Big Al’s Guide Service

Al’s rejoinder to my updated review reveals much that should concern prospective clients. His most recent response accuses me of making four separate false bookings through his wife … thus, accusing me of a crime (fraud). This is, of course more, of Al’s lame hyperbole. If Al’s amatuerish accusation were true, he could simply file a civil action seeking damages for lost revenue. Al knows EXACTLY who I am and where to find me. Rather than addressing customer dissatisfaction in a professional manner (e.g., some sort partial refund), Al stoops to baseless accusations while sacraficing the truth along with his personal integrity. Nothing else need be said about this childish lout except let the buyer beware.

Awesome guide delivering awesome times. This man knows how to fish! We will definitely be back for another trip. If you’re looking for some Sacramento fishing fun, look no further… this is the man to book!

Wow best Captain ever, master baiter jay Bird was awesome. If you have a bad experience with these guys then you suck and should not fish. No time limits, no complaining, just let’s catch fish. I took the family out on a Sunday and had the time of our lives. Never boring, wow, I’ve paid a lot of guides and never had such a positive experience and reasonable fee. I think all guides should take a tour with him on how to act and treat people the way you like to be treated. Warm, friendly, kind, and let’s try and catch fish, he says, ya I’ve been skunked and that’s fishing, not with Al and Jay Bird. Work until we land one then two, wow we nailed ten Strippers that were legal and released the ones that weren’t. Even spent more time hunting for Salmon but water too warm but what the hell he tried for us, that was setting the bar way high. He and his wife return calls, take the time to talk with you and explain everything. They do what they say, and I will book again and again. David McClelland and family Cameron Park CA.

Big Al took us near the Rio Vista bridge and we had an awesome day! We caught our limit of striper quickly (first time I have ever caught my limit). Big Al and his brother from another mother, Jaybird were experts and had great stories. They cleaned our fish and now we’re heading home for fish tacos. I would highly recommend. Next time salmon fishing!

I Fished with Captain Al with two co workers on a tough day for Salmon. No body was catching fish EXCEPT US!!! We left the river (on our request) 1 fish short of our limit.
Captain Al is a Captain that works HARD to get you your fish and will keep fishing until you can’t fish (dock to dock time doesn’t exist on his boat)!!!
I’ve chartered Many times in Fresh and Salt water and found Captain Al to be at the top of the list of the guys I’ve fished with! Jet boat Rocked Gear was top notch (Fresh Sardines when non were available)
You can’t go wrong with a captain that pulls out all the stops to make sure you have the best trip possible and Captain Al is that guy!

Stripers were biting in the Sacramento River, so that was the destination. Started at 7:15am and by 10 had 3 in the boat. These are tricky with the tide so it shut down till after 3pm. We tried sturgeon fishing and stripers with bait, but no luck. Al did not want to give up (most guides would be headed home by 4 for sure). Then at 5 or 5:30 we had a double, including a 28.5 beauty. Al was excited like a little kid. He really enjoys fishing, and his boat is great. Also, a buddy of his Jaybird came along and he was very helpful. These guys really know what they are doing. We had a great time and highly recommend his service. Hope we get a chance to go salmon fishing in the future. The equipment is first rate as well. Couldn’t be more pleased. Very reasonably priced.

I started hiring guides for Salmon fishing over 10 years ago the minute my wife said she wanted to go!!! We tried a couple of guides up in the Redding area and had several good outings before I decided to try and find someone closer to home… After 2 – 3 so-​so trips, a friend of mine suggested Big Al and my wife and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve gone out with Al at least 5 times each of the last 4 years and he always put us on the fish. Top notch boats and equipment, unbeatable knowledge and fun to fish with. Al will show you how to fish and make you part of his crew or let you just relax and reel in the big one after he does the work. Either way, the cooler will always come home with fish!

I was looking for a guide to take me fishing on the Sacramento River, but I was traveling alone from Virginia. I asked several guides about a trip, but they all wanted to take a group & weren’t interested in a single fisherman. Then I contacted Big Al. He didn’t hesitate to book me alone and I asked him to try to find another fisherman to come along.
The day of the trip, I met Santiago, a very nice guy from Ecuador & we were welcomed aboard by Big Al & his friend Rick. The fishing was slow & most fishermen left the river skunked, but Big Al got us each a 20 pound beauty. Al & Rick had gone out at 5am to reserve their favorite spot.
I had the time of my life swapping stories with Al & Rick. If you need a guide, you’ll never find a better one than Big Al. He’s truly the «Dean» of the Sacramento River fishing guides.

I’ve done a few charter fishing trips, and there are usually some common trends — follow the time limit, don’t burn too much gas, and get angry with the patrons if they do something wrong. NOT WITH BIG AL! If you book a trip with Big Al, he will a) get you on the fish and b) keep you on the fish until you say no more (or you catch your limit)
I do salmon fishing on the river, but usually come back empty handed. If the fish aren’t biting, there isn’t much you can do. We had some family coming in town and wanted to book a charter trip for salmon. Trusty Unilocal pointed me right to Big Al, and for that I’m thankful. We were on the water a 6AM, and Big Al’s deckhand Jay Bird was there to help set up our lures/​quickfish. Jay Bird is quite the character! Don’t worry if the fish aren’t biting, those two will keep you entertained!
Unfortunately, our day happened to be a slow one. While almost no one on the river was catching fish, Big Al managed to land us 4 nice 20lb salmon. No one else on the river caught more than 3 that day. By 2PM (8 hours later) and a tank of gas later, we only had 3 salmon between the 5 of us. Big Al was determined to get one for each of us even if it meant staying out till dark. He filled up the tank again (unheard of in charter fishing), and kept on the fish until we landed another 20 lb bright chrome salmon.
Not only did he take us out and get us on the fish, but he went the extra mile to SHOW us his techniques so we can apply them ourselves. Big Al is a class act, and would fish with him again any time.

