Blue Water Excursions is the boat to beat for deep sea fishing out of Port Aransas. Captain Chad Banks runs a fast 36 foot power catamaran, the Dog House, on private trips for up to 6 anglers, and the operation pairs a 200 ton master license and thousands of offshore trips with the cleanest, deepest run of reviews in the port. The prices are posted up front by trip length, the boat reaches the snapper and kingfish grounds quickly, and the captain sets the day around who is aboard. For a small group that wants a serious, well run offshore day, this is the first call.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.5 Blue Water Excursions is top of the Port Aransas field and the pick for a dedicated offshore day with a small group. It earns the spot on its captain and its record: across 130 reviews on its booking platform the sentiment is close to spotless, with anglers pointing to a captain who finds fish and a mate who works hard. The honest trade is the boat. The Dog House is a 36 foot catamaran, fast and stable for its size but open to the weather, so a 12 hour run rides wetter and more exposed than it would on a big cabin boat. For room, a cabin, and shelter on a long day, the deeper fleet at Coastal Charters is the better fit, and for the cheapest way onto the Gulf the head boats such as Deep Sea Headquarters sell seats by the person. See the full Port Aransas ranking for the field.
The boat
The Dog House is a 36 foot Twin Vee power catamaran built in 2018, with twin 300 horsepower Yamaha four strokes that move it to the grounds in a hurry. The catamaran hull rides flatter and drier than a monohull of the same length, and the boat carries a center console head, a live bait tank, outriggers, modern electronics, and coolers for your catch. It is licensed for up to 6 anglers. The honest caveat is that it is an open boat: there is shade but no cabin, so on a long run you are out in the sun and the spray in a way you would not be on one of the port’s bigger cabin boats. Dress for it.
The fishing and what you target
Blue Water fishes the full Port Aransas spread by trip length. The shorter trips work the nearshore and the closer reefs for red snapper, kingfish, ling, and vermilion snapper, with Texas state waters out to 9 nautical miles open for snapper year round. The 8 hour and longer trips reach mahi mahi, wahoo, and amberjack, and the longest runs push out toward the rigs and the shelf for tuna and the occasional billfish. Red snapper on the offshore trips runs in the federal for-hire season, June 1 to October 26, 2026, and greater amberjack is closed until September 1, so an early summer trip leans on snapper and kingfish.
Trips and prices
This is a strength: the boat posts a clear, whole boat price for every trip length. The 5 hour snapper special is about $1,850, the 6 hour $2,200, the 8 hour $2,600, the 10 hour $3,200, and the 12 hour $3,800, each for the whole boat and up to 6 anglers, so the per person cost drops as you fill the deck. Rods, reels, tackle, live bait, fuel, and ice are included. A Texas saltwater fishing license is not, so each angler 17 and older buys their own, and fish cleaning is a small extra at the dock. Our cost guide lays out the tiers, and the shared versus private charter guide helps you weigh a six pack against a head boat seat.
The crew
Captain Chad Banks holds a 200 ton master license and has run thousands of trips offshore of Port Aransas, and the reviews are where the operation pulls ahead. The recurring themes are a captain who gets you on fish quickly and keeps you there, a boat that is clean and ready, and a mate, named in several reviews as Derrick, who works hard on deck. Because this is an owner run single boat, the captain you read about is the one running your trip, which keeps the day consistent in a way a rotating roster cannot.
Booking and what to know
Book through the operator’s own site, by phone, or through the booking platform, with a deposit to hold the date and free cancellation up to three days out. The boat leaves from the Fisherman’s Wharf docks at 900 Tarpon Street. Bring sun protection, food and drink without glass containers, a cooler with ice for your fillets, and motion sickness medication if you are unsure of your stomach, since an open catamaran offers less shelter than a cabin boat on a long day. Gear, bait, fuel, and ice are covered; the license is on you.
How we scored it
Blue Water Excursions earns its 8.5 on a standout captain, its highest factor at 9.0, posted prices, and the deepest clean record in the Port Aransas ranking. It sits just under the very top because it is a single open 36 foot boat that rides exposed on a long run, and because the operation has a shorter history than the port’s old head boat institutions. Captain and crew carries the most weight in our method and is its strongest factor. For the full rubric, see how we scored this boat.