Me and my buddy wanted to try out a charter trip since this COVID thing started and we haven't had…read morea chance to go fishing this year. Get just us and have fun. So on Father's Day I got my dad(who loves fishing) to make this an event. As we got there, we parked in the restaurant parking(free) and waited till the captain showed up. He seemed to have slept in a bit late that day and we got late start but he promised us a great day of fishing and soon enough we found one of the biggest kelp patties you could imagine. Soon as threw our bait in "FishOn!!" 4 of us getting bit and breaking, changed from 25 to 50lbs test so we don't lose them to the kelp. The Yellows didn't mind the 50lbs test line, they keep biting! The irons were getting bit too on the surface with mint color. After the trip I got so tired I forgot my GoPro in the boat. But they were very nice and had it shipped back to my address after we talked on Instagram. Would definitely recommend if you are looking for a character boat!

Jeff is an incredible offshore fisherman. Wow! We had an incredible day yesterday for Bluefin…read moreand Yellowtail. Jeff put us on a great patty to start the day and all caught a bunch of beautiful grade yellowtail 15plus pounders. We then went down further south and caught a beautiful 90 pound bluefin and then another 170 pounder to end the day. Great day of fishing. Well Done Jeff. you put us on the fish all day. Enjoy the Pacific Bounty and you will not be disappointed.

Third year with this charter. 2025 trip was another one to remember. Left the dock shortly after…read more6am - stopped for bait and headed offshore an hour and a half. Found a kelp paddy mid-morning and hauled a handful in. Captain put us on another kelp paddy early afternoon - we slayed them. One more kelp paddy stop while on our way back to shore let us reach our limit. Capt. Wes is a class act and always has high quality deckhands with him. These boys know what they're doing!

11 hour boat ride started at 7:00 AM for all day private trip. Took over an hour to gas up the…read moreboat and wait for ice. Thought that should have been done prior to our arrival. Paid $4250 plus meager tip. Boat was nice and fast but no toilet for our female passenger. Not one of us 6 touched a pole during the trip. The deckhand had a tough night and couldn't cast the single pole he had ready into a huge school of tuna. The kite was not rigged up after over 2 hour boat ride. Once it was finally rigged, the deckhand popped the kite balloon after roughy 45 mins of usage and didn't rig another one. We had one single trolling line in for roughly 5 mins. Never used any live bait. The deckhand and captain never engaged us and it was literally a boat ride. Saw lots of tuna swells and dolphins. A truely disappointing experience.

I would give negative stars if possible.My husband was turning 40 and I wanted to surprise him with…read morea deep sea fishing charter. I booked the charter a month in advance(photo of confirmation). Once I received confirmation (photo) I called his best friend and booked his ticket to San Diego from the east coast so the two of them could go together. This was going to be a surprise. I texted Capt Jake to confirm a week out that we were good to go and he confirmed(see text). I found it odd that I never received any email details but I have never booked something like this. The day of the charter I call the captain 3 times to get directions to the dock. He never responded. I finally get a hold of someone, only to be told that there was a mix up and the had double booked my charter and they could not take me. I spent a month and a lot of money preparing for this surprise: flights, permits, supplies. They offered to take the men out the next day but we had other plans that couldn't be changed and my husband's friend was leaving. If this company cares so little about an important event, I can't imagine how they treat people that just want to go fishing. If you are thinking about using this company: DON'T.

Jackpot is a 6-pack boat. I found Jackpot Charters at a fishing show. I had been on a 6 pack years…read moreago and wanted to go on one in SD. The pricing is reasonable and the size of the boat is great for 6 people. There is enough room to walk around and not have to struggle when you have a fish hooked up. The owner, Jake, is usually busy during the summer months so if you can't get a hold of him it's because he is out on the ocean. I would definitely go out on this vessel.

I took my son and friends on a half day trip on June 18th 2026. Captain Ian was very pleasant to…read moretalk to and work everything out with, but the captain of our boat, captain Nate was not very good. The trip overall was not well liked by any of us. We were late. The departure time was supposed to be 7 am. I was wrangling 3 kids under 13. That's my fault, but I did not ask for more time. I completely understood and accepted that was lost time. When we got on the boat at around 7:15 captain Nate informed us we had no live bait. That was unacceptable in my opinion. We were stuck trolling the whole time and we were trolling with a broken reel and cracked lure. When we got out to La Jolla Captain Nate said he was going to do 2 or 3 passes and then change the broken reel out, but he never did. And 4 hours in he finally realized why fish weren't bitting on that line....the lure was cracked and it wasn't swimming. We were trolling with 1 line the whole time. Further captain Nate did not let us do anything. He said "watch out, I'll do it!" We were not allowed to set the line. We weren't allowed to reel them in gaf them. He moved us out of the way and did everything. Basically I paid $1,350 for this company to bark orders, fish and not let us do anything. We did take home 3 yellowtails, but had we been using 2 functioning poles and lures or live bait, we would have taken home much more. I tipped the captain $160 and I'm upset that I did. He filleted our fish, but did a horrible job. He refused to gut the fish resulting in the loss of about 8lbs of good belly meat for poke. He also refused to cut the collars because he claimed his $30 knife was too nice for that. I have Japanese chef knives that I purchased in Japan. They cost around $300 each and I use them to cut collars, but he refused to use his $30 knife. He also refused to cut and keep heads so I could have the cheek meat. This company not only uses broken equipment, but they will toss 15 plus pounds of good fish overboard because they don't want to deal with it. My son and I are going back out in 2 weeks, but I will not these guys. Do yourself a favor and stay FAR AWAY from this charter. Sure they are nice people, but you will have a horrible time! I forgot to mention that we pulled in a calico bass. We all discussed it and agreed that it was about 15 or 16 inches. Captain Nate looked at it, said he doesn't have a tape measure and "but I'm pretty sure it's too small" and tossed it. This company is a joke. Not at all worth the money. You will get bent and they will act like they did you a favor. Please, please, stay far away!

