Fishing was slow in the morning but Captain Don stayed out longer than we paid for and all of the sudden it went off... read more

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Don is a gem! He was incredibly knowledgable and kind. My 82yr old mother and I chartered for a half day in hopes of catching bass and halibut. He was wonderful in how he helped my mom on/off the boat (there's a ladder involved) and made sure we were comfortable on a very cold and windy day. He kindly extended us as we hadn't caught anything during our allotted time. Don was on a mission to ensure we caught something. And we finally did! I would definitely recommend Don based on his knowledge, focus on safety, and personal prioritization of ensuring his passengers/customers have a great outing. read more

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We went out yesterday with Don for a whole day trip for halibut and bass, and we had a phenomenal time! Don had fresh coffee for the four anglers to start the day, and he was immediately helpful and personable. He's no nonsense, and extremely helpful and fun, making sure his customers are doing it right for the best results! We caught around 15 fish amongst the four of us, 8 keepers (2 bass, 6 halibut) and my husband and I ended up with 20 pounds of incredible halibut filets(which Don prepared for us after our trip)! We'll definitely join Don again! A few hints: do what Don tells you, even if it's a different method than you're used to... Be a sponge! And it's customary to tip, especially if he's filleting your fish for you. Don't be stingy! Don works his butt off to give you a good time and great experience. Also, even in nice weather, the wind is gonna pick up in the afternoon, so dress in layers and have a windbreaker outer shell. Last, bring your ice chest in your car, because you'll be going home with amazing fish to eat! read more

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My friend and i booked a fishing day with them then last second they told us theyre not at capacity to turn a profit so they cancelled on us the day before. When we first paid weeks before, there was no mention of this being a possibility. Completely unacceptable as weve made arrangements from out of town to make this happen. Their boat looks like its falling apart any way. read more

My son wanted to go fishing for his birthday with his grandfather and I was so nervous because I did not attend however, I was very pleased with how happy my son was. I received pictures that eased my worry as a parent. You can't put a price on safety and memories I highly recommend trying SoleMan Sportfishing. read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Fishing trip - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Captain Don is a salty old sea captain with a personality to match. He's so incredibly knowledgeable about his trade and he teaches in a way that is easy to understand. If you are hyper sensitive then you're not going to get his sense of humor. But we loved him and we had a great time. We booked a 6 hour trip on a Sunday for 4 of us. My son loves fishing so I try to take him as often as I can stand it but I've always been terrible at fishing. When we arrived Captain Don and his lovely lady Stephanie offered us fresh hot coffee that they had purchased that morning and some hot tea. He gave us a tutorial before leaving the harbor. It was easy to follow. He chased the fishing grounds for us going from one spot to another so that we could get every opportunity to catch some fish. At first the fish weren't biting but when we finally found a good spot I tried out the method taught by captain Don and I kid you not, I'd drop my line and within 30 seconds I was reeling in a fish!! We caught our limit of cod and had a great day to boot. Even though we only booked a 6 hour trip we were out and fishing for almost 8 hours. When we arrived at the harbor captain Don cleaned our fish in quick style. My son had a great time and after years of trying I finally learned how to fish. The best captain ever! We won't be fishing with anyone else in SF that's for sure. read more

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We had the best first-time experience with Don. He was dedicated to get us fish and took us to the hottest fishing spots in the bay. We caught 4 legal sized halibut and stripers. read more

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Due to a computer glitch I was able to book a trip when "Soleman" was on vacation and not taking trips. Don took the time during his vacation to cancel and refund my trip with him and arrange for another boat. This sort of ethics and dedication to the customer is rare in tourist industry. Any future fishing trip out of the Bay Area, Soleman will be my first check. Thank you for saving my trip!!! read more

