We had a fantastic time on our fishing charter with Captain Martin. Our trip was delayed by two hours due to an unforeseen circumstance, but he was sincerely apologetic and made up for it by extending our time on the water.

We started out 2 to 3 miles offshore targeting kelp paddies. After checking three paddies with no luck, Martin shifted gears and brought us closer to the island shore to one of his go-to spots for Calico bass. That move paid off—my 10- and 12-year-old sons did most of the fishing (with my wife and me helping out) and caught nearly a dozen fish each! Most were too small and safely released, but they both landed a keeper at least 14 inches long. On the way back into Avalon, Martin even tried some trolling to target larger fish.

Throughout the trip, Capt. Martin was friendly, professional, extremely knowledgeable about the local waters, and super helpful with setting up gear, baiting lines, and unhooking fish. Before we debarked, he cleaned and filleted our keepers so we could bring them to a local restaurant.

Tip for anglers bringing their catch to local spots: We first tried the Lobster Trap based on recommendations, but they require the skin to be completely off. Bluewater Avalon said they no longer cook customer-caught fish, but they pointed us to El Galleon down the street. El Galleon happily accepted our catch and turned it into two amazing fish-and-chips lunches for the boys.

Both of my sons had an absolute blast and are already asking to go boat fishing again. Highly recommend Capt. Martin and Avalon Anglers!

Captain Martin was great!! There were 5 of us who have never gone fishing before and Captain Martin was a great instructor in helping us throughout the trip. We ended up catching 8 fishes and he cleaned and refitted them for us to take home.

He kept taking us to different locations around the island to catch fish.

In addition, our ferry to Catalina Island was canceled last minute due to weather conditions and we weren’t going to make our 8am time. Captain Martin was able to accommodate a last minute reschedule to 1pm with no problems.

This was our first time fishing and would do it again!