Discover the heart of Dolphin Docks

Dolphin Docks was formed in 1977 and named after the “Dolphin” charter boat, which is still in service to this day! Before Dolphin Docks, it was called the Blue Heron Dock, where it was once a small shipyard. You can still walk out on the bulkhead where the boat lift operated. Old-timers say the Blue Heron was a gathering place for locals and even had a piano in the old shanty building! That original building stood until 2017, when Hurricane Harvey had its way, destroying the old place beyond repair. The new shop was built to honor the old, with an almost identical layout to keep the feel and tradition alive. Modern upgrades of course, but it still feels like home. 

Dolphin Docks’ services are focused on fishing and family. They have five charter boats ranging from 36 ft. to 90 ft. in length. Three of their boats have bunks and full galleys for overnight and long-range trips. They offer trips from 1.5-hour sightseeing sunset and dolphin-watching tours to a 56-hour and a 60-hour offshore trip targeting tuna, swordfish, wahoo, amberjack, grouper, and snapper. Years ago, Dolphin Docks was the first to offer what they called the “safari” trip, which was a 40-hour trip on the Dolphin. Over the years, that trip has evolved to 56 and 60 hour trips with faster boats and longer ranges, adding higher variety and bigger fish to the overall catch. People from all over the United States book with them and reservations are made one year in advance in most cases.

If you’re visiting Port Aransas, make sure you call or stop by to find out when the next boat is expected to dock. They love to see folks stop by and see the fish being unloaded and racked. If you are out of town, you can always go to their website, www.dolphindocks.com, and check out the webcams to watch them unload the boats from your computer or mobile device.

• Sightseeing trips start at $30 for adults and $15 for kids.
• 1 to 15 person private charter pricing starts at $1,025 in the summer for four hours and $925 in the winter.
• Individual fishing tickets start at $68 for four hours and $135 for eight hours.

All bait and tackle are provided, and concessions are available for purchase on board. Once you get back from your trip, sit and relax on the back patio while the crew unloads the boat and racks your fish for some great photo opportunities! After that, they suggest taking advantage of their full fish cleaning service where your fish will be filleted, packaged, and ready to take home. 

As Port Aransas grows and business changes, Dolphin Docks does their best to stay the same and takes pride in offering a familiar place for their patrons. At Dolphin Docks, they feel it is very important to have conversations with folks, whether they walk in the door or call on the phone. Dolphin Docks is unique in a way; they still do everything with paper and pencil. If you walk in, you will see that each boat has a book, not a computer screen. If you call, a real person will answer the phone. Your reservation will be taken by hand, and you will get phone calls for confirmations, updates, and schedule changes. They receive multiple calls every year from companies trying to switch them to an online reservations system. Maybe one day, but for now…old school works just fine! They do use QR codes and have a social media presence with Facebook and Instagram, but they’re not quite ready for full automation. 

What they do is not easy and their day-to-day is not a 9–5 job. The behind-the-scenes work to keep these boats maintained and ready on a daily basis takes a team and a family atmosphere. Within that team, it takes a specific kind of person that has a passion for fishing and the salt life. Family is the key, quite literally! 

They currently have six husband/wife couples employed at Dolphin Docks. Three of those couples were customers before they worked there. One of those couples met on the boat during a 12-hour trip!

There are also two brothers, two cousins, a brother and sister, and a boyfriend/girlfriend…all currently employed. 

One of their Captains even officiated his sister’s wedding! The sister met her husband on a fishing trip… she was the deckhand, and he was the customer.

The managing couple has been with Dolphin Docks for over 36 years. They started as teenagers and now manage the bulk of the day-to-day operations. Dolphin Docks has other team members who have been here 10, 15, 20 years plus!