New Rayann Sportfishing is a well run 50 foot ocean party boat out of Sausalito, the boat for an angler who wants a full day at the Farallones or on the salmon grounds without a packed rail. Captain Johnny Atkinson is highly regarded by long time customers, and the operation makes a point of capping its numbers, into the mid twenties on a salmon trip, so there is room to fish. It runs the bay and the coast for king salmon, rockfish and lingcod, halibut, and striped bass as the seasons open, and rockfish and crab combos in winter.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.5, New Rayann ranks in the middle of the strong San Francisco Bay Area field, the choice for an angler who values a less crowded boat and a captain his regulars trust. Capping the head count is a real plus on a long day, when a packed rail means tangles and waiting your turn. Two things keep it from ranking higher: the operator does not post its rates online, so you call and ask, and its public review record, while strongly positive, is thinner in raw count than the biggest operations. For posted pricing, California Dawn is the pick; for the dock mate that fishes the same harbor, Salty Lady is the comparison. The field is on the San Francisco ranking.
The boat
The New Rayann is a 50 foot party boat, US Coast Guard certified and fitted with modern electronics, a capable hull for the run out the Golden Gate to the islands or the salmon grounds. What sets it apart is not the boat so much as how it is run: the captain caps the load below the legal maximum, into the mid twenties on salmon trips, which reviewers single out as the reason the deck fishes well. Fewer rods means fewer tangles and more room to work a fish, a sensible trade on a long ocean day.
The fishing and what you target
New Rayann fishes the full local calendar. King salmon is the 2026 headliner, with the ocean season reopened off San Francisco for the first time since 2022 and the area north of Pigeon Point opening June 27 under an in season harvest guideline that can close it early, so confirm the status before booking a salmon date. Rockfish and lingcod run at the Farallon Islands from April 1 to December 31, the steady fallback, and halibut and striped bass fill the bay trips through the warmer months. The boat runs rockfish and crab combos when the Dungeness season opens in late fall, as the crab opener allows.
Trips and prices
This is the boat’s weak spot. New Rayann does not lay out a rate card online, so you call to book and confirm the price for your date and target. Expect Bay Area party boat pricing for a full ocean day, toward the higher side of the fleet, which is the trade for the capped, less crowded deck. A boat that does not post its number scores lower on value and transparency than one that does, the same standard we hold every boat to. Our cost guide sets the range, and the party boat versus private charter guide covers the shared boat format.
The crew
Captain Johnny Atkinson and his deckhand draw consistent praise from a base of repeat customers, the kind who name the captain when they review and come back year after year. The recurring note is that the crew genuinely cares whether you catch, and that the capped numbers make for a better run boat than a packed rail. The sentiment is strong; it is the volume that is thinner than the biggest party boat operations, which holds the track record score a step below the captain score.
Booking and what to know
Call to book, well ahead for salmon openers, since a capped boat sells out faster than one that packs the rail. The New Rayann leaves from 310 Harbor Drive in Sausalito. Bring warm, waterproof layers for a long ocean day, food and drinks, and motion sickness medication if you are unsure of your stomach.
How we scored it
New Rayann earns 7.5 on a well run, uncrowded boat under a captain his regulars trust. It is held back from the upper tier by rates it does not post and a public review record thinner than the largest operations, not by anything on the water. For an angler who would rather fish a capped deck than a packed one, it is a strong pick. See how we scored this boat and the San Francisco ranking.