Virg’s Landing
Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay is the oldest party boat operation on the Central Coast. Starting out on the Embarcadero in 1954, the business once booked party boat trips and ran landing operations in both Morro Bay and at the San Simeon Pier. Under new ownership since 2014, the entire tackle store was revamped, and the boats spruced up. Virg’s is now located off the waterfront on Market Street, just two blocks up the hill off Beach St. Virg’s takes reservations for three party boats and a six-pack boat, out of their spacious tackle shop or online through the website. Excellent local rockfishing and lingcod are a mainstay, while seasonal visits by albacore in the late summer and fall were common in past seasons, as well as salmon in the spring. The boats run standard ½-, ¾- and full-day trips. In addition, they offer 12-hour “long range” trips up to the Big Sur Coast, destination Cape San Martin. Also, very popular with anglers are the 1.5- and 2-day trips on the Black Pearl (2 limits of fish, world-renowned galley with meals included and a limited load). Customers check in at the shop and drive down to the waterfront where they park and board their boat. Remodeled in 2015, the tackle shop now offers an expanded collection of rockcod and lingcod jigs and swimbaits, rods, reels, as well as a large selection of salmon and albacore gear. Surf and pier fishing are a mainstay. As the largest tackle shop on the Central Coast, Virg’s continues to be the go-to shop for your Central Coast fishing needs.Most importantly, they have their annual John Rowley’s Biggest Baddest Lingcod Competition with a cash pot of $10k and numerous giveaways and raffle prizes from their generous vendors. There is no fee to enter and nobody leaves empty handed once you have qualified for the fishoff. Check out the website at virgs.com for all the competition information.