Deep Sea Fishing Kauai

Not even sure where to start. Meet captain J at the docks at 615am and was told the other half of the group cancelled and I figured he was gonna cancel the trip all together. But that was the complete opposite, we ended landing 6 yellow fin tuna. This was hands down something I will never forget and when I come back the first call is to the crew at deep sea fishing Kauai. Not only did I end up having the whole boat to myself the captain was nice enough to send me and my girlfriend home with some meat. The boat does have plenty of water and soda but bring food like sandwich and chips. Also I would recommend not wearing shoes like I did cause they will get wet when your landing your fish in the boat. Also don’t freak out from the size of the boat like other Unilocalers complained about. 30ft is the perfect size for the swells. Anything bigger and it’s all bad in big swells. Also the deck hand was kick ass and worked his butt off so make sure to bring cash to tip him.

What an amazing trip! Thank you Captain Jeff and Deckhand Brandon you made it a great experience even though seas where rough & kids where not feeling too great you made it into a trip of a lifetime they will never forget. Highly recommend you to anyone looking for a great crew and a chance at catching some epic fish!

Captain J and Davy hooked it up — literally! We had an awesome trip, caught fish and feel like we made a couple friends along the way. By far the best fishing experience I’ve ever had. Unless the inside bite is hitting hard don’t even bother with the 4 hours, go with the 6 head out to deeper water. So glad we went with Captain J.
Jeffrey

Look, these guys are great. I gave only 3 stars because we signed up for 4 hours and ended up on the boat for nearly 8 hours. The result, sunburn and severe hunger pangs! Oh, we did catch an 180 lb. yellowfin tuna (ahi) as we were cruising back to harbor so I can’t complain too much. Our crew of Brandon and Cole were great.

Went out with Justin and Brandon and had a great time. Not much action but it was not for lack of trying. Happy to say that we caught a 15-​lb yellowfin tuna right at the end of the day to go with the wavy back tuna another guy caught just after we set out. While it’s not like the pics of the 200+ pounders on here, it was still pretty exciting, not to mention perfect and delicious for lunch and dinner the next day. Would definitely do it again.

If you want to deep sea fish while staying in Kauai, I cannot recommend Captain J’s more. Our crew, Captain Jeff and Deckhand Brandon were not only friendly, but determined to help us catch a fish on our private charter. We originally asked for the 4-​hour tour, but ended up getting an extra hour on the house since we weren’t getting any bites early on. Finally, we saw tunas jumping out of the water and quickly snagged one on the line. It took 30 minutes and the help of Jeff, Brandon and my boyfriend to pull up a HUGE 215 pound Yellowfin tuna. The crew was just as ecstatic as we were because of how heavy the fish actually was. When we docked they explained the fish had to be immediately iced to make it to the market, as all fish in Hawaii are owned by the boat for sale back on the island. Since they couldn’t cut us any of the catch, they promised they’d call us and deliver some other fresh fish within the next day or two. The next day, Jeff called as he said and delivered pounds of fresh Mahi Mahi directly to our rental in Kapa’a (this fish was easily worth like $ 20 a pound). He couldn’t thank us enough for being so understanding about not getting any of the fresh fish we caught. Definitely take this tour!

My son and I had a great time. captain J and his mate John were great. we didn’t catch anything but that didnt spoil our fun. The conversations were engaging and most importantly the trip was a good time had by everyone on the boat. We tried and he kept putting us where the birds were but he cant make them bite… can he? As they say on Unilocal «see ya there» i would definately reccomend it and would do it again myself. 5/​five star rating
thanks!

Best experience ever! Caught a 148 lb Yellow fin tuna. The deck hand was awesome and Justin was super cool. It was very choppy waters but great catch! Would recommend to any experienced fishers.

