/2 day trip. I've fished with Chris numerous times before, but today may be my last. Troy was at the helm this morning. I was surprised when we came up to a fishing spot where a different fishing boat, the Kahuna was already fishing. The captain motored the Checkmate so close to the Kahuna that we were literally within 30 feet of her. I would think boating etiquette or safety required you'd radio the other boat to request to fish near the same spot since they were there first and that boats should be further apart especially during choppy sea, which we had 7.5 foot swells today.

I don't recall them having a safety orientation with the customers to explain where the rafts and lifesavers were. Most of the other boats I've fished on have safety chats before they start fishing. What they did do was told the customers to leave the fish on the floor as they didnt trust them to keep the limit count or verify which species were prohibited to take in fear that the boat or customer may get fined. Priorities.

I've never experienced a deckhand that outright didn’t want to help their customers or cared so little to actually do their job. There was a lady who I can see was new to fishing and had snagged her line and asked for help several times; however, was left to deal with it on her own. I had my line snagged by other anglers that were on the wrong side of the drift and had my line cut off by the deckhand. He didn't hand me back my sinker or rig but tossed it in a box, where I had to retrieve it and retie my own tackle. The next time there was a 3 way tangled the deckhand cut 2 lines, retied the other person's line but let my line go where I lost my sinker and rig. Later I hooked a cowcod and asked the deckhand and captain to help me descend, but they said "you caught it you descend it!" I was trying to managed a 4 lb lead ball along with a heavy but inflated cowcod; however, was unsuccessful on my first try. The captain and crew pretty much left me to handle the descent, but not many anglers know how to properly deflate the air bladder and safely descend the fish. Since this specie is restricted you would think that the crew would want to promptly send it back down so that the fish's chance to recover and survive would be greater. Lastly, I had limited out on the rockfish and the deckhand was going around checking the count, but when I came back later to collect my fish I only had 7 fish in my bag!

The bathroom was a disaster! The reak of urine sloshing on the floor and there wasn't a working sink or hand sanitizer. I felt bad for the ladies on board who had to use the filthy toilet. That's an embarrassment for the boat!

Keith and Chris, y'all need have a few words with the captain and deckhand regarding the upkeep, service, and protocols...

You may feel that I was expecting a yacht instead of fishing boat, but simple health and safety for a public venue is important. This review is strictly base on what I encountered on the day of the trip. The weather, the bite, the size or amount of fish caught has no influence on this review. First, the boat needed more attention to its daily cleaning. The bait station and gutting area had a great deal leftovers, bait, guts and fish bits from previous outings. Next, there were two restrooms and one was not working. Again, if this area was cleaned, then management needs a better understanding of what a clean and useable restroom is. I understand that this a fishing boat, and waves make it hard to hit the target; if you know what I mean, however, the smell along tells me that the system hasn’t been pump out recently, or the only restroom available was being over used. No way should the restroom smell be that bad that early in the morning. If one isn’t enough to supply the charters, then get the other fixed. I did not see any seat covers or toilet paper, and for the three ladies aboard, the restroom should have been a total embarrassment to Chris’s Charter. There was a hand sanitizer outside the restroom and it was so low in product that no product was coming out. As a courtesy, all the useable sitting area outside should have been wipe down to remove as much moisture as possible. It would have taken the deck hand two minutes. The sliding door entering to the cabin area was stuck half way open. I tried to slide it open but was stuck. When I gave it a harder tug, it slid open and smashed my hand. There should have been stoppers to keep the sliding door from collapsing on the handle. Needless to say, that put a damper on the day. If OSHA knew about this hazard, I’m sure it would have been fixed. Last, there was no mention of any emergency procedures or locations of life vest etc. Now the deck hand; I’ve had employees and they represent me, my business. When I was young, I was a deck hand on a small commercial trolling boat. The above mention was my responsibility. A deck hand makes extra money on tips for helping out those who are fishing. At best he did little as possible to be referred to as a deck hand. I will give credit to the deck hand for making sure all clients caught their limit, including those who were seasick. After all, it wouldn’t appear to look good if Chris’s Charter fish count didn’t have everybody aboard to have limited out. I understand in today’s world with COVID and the likes; however you are being charged for a service and I want the service, in this case a Rock...