I've read the bad reviews. I agree with them. Cpt Don can be condescending. He can be abrasive. I can see how his personality can clash with most. But I'm giving him 5 stars ,because he took us to the damn fish. If we had 6 lines in, 3 of them were getting hit. All day we caught fish. When we wanted to switch from shark to halibut, he took us right to them. Yes, he is not the most patient "teacher". But this isn't a classroom. Its his boat. One that he worked for. He is highly experienced and knows where the fish are...and aren't. Most importantly, he provided us with an unforgettable experience catching fish. read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Leopard shark. Maybe our 8th of the day - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Captain Don took my dad and me out on Sunday for a deep sea fishing trip. We had told him we were interested mostly in salmon, as well as the other two people on the boat, and he was very straightforward with us that the salmon fishing had not been good that week. Nevertheless, he did everything in his power to bring us to the salmon. Unfortunately, it was not a good day for salmon and we had to give up after around four hours of giving it a chance (other boats of 20+ people caught only 5 fish the entire day) What made the experience with him so amazing was the fact that he stayed out over TWO HOURS past the normal time just to let us try to reach our limit on cod since we spent so much time trying to catch the salmon. He went out of his way to make sure the people on the boat had a decent amount of fish after a few hours of some frustrating salmon nibbles. His dedication to making his customers happy is out of this world and we will definitely be returning once salmon season is back on. Thank you, Don! read more

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I highly recommend Don and sole man fishing. Me and my son went this Father's Day on a great fishing trip it was my first time ever being on a fishing boat. The whole experience was perfect I mean Picture Perfect like in a damn movie. Me and my son ready for the van the whole time while having fun catching huge amounts of fish I think we just about caught our limit on every type of fish I can't ask for a more perfect trip. John was great he knew where all the fish were at he helped me and my son anytime we messed up him and his deckhand we're right there Johnny on the spot. Do you want a perfect fishing trip I suggest you go with sole man fishing read more

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Captain Don was great. He's funny and patient and is a Jedi Master of fishing. Don took us to the hotspots of the day, checking with all of his friends fishing in the Bay to see where they were biting and using all of his equipment when we got close. We pulled in about 30 rockfish, 6 striped bass and threw back a couple of little sharks and a crab. My 8 year old son had a blast and caught a ton of fish. Don cleaned them all and sent us home with a lot of fillets. Fish On! read more

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I really enjoy fishing and grew up fishing the Bay. Don knows his stuff and has the Bay dialed in. He runs a first class operation on a great tough boat. The boat is nice and heavy so you don't get bounced around to bad, he has top quality bait, and his rods/reels are well maintained. He is well connected to the other captains. He has a formula and it works. I highly recommend his trip. What a treat! read more

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Our family of 6 chartered this boat for 10 hours on the last Saturday of June, 2019. We maxed out on stripped bass and came close to that on halibut. We caught a good sized Leopard Shark and the captain promptly bled and gutted it so we would not have the ammonia taste that can come with shark. I marinated it in buttermilk as the captain suggested and put it on the BBQ-awesome! This guy knows his stuff and where to go and he takes care of you. We were all inexperienced bay fishermen and he made sure to let us know when our line had a bite. We all agreed that we would go back again with him. He was friendly, funny, and even played a Grateful Dead tape for this old guy!!!! read more

Fantastic, the sole man knows the spots and we got our limits on striper and got a sturgeon. We opted for half day but then on the ride decided to do the full day. His boat is clean and he and deck hand were well prepared with fresh bait and tackle. Always checking our lines, making sure we were on the fish or cracking jokes making us laugh. Was a fun trip will be a return customer for sure. Thanks Mr Soleman read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

Had an awesome day with Don and Dave! We took our relatives who were visiting from out of town for a 1/2 day trip. We were all novices, and both Don and Dave were excellent and clear teachers. They both have a great sense of humor, which made the trip a lot of fun. Don and Dave took us all around the bay looking for fish, and they shared interesting facts and history about the bay. Also, we stayed out extra long so each of the out-of-towners had the chance to catch a fish. We caught three big halibut which Don and Dave expertly filleted and sent home with us. I highly recommend this trip with Soleman! read more