Ok so the boat isnt the best looking boat I have ever been on. The boat was in good working order though. Our captain (Justin) was very knowledgeable. We caught a yellowfin Tuna around 200 lbs. the equipment is top notch Shimano reels and rods. Hooked another and it got off the hook right at the boat (est. 150 lbs.) I would definitely fish with Captain J’s outfit again. Anyone considering fishing in Hawaii should familiarize themselves with how it works over here. That way you are not surprised when you realize you don’t get to keep your fish. However things have been pretty good here recently and we did get a portion of ahi to take back to our hotel or condo if you wanted. Ate mine and it was great. Where else in the world can you be on 200 lbs. tuna 10 minutes off shore? My biggest ahi tuna was 40 lbs. before this.

My dad and brother-​in-​law and I took a fishing trip with Deep Sea Charters and had a great experience. They captain and skipper were very friendly and while we were waiting to catch a fish, they told us about the island and what we were passing by in the boat. My dad got sick and they were very nice about it, brought him water and made sure he was ok. The only reason I took off one star was because we only caught one fish on the boat and it wasn’t even us who caught it. My brother-​in-​law helped the guy who caught it reel it in because it was so big, but my dad and I didn’t get to bring anything in. So essentially we paid $ 150 each to sit on the boat. I get it though, it’s always hit or miss. Overall, it was a great experience just to be out on the boat, I’ve never seen a fish that big in person. Keep in mind though, if you catch a fish, they beat it with a bat to knock it out and then gut it on the boat! They have to or the hot blood will cook the meat. The fish we caught was over 100 pounds so we didn’t get to keep any of it, but they did give us part of a fish that was caught on another boat and it was delicious. I guess all in all, if you’re looking for the «experience» check em out!

This review is long overdue… but to the readers out there… if you have any questions who to fish with… let me answer that now. Deep Sea Fishing Kauai is by far the best charter I have ever fished with.
I have fished with tons of other charters from Hawaii to Mexico and the west coast of California. I expected the same experience, but these guys are by far the best. Captain J and I had several phone calls prior to my trip to Kauai to coordinate dates and what we wanted to catch. On day one, we fished with Captain Rob and Jeff Campbell. They took care of us at every turn, making sure we not only enjoyed the trip and caught fish, but also that we didn’t get sunburnt and had enough water. Jeff spent a long time explaining his tips and tricks to put fish on the boat and I think even gave away a few secrets of fishing Kauai. The weather cooperated and was a great day… so we booked again later in the week.
Midweek, we fished with Captain Rob again and Brandon and put some smaller sized tuna on the boat and again the weather cooperated. It was a short trip with 4 other anglers us, but we all had a great day. I won’t say that everyone got to catch, but we (my dad and I) did… and it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying on their part. I am sure the other anglers wanted to catch… but that’s fishing.
Finally, late in the week, I saw Deep Sea Fishing Kauai’s facebook post that showed they were into the big tuna. I called Jeff Campbell and he scrambled to put a charter together for the next morning. He coordinated everything and the next morning we left VERY early. The weather held and Captain Andy put us on the fish. Not very many charters caught that day… but we did. What we caught was a lifetime fish… and that Ahi was over #200. My dad described the day as one of the best in his life… being able to fish with his son and catch like we did.
All in all, I can not thank these guys enough. We had an amazing trip and consider them all our new friends. They certainly shared a pretty special day with my father and me. A special thanks goes to Jeff who took care of us all week and even dropped off some fresh Ono which a different mid week charter caught. I had talked about wanting to catch and BBQ… so he brought it to us. That is going well beyond the extra mile.
I’ll fish with them every time I am in Kauai. By the way… my profile pic is the fish we caught… just for reference.

My family and I (group of 5) went out on one of their boats with Captain Rob and Deckhand Jeff for a 6-​hour trip. What a success! We do fish a lot on the mainland and understand that we might not have caught anything, but to be on a boat in beautiful Kauai… that’s a memory we will never forgot!
We got lucky, though! We caught 3 Mahi Mathis and one Wahoo. We did catch some small yellow fin, but you gotta throw those guys back so they get big later. We caught the Wahoo quickly on our trip, followed by quiet, and finished with a bang when the captain spotted a large log. The lines wouldn’t stop, and it was crazy! What fun, though!
The crew was very knowledgeable about fishing in the area, and Jeff kept us informed as to the plan throughout the trip so we stayed informed. The crew was friendly and definitely knew what they were doing. If you’re planning a trip to Kauai and enjoy fishing, you’ve gotta fish with these guys! Again, even if you don’t catch anything, you will have a beautiful view of the island!

