Virg's Landing has been booking party-boat trips out of Morro Bay since 1954, when Virgil and Sharon Moores brought live-bait fishing to the harbor — making it the oldest sportfishing operation on the Central Coast. The tackle shop and ticket office sit at 1169 Market Ave, a block off the Embarcadero. Ron and Lisa Casey took ownership in November 2022 and re-engined the Rita G; the standard menu runs half-day, 3/4-day, and 12-hour Cape San Martin trips on rockfish and lingcod.
Fleet
The current schedule runs two vessels:
- Fiesta — Captain Charlie Lanini. Day boat with a hot galley; runs the half-day and 3/4-day rotation.
- Rita G — Captain Frank Kelly. Former U.S. Navy research vessel, repowered with two new engines under Casey ownership. Runs half-days, 3/4-days, and the long-range 12-hour Cape San Martin trip up the Big Sur Coast.
Trip types
Target species across the menu include vermilion, blue, copper, gopher, starry, and yellowtail rockfish, bocaccio, lingcod, cabezon, and the occasional petrale sole and ocean whitefish. Per-angler 2026 ticket rates from the landing's live booking system: $90 for the 6-hour half-day (Rita G or Fiesta), $110 for the 8-hour 3/4-day, and $175 for the Rita G's 12-hour Cape San Martin long-range run. Tuesday Fiesta 3/4-days run a Military and First Responder appreciation rate.
Recent reports
The Rita G's 3/4-day on April 9, 2026 came back with 22 vermilion, 19 blue rockfish, 8 bocaccio, 8 canary, 7 gopher, 5 starry, 3 yellowtail rockfish, 3 lingcod, plus rosy, flag, copper, greenspotted rockfish, and a whitefish for 10 anglers. 2026 year-to-date totals across the landing logged 752 rockfish, 354 blue, 123 vermilion, 113 yellowtail, 101 gopher, 100 bocaccio, 95 starry, and 61 lingcod.
Reviews
David A (January 2024) called Virg's a "fantastic bait and tackle shop" with a "well stocked store knowledgeable and friendly staff."
