Channel Islands Sportfishing — Local services in Oxnard

Reviewing GENTLEMAN. Charming, antique boat with clean fresh bathrooms, showing obvious pride in ownership. Calm and cordial captain. Cheerful, motherly cook who is so sweet that she will check in on how your kid is doing, or on anyone feeling the waves. Gorgeous, knowledgeable, deck hands, one of which is literally named "Chad".

The Gentleman (as in the boat itself) is a Lovely antique from 1947. To anyone who knows anything about boats, the pride in ownership is apparent. This boat is the best out of all the fishing boats because it has a sun deck.

My 12 year old is a passionate fisherman, but we are at most intermediate. Only a handful of times, we have fished, but it was passively; around men who know what they are doing who would hand us a baited rod. Five years ago we went out on the fishing boat from Marina Del Rey (a great trip) but that's pretty much the height of our experience. For this reason, I was very nervous about going on the Gentleman alone with him, considering the deck hands might have to tend to over 20 people at a time, so I was a little worried we might need more help than they were available for.

This was not the case. The deck hands move around like grasshoppers and are so social that, at times, I almost felt like we were out there with them alone as friends! They are incredibly fast, agreeable, and talented. Vern took us through a crash course in about ten minutes flat. We paid attention, and for the rest of the day, we just repeated everything that Vern told us to do. My son caught twelve fish.

Another reviewer on the internet had mentioned some regulars who made some comments or hogged the "best" places. I didn't find this to be the case. There were definitely Norm Petersons on there, but these gentlemen are rather like having your own dear old dad on the boat. I think of them more like The Lorax. Instead of The Lorax who speaks for the trees, though, this is The Lorax who speaks for the boat and the crew if you are being ignorant or lacking in fishing etiquette.

An example: I accidentally put my rod up with the sinker still dangling off, and when we started going back home, it was bashing around on the boat and hitting the paint. When the boat was docking, I went to retrieve my sinker and it was gone. I went in the cabin mumbling about how someone might have stolen my sinker. The Lorax said "Oh, what size was it?" When I showed him a similar weight, he said "One of them was bashing around and beating on the boat so I cut it off and put it down on the rail." I said to the Lorax "I feel terrible! I should have never left it like that!" He just said "its ok! You'll remember next time!" Same guy also caringly asked how we did, and helped us when we had questions.

Eat light in the morning before the trip out. Have just a half a bagel before you get on the boat. This prevents motion sickness. If you forget the bagel, try to remember that deep breathing will cure it. I have also found that alcohol prevents motion sickness. Do not TALK excessively about it (i dont even say the word) or you get it from the power of suggestion.

You wanna wear the kind of SPF jackets they sell on Amazon for sun protection. Make sure you have a light colored long sleeve on because when you're out by the shallow fishing area for a little while there could be some flies. They are a little annoying when they land on your arms. I had to put back on my black cardigan, which solved the problem, but unfortunately the black was very hot in the sunshine. Go with a light workout top with long sleeves like the kind of thing you would go running in.

To summarize the Gentleman charter fishing: You will have an authentic fishing experience with people who are truly in the culture who you can truly learn from if you are serious. Even if you get tired of fishing, you can go up top and just rest on the sun deck or gorge on fantastic galley food. You'll have beautiful photographs, beautiful videos, and memories that will last a lifetime. I am already booking another trip for my...

I had a deeply disappointing experience with this fishing charter, the most unprofessional company I’ve ever wasted money on. I booked a full-day trip, scheduled to depart at 4:00 AM, a week in advance specifically to target Barracuda. To ensure I could be up early for the trip, I drove six hours to the location and checked into a hotel for the night.

This trip was particularly significant for me as it marked the one-year anniversary of my brother’s passing. We often chartered boats out of Channel Islands harbor, making this outing emotionally important. Despite my thorough preparations and the emotional weight of the trip, my experience was a complete letdown.