Big Al prepares everything to ensure a smooth, easy fishing experience for his clients. Last Sunday was our first time fishing.
Al took my 7yo son and me out on the water and within 30 minutes we caught our first king salmon! We had caught THREE salmon before 8am and hit our limit before 9:30am. Four beautiful, bright salmon weighing between 25 — 30 lbs. An amazing experience!
We learned how to troll the river, notice when the fish bite, how to pull the rod to set the hook… and Al & his helper Jaybird verbally coached us as we were reeling the fish in. Excellent teachers because we didn’t even lose one salmon!
Typically guides (or clients) will want to call it quits as soon as the client’s limit is caught. But we weren’t there to just catch fish… we wanted to learn Al’s technique and leave expert fishermen. This, apparently, is something Al loves to do. So he and his helper, Jaybird, stayed out with us and we took pictures of his fishing rods, reels, lures, riggings; they taught us how to cure, cut, and tie the bait plugs; which size of kwikfish to use depending on troll speed; what speed to choose and why… every detail and nuance of how to fish as successfully as Al was shared freely and with generous amount of detail/​context.
Al takes a lot of care that you get to catch your limit but he’s not obsessed with that alone. What I mean is, he let my 7yo reel in one of the salmon, calmly coaching him like he did with me. He seemed truly not concerned that he might lose the fish… there’s always more, right?
One more thing. This guy knows everyone on the river! We chatted with so many other fishermen, amateurs and pro guides. What’s more, the pro guides clearly look up to Al. And why not? We were the ones with all the fish that day!
Well done, Al. We went home with over 100lb of beautiful, cleaned king salmon. But, more importantly, we now know how to fish and aren’t feeling so lost out on the river. You bet we’ll see you out there and, as promised, we’ll call you and gloat whenever we catch a big one.

I could write great things and tell a story but these days it’s the bottom line
Al really works for his clients all the other professionals were off the water by 1pm
And not with limits ! We listened to the radio they all caught one or two but that’s all
By two it was an empty lake only jet skiers and tubers left out their with us .
Al stayed on the water with us used every one of his considerable tricks and we caught fish!!! Al’s very entertaining to be sure but more importantly he cares if the client is getting their monies worth!
This is our second trip. And not our last!
Excellence is the product of hard work and dedication !
Btw the Kokanee taste great smoked!

Big Al provides an excellent service. My husband and sons spent the day with Big Al and it was a wonderful experience. My younger son can’t stop talking about Al. Not only did he provide an excellent day of fishing (the boys think he’s psychic) but he spent time actually teaching them things as well. We will definitely do this again! Great job Al!

This guy has a psychic intuition when it comes to fish. I fished next to him once and he looked up the river and said he could see them coming. I thought he was kidding but he wasn’t! We all started catching fish right when he predicted! This guy is amazing and hilarious. Fishing’s a blast with Big Al.

Al has an intuition on the fish. That day all the boat on the river caught nothing. When they realized that Al was doing something right they started follow his exact pass. If you want to spend a good time on the river with the friendly captain, get yourself educated about fishing and bring some fish home, this would be the right person yo call. This was my first salmon fishing. We hooked 5 salmons that day 20lb plus each.

Big Al is the best there is! We went out on the Sacramento and before 7 AM we had a 40+ lb chrome in the boat! We ended up with 5 kings, the smallest at 12 lbs. Al is the nicest most knowledgeable guide I have ever gone with. His equipment is the best and was always ready with fresh bait and advice. On a day where everyone gave up we were killin’ it!
Thanks Al!
Will

I called Big Al at 2:30pm on a Saturday, hoping he could take my dad fishing on Sunday. He called back within two hours, asked me a few questions about my Dad, and said he’d be happy to take him out, even though Sunday is usually his day off.
My dad is a hard-​core fisherman (back in Florida) and he had nothing but good things to say about Al. Among the top things:
1) Extremely knowledgeable about fishing and the Sacramento area.
2) Friendly and fun!
3) Good at teaching others.
Thank you so much to Big Al for showing my dad a great time (they caught their limit!). My dad said he wants to come back soon and take myself and some of my friends fishing. He recommends Al to everyone wanting to catch some salmon in the Sacramento area.

Go fishing with Big Al he catches the big ones

Big Al has been taking me and my friends out on the Sacramento river many times and we always catch fish. Our first trip at the end of last season we caught 5 King Salmon on the Sacramento river, one of the fish was over 40 pounds and was put in western outdoors news. I highly recommend Big Al and his two awesome jet boats made for the river. He can usually take out 3 – 6 people and guarantee a good time. He also does Kokanee fishing and if you go, be ready to catch a lot of fish (Kokanee is one of the best tasting Salmon). Gone Fishin — Gabe