Ocean City Fishing Center
Ocean City Fishing Center
4
Fishing Charters & Tours • Boat Rentals
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About
At our marina established in the 80's, We have Ocean City's finest party boat fishing aboard the 70' Top Knot, which runs a variety of half day fishing trips in the deep ocean as well as the calm back bays! Bay trips are super family friendly! We are also available for party cruises, private fishing charters, bachelor/bachelorette and bridal events, memorial cruises & burials and other special events! If you'd like to rent your own boat, We have Pontoon and Skiff boat rentals and you can be your own Captain!! If you have your own boat, you can pull up to our dock to get bait, tackle and snacks! Our store is stocked with fishing and crabbing supplies for one stop shopping!
Ocean City, New Jersey
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Ocean City Fishing Center
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Travelers talk about
(4 reviews)
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.0
76 reviews
Excellent
47
Very good
10
Average
4
Poor
4
Terrible
11

Laura
Bensalem, PA2 contributions
Jul 2022
My family and I have been going to the Ocean City Fishing Center for years. Mary and her staff are knowledgeable, helpful, and welcoming. Not only is the OCFC dog friendly, but they accommodate children as well. Pontoon rental is super quick and easy. If traveling to the Ocean City area and looking for a rental, I highly recommend Ocean City Fishing Center.
Written August 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Daniel R
Havertown, United States24 contributions
Jul 2020
Excellent!!! All the way around!! Went twice this past week with my 6 year old daughter and 8 year old son. First time for both. Captain and crew were friendly, helpful, and professional. Most important we caught about 10-12 fish on each trip. 4 keepers the first time and 3 the 2nd time. They know where to fish. Highly recommend them. I wish I could remember the names of the first mates but they were so good to not only my kids but everyone on the boat that they deserve a shout out. Great Job!! We will be Top Knot again.
Written July 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

nicemom3
Philadelphia, PA182 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
We chose the afternoon back bay trip. Between the 5 of us, we caught 37 fish. No keepers but so much fun. The crew was so friendly and helpful. The captain utilized every minute possible for fishing. We would’ve gone again if my other kids liked to fish. We definitely plan to return. Great calm trip, no seasickness.
Written July 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Annabelle
3 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
This center has absolutely terrible service, extremely rude management, and an utter lack of organization. The people at the front desk were some of the most snarky, mean, and incompetent people I have ever had the misfortune of speaking to. If you're considering renting a boat with them I recommend that you cancel your plans immediately. After making a reservation with the Ocean City Fishing Center, the owner called two days before to change the time of the reservation. When we showed up at the new time, the manager had no boat for us and refused to return the security deposit. The owner was not there to clarify the situation. Gianna was the manager we spoke with and she could not have been more inappropriate, aggressive, or rude in every way. She raised her voice and told us there was no way we could get our security deposit back or move it to another reservation we had later that week. She claimed to have an invoice with a completely different time but we had never received any confirmation about it. We are canceling all reservations with this center and will never go back again. This place deserves zero stars for their completely incompetent management and inability to speak calmly with clients. Could not have had a worse experience.
Written August 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