At 8:00 PM the night before the trip, I received a call from their manager, who went by the dubious name of “Bubba” or “Biscuit.” I was informed that they were canceling the trip, just eight hours before the scheduled departure. This short notice was particularly frustrating given their strict policy that requires customers to provide 24 hours' notice for cancellations. The late cancellation left me with $400 paid for the trip, $160 for the hotel, and over $100 spent on gas, not to mention the significant amount of time I invested in planning and preparing for this trip. The emotional anticipation of the fishing day, only to have it abruptly canceled without a valid reason, added to my frustration and disappointment.

The company attempted to offer a solution by suggesting I join another boat named Gentleman, which was allegedly going out the same day targeting Barracuda. Trusting this information, I decided to go on the charter. While the fishing trip itself was enjoyable, it turned out that we spent the day rock fishing, a common activity among charters in Southern California. At no point did we fish for Barracuda, nor was there any intention to do so. This misinformation was a clear bait and switch tactic. They misled me to keep as much of my money as possible despite their inability to book reliable vessels.

The lack of professionalism and consideration for customers' time and money is astonishing. They effectively took my money under false pretenses, offering a service that was not available. To add insult to injury, they had the audacity to suggest that if I paid an additional $1800, we could still go on the desired trip. This entire ordeal has been frustrating and costly, with zero regard for customer satisfaction.

Given my experience, I strongly advise anyone considering booking with this charter to think twice. Be prepared for potential cancellations and significant financial losses. Save your money and choose a more reliable and customer-focused company. The disregard for customer service and satisfaction I encountered was appalling, and I hope others can avoid the same unfortunate experience. This was by far the worst service I’ve ever encountered, and it has left me profoundly disappointed and...

Recently went on the Sea Jay for a full day charter. It was our first trip fishing Saltwater Ocean.

First, the experience in the morning at the store (check-in) and speaking to Thomas and Andrew was information and pleasant. These guys know how to interact with a consumer / customer and understand this may be new to some folks walking in through those doors. I had a few questions about lures and Andrew was helpful - I ended up buying a few dozen. On my return in the afternoon, I had an encountered with an older gentleman which was not as pleasant, but I will not let that offset my overall review / experience.

During our time on the Sea Jay boat, Chauncey made all the introductions and provided us a overview of the upcoming expectations. Donald then provided a overview on the remainder including safety and process information. On the way to our fishing location, I was able to take a 45 minute (much needed) nap. Prior to arrival I was provided a quick crash course on one of type of fishing methods to use. Coming from fishing Fresh Water Lakes, Creeks, and Streams - this was all new to us. The main method required a crash course on the Dropper Loop Knot. Essentially, they helped us enough we caught on and shortly after jigging a couple times we were catching our first set of fish. Through the course we ended moving to a second location and using a different method of fishing, it was more tasking to utilize but I was able to reel in one Bonito after a few attempts. Essentially, the more experienced folks would have the better spots and manageability. We ended up returning to the jigging methods on another part of the boat to avoid tangling lines with others. Overall, Chauncey made himself available and help keep us with a line in the water. It was a our first instance with this type of fishing gear, water, and species - but overall it was a great learning experience and great time (except a short period trying to cast/learn a method). Chauncey was quick moving and very informative throughout and very hard working person. He made sure he had a personal 1-to-1 relationship with everyone possible . He did ensure to spend plenty time with newbies like ourselves so we didn't feel overwhelmed or left out of the catching experience. Donald came down to help as time was available including to re-tie both our rod/reels to switch fishing methods. On the way back, Chauncey was back at providing us some good information and stories; all while he was cleaning the catches of the day - like i said a very hard worker. Donald kept us informed on all time-frames throughout including fishing times and time nearing return-to-dock period. I highly recommend this charter. My son (who just returned from his second deployment) and I agreed to revisit the Sea Jay (First Mate Chauncey and Capt Don) next time (probably in coming Summer '19) we are...