If you're looking for the best fishing experience you can ask for in San Francisco... you've found the ONE. Captain Don is really personable, a great teacher, fun guide full of interesting facts and bottom line.. PUTS YOU ON THE FISH !!! We had a few in our crew that have sensitive stomachs and due to the weather, he recommended we stay in the Bay and fish for Halibut and Sea Bass... we nailed it.. our entire party caught fish, no one got sick and everyone had a great time. Afterwards, Captain Don filleted our fish for us, packaged it in zip locks and even told us where to go to have it prepared for dinner. Great time by all.. Thanks so much for the great experience. read more

My son and I went out last week with Captain Don (I think on the same trip as Cindy S) and had a great time. Sure he's a little more expensive, but you also get a lot more value and service. For example, it is true he stayed out extra long - almost 11 hours; it is true he went to three spots (one being ten miles offshore which I'm sure wasn't cheap considering the price of gas); it is true that Don stayed in the cabin most of the time while we were fishing (gratefully since someone needs to steer the boat while trawling); it is true Craig made sure hooks were baited and lines didn't tangle, and worked his butt off doing so (on other bigger boats you also won't see this same level of individual attention). Why is all this important? Because everything Don and Craig did was so HIS PASSENGERS COULD CATCH MORE FISH (which we did)!! Seriously isn't that why you go out fishing - to catch lots of fish? For those looking for one fish and a quick trip, I'd recommend Costco (but not on Friday afternoon, because that could take 11 hours). I'd also like to address the hygiene part, where I'm pretty fanatical. Don and Craig had plenty of ice to keep fish fresh until we docked (none of the boats brings ice for the passengers). They also took, in my opinion, better care when gutting and cleaning the fish than on other boats, which is the part you really need to worry about. Last, their filleting was restaurant quality which does take more time but better than coming home with hacked-up fish. Last he doesn't charge for filleting like most of the other boats. Like i said, Soleman is a little more expensive than the other boats but you get more for your money. read more

I've been out fishing with Capt. Don *many* times. He's constantly shares information with other captains so he always knows what's biting and where to go to find them. I've never returned from a Soleman trip without adding fresh fish to my freezer! That said, I've caught fish with other charters and that's not why he deserves 5 stars. He deserves them because he maintains a comfortable boat, a welcoming environment for pros and amateurs alike, and his first instinct is to make sure that all of his passengers are having fun in the process. A day spent fishing on the Soleman is a day well spent. read more

A great time. Good company, good fishing. If you want results. See Soleman Sport fishing. My son and I have been twice and my son has caught more fish than me. Capt Don knows the waters in the Bay and outside the Golden Gate. Safe, Fun. Early start. So go to bed early the night before. read more

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Sole Man is da man! We completed a half day morning shark fishing trip, it was awesome. I was blown away with the level of dedication to our enjoyment capt Don showed the entire trip. We caught a lot of shark and even got to take a bag of fish filets home! He has a lot of experience and is very kid friendly. There is a clean bathroom on board and a air pot of Starbucks on board. Go see Don, it's a must do, he is a institution of San Francisco and I wish him continued success. Thanks Don! read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Kind of fascinating - this guy was my 3rd choice b/c he only had 5 Yelp reviews. Took my family out, so very glad it was a killer decision. His boat is tiny (6 people only) but if you are OK with that, there is no better person I've gone out with in Bay Area. Personable, professional, friendly, concerned about catch. We got close to the limit in rock cod - I told him we HAD to catch stuff and I know he tailored the potluck trip for that. I realized later that like he said, there are a load of filtered reviews here. Might want to read them - this guy is the real thing. read more

Several of us had went on a half day trip with captain Brian, I can't express what a great adventure it was. Had a successful rock cod, and ling cod fishing trip. I would highly recommend sole-man! Be ready those who do get sea sick though. Smaller charter, but was worth it because def. makes better for a group trip. Looking forward to those winter sturgeon! read more

