Chris' Fishing Trips runs out of 48 Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, founded in 1949 when Captain Chris Arcoleo Sr. began taking people fishing in Monterey Bay. The operation is "the oldest, continuously family-owned whale watching on the California coast" and worked with the Audubon Society on early marine research out of the bay.
Fleet
Three vessels: the 68-foot Star of Monterey, the 57-foot Check Mate, and the 51-foot Caroline. The Check Mate runs full-day open-party trips up to 24 anglers on rockfish, lingcod, sanddabs, and petrale sole. Listed skippers are Captain Tinker, Captain Nick, and Captain Chris, with the landing claiming "over 80 years of combined experience" between them.
Trip types
Open-party trips cover the full Monterey species mix at a flat day rate. Rock & Lingcod, Halibut (5:45 a.m. check-in), Rock Cod and Dungeness Crab, and Crab and Sand Dabs Combo all price at $110 weekday / $120 weekend for adults and $75 / $85 for kids 15 and under. King Salmon runs $120 per adult seasonally, with a 24-inch minimum and a 5:45 a.m. check-in. Private group charters are $1,750 weekday (up to 15) / $2,200 weekend (up to 18), and chartering the Star of Monterey outright is $3,000 weekday (27 passengers) / $3,500 weekend. Rod rentals are $10 and a one-day California license runs $20.52. Burial-at-sea charters start at $500 for one hour.
Recent reports
A recent Check Mate full-day landed 100 petrale sole and 10 sand dabs for 14 anglers — a representative bottomfish day off the canyon edge. Sport Fishing Report tracks daily counts for the boat and the landing.
Reviews
The TripAdvisor profile for Chris' Fishing and Whale Watching carries a 4.6 out of 5 rating across 701 reviews, with recent entries including, "Everyone on boat caught limits before noon. Kids are wanting to know when we can plan the next trip."