When ever we come to San Diego we book with Captain Ian he makes sure we go home with fish when we…read moreleave. He knows where the fish are which bait to use and is helpful in anything in getting us hooked up. Even though we're only out for a few hours he puts us on the fish. Next time we come we're booking for a longer trip for some yellowtails or some bluefin can't wait to come back. We highly recommend booking with Captain Ian and not with one of those boats with 20 people on it. With Captain Ian he makes it more personal

Really fun day on the water with Captain Andrew, super nice guy, funny and he put us on some…read morebluefin! Looking forward to getting out there again with him!

Captain Andrew was great, very knowledgeable and helpful. we had an awesome time and caught a lot…read moreof fish. Both Andrew and Ace were pleasant and easy to work with, they made our adventure fun. Highly recommend this team.

Awesome time learning to fish with TC. He has great energy and made my kids Birthday helping him…read morecatch his first fish. Highly recommend booking a pier fishing trip.

Booked a fishing adventure for me and my 3 kids in late June. What an absolute blast. Both guides…read moreare very well knowledge and happy to teach my little ones. Amazing spot they had us go to. Caught multiple fish. My oldest wanted to catch a stingray and my middle one a shark. Amazingly they both managed to catch what they wanted. I know TC didn't have control over that, but nonetheless, he was apart of a core memory for them. Can't recommend this service enough.

I have had the opportunity to fish a number of times with Captain Fisher. We have never come back…read morewithout fish in the box. His passion for fishing is clearly depicted through his work. Accepting nothing but excellence for him and his crew while providing the best service possible. His attention to detail and charismatic energy makes for an enjoyable experience on the water. Safety is always a priority for him and he goes to great lengths to make you feel safe in any conditions. I won't be going on any other charters now that I have a taste of what Kealani Sportfishing is all about. If your looking for an amazing day on the water filled with great laughs and an exceptional experience look no further. Captain Fisher will make sure you are taking care of from the minute you leave the dock till your afternoon arrival. If your an experienced angular or just someone looking for their first trip. James has you covered making sure you will have an enjoyable experience. I asked James what does he love most about being a captain. He stated " I love fishing with those who go all the time and I love bringing new people into the sport. I don't want them to get discouraged! If I can provide them with an experience they will never forget I know I have hooked one more person into the sport I have so much passion for." Nothing but 5 stars for this growing company. I look forward to the fishing trips to come!

I have fished with Captain Fisher and Kealani Sportfishing a few times and they have always been a…read moregreat time. I was very new to the saltwater fishing game and Captain Fisher was very gracious and took his time to teach me any chance he got, without making me feel dumb. It is very clear that the goal of this company is to get people out fishing and enjoy fishing and have a great time. The boat is great and makes for a comfortable day of fishing. I would 100% recommend this company as well as the fact that I will be chartering this company a bunch this year for sure. I was able to catch my personal best Bonito with Captain Fisher and he filleted it on the boat and I got to take home some dinner.

I have just come back from my second annual Lady Angler fishing charter and have already signed up…read morefor next year. The Captain and crew are 5 star first class in every sense of a Sportfishing trip. Our charter masters were Sophia Huynh (sponsored by Seeker Rods), Wendy Tochihara (sponsored by Izorline International) and Lori Byron-Sachau (sponsored by Turner Outdoorsman). The Searcher incredibly generously put together a fundraising for The City Of Hope Women's Cancer Research in which they DOUBLED our donations, so if that doesn't scream class, I don't know what else does. The boat has seamlessly transitioned ownership to Captain Mike Todter and Head Chef Josh Evans who continue the tradition of sold out charters! But don't be discouraged and make sure to get on the waitlist because something will open up and you will love your total experience with Searcher Sportfishing! Expert deckhands, exceptional cuisine, comfortable cabins, great prices and the list goes on! Plus, they provided a safe and professional space for our "all women's" fishing charter where a girl can just be a fish slaying girl! Thank you to all! Tight lines!

This once fine sport fishing business has become a ship of fools. Captain Mike was in charge of our…read moretrip and was a very poor commander at best, as he was constantly disorganized with his briefings and decision making. He failed to introduce the deck hands at the beginning of the trip and they had no visible identity (shirts, name tags?) while working, adding confusion among the anglers as to who they were. Every crew member had the title of Captain and it showed they were apparently too entitled to work the deck. The level of service was minimal and the nonchalant attitude of the crew members was obvious; they were not engaged with the fishing. There were fishermen on board who needed help with casting, tying hooks and line, yet these "deck hands" were mostly oblivious to the customer's needs. Capping off the one star rating is the circumstance of our two day trip leaving six ours late and totally eliminating the first night of fishing, as the boat did not arrive at the Tanner bank until twilight. Weather was dicey for drifting so we sat on anchor most of the day for some very sporadic action on tuna. Captain Mike announced a move to the Cortez bank around noon, but changed his mind so we continued to have an agonizingly slow day of fishing. At three o'clock, Captain Mike decided a move to the Cortez was in order, so we made the move, arriving there at four thirty. At five thirty fishing ended as our illustrious Captain pulled the plug on fishing and headed for port. This abrupt end of our fishing time eliminated the prime hours of sunset fishing and thoroughly disappointed all of us customers. The trip was scheduled to arrive at port at eight a.m., yet we reached the dock at five fifteen a.m. after cruising at idle speed for one hour. This rush to get back to port eliminated several hours of promising fishing time and was the perfect ending to a horrible trip. My fishing mates and I will never fish this boat again.