STOP -- Look no further. You cannot find a better fishing experience than with Captain Don. This fishing trip was both the most fun but also the best for getting tons of fish. The Captain knew just where to go to get the best fish. We easily got our limit -- all of us -- and had a great time. The Captain was exceptionally helpful. He took us for the greatest fishing trip I've every had ... and I've done lots of charter fishing trips out of Fishermans Wharf. I will NEVER go out on any other boat. Soleman's boat holds just the right number of people. We saw other larger boats but they were overloaded and crowded on the rail. We all had plenty of room and lots of personal attention from both Don and the deck hand. One person had some special needs and Don was so so so helpful. He just made the whole worth while. And --- he did such an excellent job in filleting the fish it was just great to get home and fry up the fish. Really -- don't waste your time on other boats. It is so nice to go out with sometone who really cares about our experience. There was hot coffee waiting for us on the boat it just kept getting better. We are now starting to plan our next trip. We can't decide wether to go for shark or salmon. The one thing we do know is that Captain Don will get us to where we can cathc the fish. ENJOY! read more

I went to fish on Sunday the 9/30 and had a great time with Captain Don. He was very help full on my first time fishing and we constantly checking on me to make sure that I was doing fine. And he did give me a lot helpful tips also he did when to several different spots to make sure that we did get enough fish for everyone... this was a great experience for me and I am for sure doing this again soon... Thanks Captain Don read more

Great service!! Best price that I have seen. I called around for my husbands fishing trip. I called sooooo many places and everyone was booked. I ended up moving my date because it was their only availability. Price was best compared to all the other charters I saw. It was so awesome when they came back to shore. The captain cut up all the fish and shark that they caught. read more

We had an amazing time fishing for halibut with Brian. He was charismatic, funny and knowledgeable. A great teacher and an all around awesome guy. With Brain's expertise, we were able to reach our catch limit for the boat even though I am a complete newbie. I would without a doubt recommend Soleman Sportfishing and will be using them again for any future trips. read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Amazing experience! - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

I didn't actually get an opportunity to fish here. This was some time back but it was upsetting at first but turned out ok. I booked a fishing trip for 2 of my buddies and I a few month prior to my 30th birthday online. I received a confirmation email and payment was taken. In had a 4th buddy that saw an open spot the night before and signed up as well. When we arrived the captain looked around and scratched his head and said "Some of y'all have the wrong boat, we only allow 6." So we all pulled out our confirmations and Receipts and were all confirmed. My buddy that signed up the night before was on the manifest, however me and my 2 buddies weren't. Turns out we signed up far before anyone else but weren't allowed on the trip because we weren't on the manifest. Captain Don however, did his best to make it right. He called sever boats and we got picked up by a random boat out of Berkley. I was very happy we did get to go fishing At least. I would just recommend confirming your reservation before hand. Other than that the captain seemed like a solid guy and made it right. read more

So this is my third year chartering the Soleman and we are already planning our fourthtrip. We went out 2 Saturdays ago and fishing was great! Don was not able to be there that Saturday, which I was aware of from the beginning, yet I had full confidence that whomever Don had to fill in for him would be a topnotch captain..... And as I expected, Captain Don did not disappoint. Captain Craig is an amazing captain with a lifetime of experience and knowledge! He was a wonderful people person and his dedication to getting us on fish was as impressive as his dedication to getting those fish in the boat! We had an excellent day of shark fishing and another memory filled day that will always be with us. Thank you Captain Don and Captain Craig for everything.... again! Can't wait for the next adventure! read more

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Great time with Capt Don-Thanks from your new friends here in Texas! He made sure we caught fish and plenty of them! Not sure I can credit him with the flat seas and sunshine-but even if conditions would not have been perfect-I feel confident that the boat would still have been comfortable! Capt Don went the extra mile with vacum sealing our catch and assisting us with packaging it correctly to get it back home-fresh! Highly reccomend this trip. Only negative-he has horrible choice of music-ha!!! Thanks again, Travis and Charles (Houston) read more

