Patriot Sportfishing

Patriot's ten-boat fleet — Avenger, Endeavor MB, Flying Fish, Magic, Patriot, Phenix, Reel Ez, Savage, Starfire, and Sunny Day — works out of Avila Beach and Morro Bay. The flagship Patriot is a 55-by-15-foot vessel built in 1955, certified for 39 anglers, captained by Jay Gavin. Onboard amenities include a full galley, large bait tank, full electronics package, and extensive rail space. The Patriot is the only Central Coast vessel running combined Crab & Cod trips — passengers can take home up to six fresh crabs per person on top of rockcod fishing.

Trip menu runs short. Published 2026 open-party pricing is $80 for five hours, $90 for six, $110 for eight, $120 for the eight-hour Crab & Cod, $140 for ten hours, and $160 for twelve. Half-day trips fish local reefs off Port San Luis and Shell Beach; longer runs reach toward Point Purísima for lingcod and red rockfish. Seasonal targets rotate through rockcod (opened April 1 for 2026), salmon, albacore, crab, and sanddab, with whale watching cruises December through March. All reservations require 100% deposit; deposits go non-refundable 48 hours prior.

Counts back up the bottom-fishing focus. On April 22, 2026, the Patriot brought 14 anglers in with 101 rockcod, 12 bocaccio, 9 red rockcod to 5 pounds, 8 copper rockfish, and 6 lingcod on a half-day morning run.

Guest feedback runs mixed. The TripAdvisor listing shows 8 reviews at 3.8 of 5 stars, ranking #9 of 10 Avila Beach tours and activities — too small a sample to surface here as an aggregate rating. Positive reviews cite crew attentiveness and full-limit catches; cjkrimm (June 2018) wrote that "everyone on the boat that day caught full limits," and Nelson K (August 2018) noted that "the attentive staff made the day top notch." Critical reviews flag equipment-rental pricing and dock-side customer service.