Jude & Josh did the job!
We went out to a sea buoy 5 miles out (since disappeared). Not everyone caught a fish, but the fish were not biting. And Jude was trying! But that is fishing!
Still we caught enough, that everyone had plenty of to take home!
While I think the restaurant sales of whole fish (required by law), may have been disappointing that day, it was accepted as, «That’s fishing»!
I wish I could butcher a fish as efficiently as they do. I know I can, I just need the training & experience.
I am going out with these men again. I know that the intent is genuine & nature is in ultimate control!
BTW: Jude & his 31ft. Bertram is well known and well respected for their fishing & customer commitment!
I am going with these guys again! I don’t provide warning! Show up! Find out!

Received a call from JD while on our way to the harbor for a day of fishing. He cancelled since it was just my wife and I scheduled for the afternoon and he didnt want to take the boat out for 2 people.

It was a great 6+ hour fishing trip. Captain J and Brandon took care of everything and they have a great sense of humor. Good seas and sunrise over of the island heading out. There were 6 of us and we caught plenty of fish. skip jack tunas, smaller yellow fins we put back to grow larger, and the ladies caught two 30 lb+ yellow fin tunas. plenty of fish to share. There was a long stretch where there were no bites and that’s fishing. They are definitely out there and if they’re biting watch out. The ahi was so good and made our trip very memorable. If you are in Hawaii you need to do it all… fishing, scuba, surfing, helicopter, luau, coffee plantation,. Thank you for a great time and we will be back and refer friends. –Patrick (Carlsbad, CA)

I went out with Deep Sea Fishing on a really rough day. There were two boats that went out that morning. It was full boat of 6 guys, including myself, and two crewmen. Now I’ve been fishing before and been on some pretty rough seas, but this was the worst. Don’t get me wrong at no point did I think we were ever in trouble. It must have been at least 5 to 7 foot swells, with a lot of wind. The captain of the boat who I can’t remember his name for the life of me did a great job of reading the ocean and making it enjoyable. We planned on going out for the 4-​hour trip, but turned into the 6-​hour after we landed a large, ~35 lb, bull mahi-​mahi, beautiful fish. We caught a good sized skipjack to add to the pot. No other bites, but we did see some awesome views of humpback whales breaching and the coast of Kauai. Once back at the docks is where they really showed their true spirit. In the haste to get my cooler out of the trunk of my car, I dropped the keys and locked them in. I had no phone, no wallet and cooler. One of the deckhands on the other boat let me borrow his phone to call the rental car company. Once I had made arrangements to meet the rental car company, Captain J gave me a ride up to a local brewery to wait the 25 minutes over a beer. They even put my fish on ice, on one of the boats for when I was ready to leave. These guys worked well together and would definitely take another trip. If there was to be an area of improvement I would say communication. I was coming over from Princeville, which was about an hour and half drive. With the really bad weather we were experiencing leading up to the day of the trip I wasn’t sure if we were going to be going out. I tried calling the day before to confirm the trip. I didn’t get a call back. Would have been really bummed to drive that far, in bad weather, that early in the morning to be told we weren’t going out.

If you’re looking for someone to serve you cocktails and caviar while someone else reels your fish in for you, this is not the boat for you.
However, if you’d like to actually fish and be around fishermen and participate in the fishing then these guys are awesome!
We went out with Captain Bill and Deckhand Josh. We didn’t get into the fish too much but it wasn’t for lack of trying. We were out on their second boat and it seated 5 of us plus 2 crewmen quite comfortably.
Do I wish we would have caught more fish? Of course, but the worst day fishing is still better than the best day working! Especially with these guys.