Don and his deck hand were awesome, we went on a Saturday for a bachelor party and we had a great time. Captain don will try to make every accommodation possible to make it a great trip for you. 3 of the 5 guys on the boat caught sharks so I'd say it was a successful trip. TIP bring something to grill he has a small gas grill on board read more

We had an incredible time fishing with Sole-man sportfishing. The captain was a lot of fun and really knew the area and where the fish were biting. We all limited on striped bass and got a 46" sturgeon on the boat. Other than that we caught a bunch of sharks and bat rays. I try to book a fishing trip at least once a year and this was one of the best fishing experiences I've had to date. Thank you Sole-man! read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

Went out on Don's boat and it was by far the best experience we have ever had fishing! Don is professional, highly skilled, and has patience to teach those willing to learn. Soleman IS the BEST! Can't wait for my husband and I to go fishing with Don again. -Nurse Gina read more

Our family of four went shark fishing for a half day in the morning and Don was absolutely great as a captain with quick wit and great information about the bay. It was clear that Don has a wealth of great knowledge of superb fishing spots and our two sons were able to catch several monster sharks (which we released so I'm sure future customers may see them again). I've posted a couple of pictures for reference. read more

Soleman Sportfishing - Leapord catch 7/5/2012 - Boating Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Thank You Capt. Don!! It was one of the BEST trips of our vacation... WE WILL BE BACK! read more

I took my 9-year-old son to their full-day salmon fishing tour yesterday. We boarded Soleman's boat a little past 6 a.m., but we had to wait for the owner Don to arrive which was an hour later to get out of the dock. My son caught the first king salmon within half an hour. then the rest of the group, except one person, all caught up with us. We paid $175 each for the tour, later on I found out at least two people in our group are Don's friends, so neither of them paid anything to go on the tour. Worst of all, because one of them did not catch salmon, Don made three more stops for that one person, so that he could catch some rock fish. Our tour ended up being 11 hours long, We didn't get back to the dock until 5 p.m. I felt asleep on the boat more than a dozen times from exhaustion. Since I spent most of my time dozing away right next to Don, I got to know him better. He chatted most of his time while gearing the boat. His assistant Craig did all the work helping us prepare the baits, catch the fish with a net. Neither one has instructed us how/when to reel/release the string. Don got angry when we did something wrong, but he never told us how to fish! The worst part is that we had to wait another hour and half for Don to clean and fillet our fish. When he processed our two salmon, he cut a lot out and gave it to his friend, I asked him why he did that, he said the part he cut out (that was in the mid section) was not good, it's better to smoke that part. Later I overheard his friend say that was the best part! I felt being ripped, not only on the tour charge, but also on the salmon my son and I worked so hard to catch! Also he offered ice to his friend, when I asked him for some, he told me to go to Walgreen's to buy ice. I didn't understand why I couldn't get ice from him when I was the only one who paid for the tour?! The reason I desperately needed ice for four huge bags of salmon was because Don did not have much ice in the ice chest he prepared to hold everybody's fish. There was a very thin layer of ice in the ice chest, the ice cubes were So limited that they could not even cover the bottom of the ice chest. 11 hours later, all the fish in the ice chest were soaked in the shallow water that were supposed to be ice. I had a serious doubt if any of the fish was good to eat from a sanitary point of view! From the moment my son caught his first salmon until we got it from Don after he fillet it, there were a good 10 and half hours. Worst of all we had no ice to keep the fish fresh. I had to drag 30 pounds of salmon to Walgreen's to get ice and storage Chest because Don was not willing to share the ice with us. I regret it very much that I chose Soleman, my second choice, because my first choice was fully booked. Don charged $40 more per person than my first-choice fishing co. and his service was pretty bad. Not sure if he took advantage of us being a woman and a child! I hope my review will help somone make the best decision in finding a reliable fishing tour. read more

