Sligo Sportfishing is the best equipped private operation in Point Pleasant, two boats, a 42 foot Henriques and the 40 foot Sligo II, both fitted with Seakeeper gyrostabilizers for a ride almost no charter on the coast can match. Run by Captain Anthony O’Donnell, a native fisherman, it carries a spotless review trail and fishes both the inshore bottom and the offshore grounds. For an angler who wants a comfortable private boat and a smooth day on the water, it is a standout, held just behind the top private boat by its price and a shorter record.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.9 Sligo is a strong choice and the fifth boat in our Point Pleasant ranking. It ties the Dauntless on the overall and lands just behind it on our value and track record tiebreakers, and it sits a step below the Megan Beth among the private boats. It earns its place on the boats: the Seakeeper stabilizers are a genuine edge, and the reviews are perfect as far as they go. Two things hold it here. It is the priciest private operation in the port, and the captain’s record, while spotless, is shorter and thinner than the 35 year, 200 plus review trail at the Megan Beth. Book it when the smooth ride and the newer boats are worth paying for.
The boat
Sligo runs two boats, both taking up to 6 anglers, the Coast Guard limit on a six pack. The newer is a 42 foot Henriques sportfisherman, and the Sligo II is a 40 foot Downeast Willis Beal. The headline on both is the Seakeeper gyrostabilizer, a spinning flywheel that cancels much of a boat’s roll at anchor and on the drift. Few charter boats on the East Coast carry one, and for anyone who gets seasick it changes the day, turning a rolling bottom drift into something far easier on the stomach. All rods, reels, and terminal tackle come with the trip. The two boats give the operation the flexibility to match the hull to the trip and the group.
The fishing and what you target
Sligo fishes inshore and offshore across a 5 to 8 hour day, and the captain picks the trip that fits the season and the weather. Inshore and on the bottom it targets fluke, striped bass, black sea bass, bluefish, and ling on the wrecks and around the inlet, the New Jersey staples, and on a longer offshore day it runs for tuna and sharks. The reviews credit a captain who knows where to go and puts people on fish, and the stabilized boats make the bottom fishing in particular more comfortable than it would be on a hull that rolls in the swell.
Trips and prices
Sligo sells by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers, private only, with all the tackle included. Trips run 5 to 8 hours and start from about $650 for the boat, with a 6 hour striped bass trip around $900 and a 12 to 14 hour offshore shark trip around $1,800. That makes it the priciest private operation in the port, the one real mark against its value, though the Seakeeper boats and the newer Henriques go a long way to justifying it for the right angler. Our cost guide sets a private charter against a party boat seat, and the party boat versus private charter guide helps you choose the format.
The crew
Captain Anthony O’Donnell owns and runs the operation, a native fisherman with about a decade of professional experience, and the review trail behind him is spotless, a 5.0 across roughly 76 to 89 reviews, with the recurring note that the captain and crew are pleasant, knowledgeable, and know exactly where to go. The honest qualifier is the depth of that record rather than its quality: it is shorter and thinner than the 35 year, 200 plus review trail at the Megan Beth, so the consistency is well established but less deeply tested over the long run.
Booking and what to know
Book through the operator’s site or its FishingBooker listings. The boats run out of the Manasquan Inlet at Point Pleasant. No fishing license is needed, since the boat covers it, and all rods, reels, and tackle are provided, so you bring only food, drinks, and a cooler for your catch. If seasickness is a real worry for someone in your group, the Seakeeper boats are the reason to choose Sligo over the other private options. For the deeper reviewed private boat at a lower price, see the Megan Beth.
How we scored it
Sligo scores 7.9: the best equipped private operation in Point Pleasant, two Seakeeper stabilized boats under a native captain with a spotless review trail. Boat and equipment, trips and access, and service are its top factors. It ties the Dauntless on the overall and lands just behind on our tiebreakers, held there by the highest private rate in the port and a record that, while perfect, is shorter than the deepest here. See how we scored this boat, and compare it against the rest of the Point Pleasant fleet.