Whipsaw Sportfishing — Local services in Honolulu

My wife and myself are here in Hawaii for 10 days. We are celebrating my 50th Birthday, which is on September 10th! Being a die hard Largemouth Bass Angler, I had to book a fishing trip! The lists were long and the reviews were plenty! Many of them were atrocious!! Folks not getting a trip that they paid for. No refunds. Rude crews, etc.. Whipsaw had what we were looking for! After reading through their reviews, we were pleased and booked a 4 hr shared trip! The trip was focused on going after Mahi-Mahi, Tuna, Marlin, etc!! These are fish that I only see on tv and eat in restaurants back home in Virginia! Capt Will called me, and we spoke about the older reviews which weren’t all that great. He assured me that since he has been on board, customer service has improved greatly!! We covered specifics, managed the payment, and I ended the call very pleased! He took time out to call me and take care of loose ends and answer my questions/concerns! The day arrived and I met Capt Will and his First Mate Tom aboard, “The Whipsaw” Once all 6 of us were present, we boarded, went over some safety information, and other important things, and we took off! I sat in awe as I watched Tom set up all the tackle, and get lines out into the water! We were, “Trolling” on this trip. The water was, “Very Rough,” per Capt Will. We reached a marker buoy that indicated we were in 6,000ft of water. The boat was being rocked by 5 to 7 ft swells, per Capt Will!! His maneuvering skills and Tom’s attention to detail kept us safe, inspite of the conditions! The decision was made to switch to live bait, and we stopped trolling. Tom pulled out what I thought were ballyhoo (live bait) and switched to a live rig. I’m convinced that Tom secretly is Spider-Man as he was sure footed while the boat was taking on the swells. He got the rig out, and within minutes, “Fish On!!” He called out to our numbered rod holder to get into the fighting chair!! The fish fought just as hard as the swells, but we landed a Beautiful 30+Inch Mahi-Mahi! There weren’t any other fish in the area, and the Capt decided that with the conditions, we should turn around, troll, and head back in. We all wanted more fishing action, but we made it back in with no more action. Tom brought in all the rigs, and secured all the tackle. Soon we were back in the slip. Capt Will and Tom did an excellent job! They were apologetic re; the fishing, but we’re more concerned about each of our experiences and what we thought about the trip/experience! Very professional! When we come back to Hawaii, I will definitely book with Whipsaw again!! As long as Capt Will and Tom are still around!!

John and...

After doing some research to find a boat to charter for fishing while staying n Honolulu I decided to pick whipsaw sportfishing. And they did not fail me only to exceed my expectations. My captain was James and his deck hand was Ed and they both had the experience and skill to make my trip the most amazing fishing trip I have yet to have gone on. We had a plan of the target fish I wanted and it was blue marlin so they had everything rigged up ready for the intended target fish I wanted. 45 minutes out we were into the first blue marlin and the battle was on and I must caution you to be aware these marlins will give you a battle of a lifetime and you will never know what real exhaustion feels like until you battle a large blue marlin. Needless to say captain James and his Deckhand kept everything running smoothly and they both were great guys to get to visit with while fishing we battled another larger blue marlin and got him close to the boat and lost him at the last minute but got plenty of video and pics of him and we were planning on releasing him anyway. I did catch a really nice skipper jack as well. Fishing is very unpredictable what can happen some days your successful at getting your target fish and other days not so, it's part of the game but this trip I was the winner and a very successful trip I will never forget. Next year I will come back and charter with Whipsaw Sportfishing again. And hopefully get to have captain James and Ed as my crew these guys are good if not some of the best at this game. I would highly recommend if your looking for a fishing charter I would reach out to them they are a honest hardworking crew to give you the best chances of getting your target fish.. I gave them the 5 star rating because they earned it and rightfully deserve...

Based on other positive reviews we booked a half day charter. We should have read the negative reviews. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what you are spending over $1300 on. It is, at best, some chance that you might catch a fish. We learned on the boat that apparently at least 25-40% of the time they catch nothing. That was our experience - not even a single bite on any line at any time. It is a relatively small, older boat set up for little more than commercial fishing. The interior is dated and full of gear - hooks, lures, gaffes. Not suggested for anyone under 12 years old. This is not "luxury" for a fishing charter. It's bare bones. Not even a free bottle of water. The entire group was asleep on the boat after three hours of exhaust fumes. No change to live bait, no change in approach or location - just four hours in choppy water plowing off the Harbor and Waikiki Beach watching a foot-long lure bounce across the waves. The Captain and First Mate were polite and explained they worked for the "routine 15-20 % tip," but spent the majority of the trip together up on the fly bridge (away from the exhaust). We never touched a fishing pole or had so much as a "bite" at any time. Even if we had, they also explained the boat kept any fish over 100 lbs. to sell for profit, so, not surprising, the gear appeared all targeted to fish over 100 lbs. It became clear there was no plan to offer anything to make it a positive experience for us. As they said when we got back to the dock - "that's fishing." Is it? We thought it was a chance at making a once-in-a lifetime memory. We were mistaken. It was four very unpleasant hours of our vacation. Imagine what else you could do on Oahu with $1300, plus...