My bf found this very last minute (night before) just walking around the main tourist area, so I wasn't expecting much, but he wanted to go so bad, I agreed. It was a great morning, and I am tough to get up that early. Weather wasn't the greatest, but felt like it was a great day - that says a lot. Captain Don was fun, very easy going, but obviously a professional in his field. Very clean, well-maintained boat, I didn't have proper clothing and he lent me a pair of boots and gloves with no hesitation and without being asked. Turned us on to a great restaurant to cook up our fresh catch. All around, perfect service and for the location, a reasonable price. I'd recommend him to anyone. Our group consisted of three guys that all really wanted to be out fishing and me and we all had an equally good time. The small size is pretty much perfect. read more

Once again, an A-MAZING day with Sole-man!! We almost always limit out fishing with him and after using many other charters the past several years, he is still our favorite. To many more days fishing together, cheers!! read more

Capt. Don Franklin thank you for taking me and my friend out for a day of fishing even thought the weather was not really up to par. Now on to the review. Captain Don really does know the waters in the Bay and we caught 4 Striped Bass and 2 Halibuts in a little over 3.5 hours. For a great time fishing with fantastic results make sure to head over to Sole Man Fishing Charters and book yourself a great time.!! read more

VERY DISTERBING and DISAPPOINTING Captain Don is completely unprofessional. Last Saturday my friends and I had a trip booked with Don for about a month in advance. We watched the website all month seeing if anyone else was going and it was just us 3. Friday night Don calls asking what our plans are we told him we wanted to go shark fishing for his advertised Sharktober. We asked if we could bring an ice chest and he said he needed room to work his boat! really with half a group you don't have enough room. He said sharking wasn't very good at this time of the year and he didn't have much bait. We were intent on sharking so we offered to by bait but Don said no, no, no. Don then tried to convince us to go rock fishing. Don then told us he hadn't been leaving until 6:30 so we agreed to meet the next morning. Saturday mourning it was an excellent day, not too cold and the water was glass as we crossed the golden gate bridge. 5 minutes before we arrived around 5:55 Don calls and says we were over booked and he now had a full boat and he was already on the water. His excuse was he has two websites and we had booked on the new site and the other people had been booked out 4 months in advance and had come from Crescent city even though we were traveling from Yreka which is about the same distance. Don was full of fish tales and giving us the run around so we requested a refund and called Captain Steve. Why??? Why did Don not tell us about the other group the night before? Why would you not check both websites before calling us? Were you just trying to sabotage our trip by not telling us the night before so we could book a better captain like Captain Steve? Why wouldn't you have enough bait? Why would you be on the water before 6 if you told us 6:30? Why were we the ones on the chopping block, was it the ice chest? Why did you think we wanted to catch rock fish 1/3 the size as were used to catching at home a couple hours away. I have nothing good to say about Cap Don Franklin and the garbage he pulled! This was my buddy's birthday present and Don tried to ruin it with no compassion or remorse. We were able to get captain Steve to take us out the next day which was his day off, Steve was exceptional and cared about our situation. Don knew we were on Steve's boat the next day but would not even look at us or attempt to apologize, as we were docked beside him. Funny that we were cutting up sharks and Don said they went good fishing this time of year. Don has a small heart and an even smaller boat and only targets little fish. I was very disappointed with Dons actions and would suggest Captain Steve any day!!! Steve has two boats and a huge heart like a worldly angel. Don is the exact opposite. Sole man has no soul and it shows. If you want the worst experience you can get with no bait and small fish Don has you covered. Don't worry you will be traveling half the time to get to his rock fish spot and back. I highly recommend FLASH FISHING with captain Steve because its not worth the headache with Don Franklin. Don is cheap for reasons listed above and isn't worth your hard earned money. Don is a waste of your time go with FLASH you wont be disappointed. read more