debas29
16 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Renting was quick and easy. They explained the map thoroughly. We didn’t need to rent fishing equipment-just needed to purchase bait. The pontoon fishing boat we rented was in good shape and had plenty of space. We had a 3 1/2 year old with us on his first boating experience so this boat was great for him. And the canvas top provided good shade. We had the bait for 4 hours and this was the better priced boat rental place.
Written August 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Nikki B
1 contribution
Jun 2020 • Friends
This is by far the best crew to go fishing with. Mary and alyse are so helpful booking the trip and the captain and the deck mates are great. I come here several times throughout the summer. Always a great time to enjoy the water and sun!
Written June 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Michael B
2 contributions
Jul 2021
Awesome day on the pontoon! We had a great time cruising around during the 4 hour rental. We had 4 adults and 3 kids and there was still plenty of room. The pontoon was very clean. The mates were very helpful and polite. Highly recommend!
Written July 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Stephen S
Ocean City, NJ6 contributions
Sep 2014 • Friends
The Captain of the North Star is all about the money. The boat does a good job marketing, usually the boat is full of customers, but when it comes to fishing it is hit or miss. The last time I was on this boat, we went to two fishing spots, neither of them were producing fish, yet we still hung out there. I had the only edible fish on the whole trip a small snapper blue fish, see photo attached to the review. I was almost embarrassed to have won the fishing pool that day. If you want to catch fish, I would suggest a different boat.
Written June 6, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Sorry you had a bad fishing trip, fish tracking can be difficult. I'm the Captain and as I remember good days, I especially remember bad days. Numerous factors go into why the fishing can be slow and are 100% beyond my control, and I do explain that to everyone when the fishing is slow. Sorry again, saw your other reviews and if you had said something to me on the boat, I could've explained it a little better and maybe give you a discount off another trip.
Written June 13, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Gina C
1 contribution
Jun 2015 • Family
A friend and I took my grandson of 10 years old onto the Northstar for the 4 hour trip in the morning. At first it was ok but as the day went on, things went down hill. My grandson was hungry and the snack bar that was advertised was closed all day. He was catching sea bass left and right and the mate would come over and throw them out even before I got a chance to take a picture. He was so proud. My friend caught the largest sea bass, possibly a state record fish and the mate came around and took his fish and through it in a box and numbered it #16 and said "this is the pool winner by far" When it was time to measure the biggest fish of the day, my friends fish wasn't there. The box was already opened and all the fish that were in numbered slots were already measured out on the deck without anglers consent to see if they were being fair about whose fish was in the original numbered slots. Apparently, the deck mate and the pool winner were father and son team and our fish were switched out into another cooler and he gave his father the day winning fish even though mine was identified as the pool winner 15 minutes before we headed back to port. When it was time to measure our fish I was given the oldest fish in the cooler with discolored scales as if it was sitting for a 1/2 day. Since my fish was the last fish caught before heading back to port, my fish should have been still alive and the freshest fish in the box. Nonetheless we feel that we got scammed and robbed with possible state winning fish and money from the pool. The fish measured 6 lbs. and at least 18" The worst part of this whole mess is that you are trying to set a positive example for the children and have a great time but still have to bite your tongue. Plus they had a string of fully illegal throwbacks in the wooden box and cooler which is the same cooler that the winner had, which was the mates father. Scam artists!!! Will never go back. Not to mention that it cost $145.00 to get ripped off and to drive from philly.
Written June 7, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello, I have been trying to get ahold of you regarding all of your concerns. First -There is no illegal, undersized, out of season, etc catches on my boat. The wooden cooler, is the boats fishbox, it does not leave the boat and further, there is no Father/Son team. I'm sorry for whatever misunderstandings. As for the issue with the pool winner, the mate was simply going with the bigger fish since they were both the same weight. The pool was $45 , if you would like, we will gladly send you the $22.50, just return our calls so we can get your address. Have a great day.
Written June 13, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

CoryDKross
Cape May, NJ232 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
We rented a pontoon boat on 7/25/14, and were surprised when we saw Pontoon #4 and the terrible condition it was in. The boat was dented, the seats were stained and in need of uphostry. We were given a map of the known sandbars, and told since low tide was coming in we would not be able to make it to the 34th Street bridge. The first hour was good, minus being embarrassed of the boat I was driving. Once the we hit low tide, there is no way to navigate a pontoon in the this area. The water goes to 12" or less. I followed the map provided, but got stuck. The seat in our boat slide around while driving and the door would not latch, which I feel are safety concerns. The deck hand actually grounded his jet ski coming out to us, when we questioned the map we were told that since Sandy the bay needed dredged but no one was listening. I thought, they why rent at low tide? We paid $160 for two hours, but only had an hour use of the boat due to the tide and waiting for assistance. Until this company understands safety and customer service, I do not recommend.
Written July 31, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hi Cory, Again as per our emails, had you told us of the problem with the seat we would've fixed it or swapped the boat. You didn't say anything until days later when asking for a discount. They are rental boats, we are not on them with you so we do not know what happens out there unless someone tells us. If the person before you broke something, theres a chance it may go unnoticed and you may discover it before we do, that's why when going over the contract, we ask you to call us if anything is wrong. Again, SORRY but please don't make things out to be something it isn't. The seats will need to be upholstered because of peoples sunblock/tanning oil staining the used-to-be white vinyl, also again as explained before, the doors need to be lifted and pushed down into the latch on any of the pontoons as a safety feature, boats also get power washed frequently! As for the maps, again, we cannot possibly map out the entire bay. The maps are marked with depths at low tide and KNOWN sandbars are pointed out to you and marked on the map. Again, we are not on the boat with you and you are renting a boat at your own risk. We do our best to instruct, some renters don't listen or ignore us because they are "experienced boaters" and even they will find themselves aground! Honestly, if you want to complain about the low tide situation, call someone that matters because nobody listens to our complaints and this bay is in need of serious dredging. With that said, it doesn't mean the bay is unnavigable at low tide, you just have to be more careful! Other rental companies do not do nearly as much as us, at least you had a map and some sort of guidance at all. And again, you wanted a credit for getting stuck on a sandbar which it clearly states in the contract that you are responsible for the operation of the boat and that it goes on to say should you get stuck, you have 2 options: Get out and push the boat since you are the one that got it on the sandbar, not us or call for help and pay the $75 per hour towing/recovery fee, which we didn't charge you as a courtesy, so excuse me for being a little taken back when you're asking for a credit of the time you lost by getting yourself stuck!! Let us know if you have any other questions, complaints, suggestions or concerns.
Written August 2, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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Ocean City Fishing Center - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go