Happy Hooker Sportfishing runs out of Berkeley Marina at 201 University Avenue under captains Chris Smith and Jonathon Smith. The boat's signature trip is a full-day halibut and striped bass run inside San Francisco Bay — trolling the Berkeley Flats and the bay's structure for the same two species the Smith family has been chasing here for more than 35 years.
Fleet
The Happy Hooker is described on the operator's site as a 60-by-20-foot Coast Guard certified fiberglass sportfisher with a maximum load of 36 passengers, a heated cabin and galley. Operations are family-run: founder Captain Jim Smith (now retired) built the reputation on bay striped bass, and his son Chris Smith and grandson Jonathon Smith captain the boat today. NorCal Fish Reports and the operator's own about page both list it as a third-generation Smith-family charter.
Trip types
Public trips on the booking system run full-day halibut trolling at $200 per person and full-day halibut and striped bass at $200 per person, both 5:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Bay live-bait trips for halibut and striped bass are available as whole-boat charters; quotes are handled at (510) 223-5388. Rod rentals are $20.
Recent reports
A run of full-day reports posted to NorCal Fish Reports in April 2026: April 25, 20 anglers landed 6 halibut and 20 striped bass; April 23, 8 anglers landed 9 halibut and 4 striped bass; April 21, 4 anglers landed 8 halibut and 1 striped bass. A December 7, 2025 full-day produced 170 Dungeness crab, 135 rockfish, and 5 lingcod for 17 anglers — the standard winter combo when the bay halibut and striper bite cools off.
