Slowride Guide Services

Let me start by saying the 2 stars are because the kayaks provided were nice and the area we were taken to was fun to kayak in. However, everything else about the kayak/fishing guide service was a nightmare. When we arrived to the area the guy gave us a quick run-down of what we were going to do and a straight-forward tutorial on how the turning system on the kayak works. That was fine. Next, he told us to drag the kayaks into the water, get in, and start paddling. Also fine. It was a little rocky to start and took awhile to get going, but we made our way towards the fishing spot in the flats with no issues. Once we arrived, he told us we could start casting and we would make our way down depending on how the fishing went. In the first hour, my lure got stuck in some brush on the bank and I had to retrieve it myself because our guide had paddled out in front of us and couldn't hear me call for him. Once he noticed, he came over and snapped at me to get back in the kayak because I was going to get cut up by oysters, which is understandable but would not have been an issue if he hadn't gone so far ahead. In the second hour, the other girl in our group who had been struggling with maneuvering and balancing the whole time tipped her kayak. The guide paddled over to her and proceeded to yell at her while they got her back in her kayak.The remainder of the trip was spend paddling and looking for fish. The guide was pretty passive aggressive and snappy the whole time. It seemed as though we had inconvenienced him by booking our trip with his company. Not the best experience. We had a total of maybe 5 bites the whole time, but none of the fish were keepers. We walked away with 2 large red drum that had been killed by boat propellers. To put it shortly, this guy is rude. The equipment was great. The flats were pretty. But the whole experience was tainted by the guide's attitude. We didn't pay hundreds of dollars to be snapped at for half a day.

Let me be clear here. The stars are for the kayak only. We came to this location excited to rent a kayak and see the beautiful area up close. When we walked in we were greeted by two adorable dogs, however, one of the dogs peed on my foot. I was wearing flip flops so it got on my actual foot. Gross. No apologies or anything for that. Then the woman who helped us, dirty blond curly hair, was kind of passive aggressive. She basically assumed we were beginners and ignored my husband when he said "Oh well we're not beginners. We've done this a bunch of times." She seemed put off when we didn't know where we wanted to kayak. UHH we are not from the area and do not know a single effing thing about it. YOU DO though so why don't YOOOUU offer some suggestions. SO she did. She suggested an area for beginners. Ugh. She then asked this man if he "wouldn't mind bringing the kayaks to the drop off location for them. As long as you don't mind." The man seemed suuuper aggravated by the question and mere thought of doing something for us. Wow, I'm sorry did we interrupt your day?? Talk about awkward and terrible service! They charge $43 for a kayak rental for 4 hours! $43! When we lived right outside of San Diego we could pay $15 for two hours or $30 for ALL DAY. NOW granted, the other a$$holes in the area charge upwards of $60 to rent their kayaks (are these kayaks made out of gold? do they have an engine?) so $43 was much more affordable. I just couldn't believe it. You Texans looooove to charge astronomical prices for extracurricular activities. On to the kayak. The kayak was wonderful! The seats were great and there was no shortage of leg room. It got us around the inlet flawlessly. When the woman came to get the kayak she was a little more friendly and thanked us for renting the kayak from them. I'm a pretty easy going gal so I decided I'd excuse the earlier behavior. We'd rent from them again, maybe next time they'll be more pleasant.

I did not just rent a Kayak but was part of a group that did 3 days of fishing with their Kayaks and Dean (the owner) as our guide. I have to admit it was a lot more work than I anticipated as Dean had us cover a lot of water. We caught some really nice fish and got some great tips from Dean along the way. I really enjoyed the 3 days and the fish we kept.

I used this guide over the 2019 Thanksgiving Holidays, wanting to try out kayak fishing new too kayaks. Been spending several months mulling over my experience until I read these other reviews. Spot on to being passive aggressive. Note too self. Bring your own gear, kayak PFT, rod n reel and proven bait/lures. Was given a full size life vest fitting around neck, two rods with a lure for fishing options. After 10 minutes of learning to navigate with a rudder trying to keep up with my guide. Catching small specks but could not easily get them in the kayak without loosing them, hence guide net would be handy. All this time getting berated by a guide fishing 200 feet away. Another note, do not dip his reel in the salt water without a guide reaction. Then to top it off telling me to sit anchor, so I released the anchor on a frazzled worn rope which broke, again negative reaction. I admit fishing was hard that week with low tide and still waters, but was lots signs of red drum, swirls and tails, that were not interested in his two lure choices. While paddling keeping up with him, he having no problem reaching his limit. To top it off, watching him clean the fish, feeding potions of each fish to his house cat. Mission accomplished for me, bought two kayaks enjoy them. There are more patient "Captains" in Port A. Tight Lines n Tails