South Coast Tours — Local services in Port Orford

My wife and I had a fantastic time kayaking fishing with Dave at South Coast Tours. Initially, we struggled to navigate the sit-on-top foot-paddle kayaks and even had to return to the beach to fix a stuck rudder. However, things improved after that.

Within 30 seconds of putting my line in the water, I hooked a fish, and we had another 10 or more within the hour. Dave was incredibly helpful in handling the fish once we brought them to the surface, taking care of our snags and other issues. He also made sure to take extra care of my wife, who is less experienced in fishing, ensuring she had a great time and caught plenty of fish.

The ocean had a constant swell, and my wife started feeling a bit seasick, so we made a quick stop on shore to take a pee break, which also helped calm her stomach. The water was relatively calm compared to most ocean-type trips, so I don’t think most people would have a serious problem.

After a couple of hours, the wind picked up, and the paddle kayaks proved to be a great asset. Fishing requires a fair amount of paddling to maintain your position, so your legs will get a good workout. My wife and I are both over 65 (in good health), and were able to do it without much trouble.

We were provided with farmer-John style wetsuits that go over your shoulders and zip up, along with wetsuit booties. These kept us warm and dry, except for our arms. I wore a swimsuit and a long-sleeved polyester sport shirt and a raincoat. After the sun came out, I removed the raincoat and felt comfortable all day. As mentioned earlier, we did take one pee break, but be aware that bathroom opportunities are limited. You’re stuck inside a wetsuit, so relieving yourself can be challenging.

Remember to bring a good hat, sunscreen, and a couple of water bottles. There’s a small storage space on the boat, but it’s not very waterproof. Don’t forget to get your fishing license ahead of time.

Overall, we caught over 20 fish (rockfish and greenlings), released many to grow bigger, and kept a few for dinner. Dave filleted the fish for us and stored them in ziplock bags we had brought. It was a fun trip that requires some skill to navigate the boat and fish simultaneously, but it was an exciting and enjoyable experience. If you’re not into fishing, you could always do the kayak...

We recently bought a home in Bandon, Oregon and were eager to share our new costal life with our first visitor here. We had done a couple of tours previously in northern California which we enjoyed. They were on larger vessels that accommodated many passengers at once which left people jostling for views . To my surprise and delight our craft was a hard bottom inflatable with a capacity for eight or 10. There were six of us (including our guide/captain) and our views were completely unfettered. The low profile of the boat gave us eye level views of diving pelicans, sea stars and urchins exposed by the tide, a harbor seal lounging on a rocky outcrop and many, many other coastal birds. During the outbound portion of the trip we enjoyed a fair wind and following seas which allowed us to take in the breathtaking coast at the base of Humbug Mountain as well as a recently established marine sanctuary where we got very close to huge rock formations jutting up from the waves and we were able to see nesting pelicans and cormorants with their young. When we turned back toward the harbor and into the wind, we had a totally unexpected adventure as the inflatable crashed through the wind driven waves! Every one was hooting and hollering! Yes, we got a little wet but no one cared. Dave, our pilot, was concerned that it was an unusually rough ride but all onboard loved the opportunity to interact with the marine environment on a really visceral level. After returning to the harbor area we ventured into many perfectly still inlets and coves. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who craves a really up close and personal experience with a portion of the Oregon coast. Did I mention the whales? We weren't fortunate enough to see any that day but I completely forgot about them in the adventure! If you don't want to be herded onto one of the larger tour boats and you're game for a 90 minute adventure, take advantage of South...

This is a wonderful, exciting, and unique experience that I have never had before. I was a little nervous coming in, warrying about the relatively chilly water and choppy sea. Before the kayaking experience, I did learned personally that the pacific ocean water is much cooler than I had imagined in the summer. The South Coast Tours provided clothing and boots that are water tight and thermally insulative. When getting into the water with the gears the company provided, I do not feel cold at all, which was a very pleasant surprise. The water was not as choppy as I thought as well. With the concern put behind us, only joy and excitement left for the journey. We were able to see closely the cliff along the sea cost, with its marine animals and plants. We saw seals lying on the rock, birds building nests on the cliff, sea stars and urchins along the water lines. The weather was fantastic. Our guide Marcos did a fantastic job, leading us through a somewhat challenging route, introduced historical development at this region and explained interesting marine environment that we were passing by. When I run into some problems in controlling the kayak against strong wind, Marcos come back fixed the problems with the kayak and pull me through the windy section of the route, which make me feel I am in good hand and safe. This is a very exciting experience, and I will highly recommend South Coast Tours to others who are looking for excitement along the...