Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle in Pillar Point Harbor was established to be the home base of the Queen of Hearts sportfishing vessel and has evolved into the best-stocked dockside tackle store in the area. Established in 2005, the store is now a complete saltwater sportfishing outfitter that serves the needs of the charterboat customers and the many private boaters who fish the rich California coastal waters for salmon, rockfish, striped bass, surf perch, albacore and dungeness crab to name a few.

Store owner Sherry Ingles is an avid saltwater angler who annually fishes with her husband Bob on long range trips out of San Diego. She was a customer on a rockfishing trip in 1981 when she met then-deckhand Bob Ingles. A lot of time together on the water followed, and after they were married in 1986 (and spent their honeymoon fishing in Loreto), the couple purchased the Queen of Hearts in 1990, and it has operated from Half Moon Bay ever since.

The duo have always said Sherry wouldn't have the shop without Bob, and Bob wouldn't have the shop without Sherry. Capt. Bob worked on ocean charterboats since the 1960s, growing up near Redondo Beach in Southern California and moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. Capt. Bob's primary responsibility for 30 years was running fishing trips on the Queen of Hearts, so he knows first-hand what works and what doesn't on the water, and his decades of saltwater fishing knowledge helps dictate the shop's inventory.

In 2005, Sherry and Bob had a chance to purchase their own landing, changing the name from Capt. John's to Half Moon Bay Sportfishing. The headquarters quickly became much more than a place to sell tickets and take reservations. "When we bought the shop, there was only a bait freezer, ticket counter and some smelly gunny sacks hung out to dry," says Sherry. "We completely refinished the interior, adding a wall and display shelves so we could have the best selection of tackle in Half Moon Bay."

Besides all the tackle you need for a successful day of charter boat fishing, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing has everything surf fishermen and private boaters need to get bit. That includes a full selection of bait, including bags and trays of anchovies, tray herring, one, three and five-pound boxes of squid, sardines, mackerel, prawns and grass shrimp.