We came down for a few days to give our wives a little fishing experience. Water temps had dropped a fair amount and the higher wind kept us on the east side of the bay, so the bite wasn’t super impressive. But the captain kept going to different spots all over the bay and canal, and we caught fish almost everywhere (even though we didn’t hook a lot of keepers). We had a great time, though!
The captain was right on time at the dock and had already caught our bait, so he didn’t allow that to cut into our fishing time. Not all captains do that! We enjoyed our conversations, and he has no end of interesting and hilarious anecdotes. He let us kind of do our own thing at first, and when it wa apparent that we had different skill levels on board, he would step in and give pointers and tips. Sometimes we weren’t always quick on the uptake, and he doesn’t hesitate to give you crap if you’re being slow. However, he really wants you to have a good time fishing, and he doesn’t mean anything personal when he’s ribbing you. We just give him crap back and had a good time!
His boat is older and beat up but very functional and safe. Even when it was a little choppy, the girls (who don’t have a lot of boating experience) were super confident standing on the bow. His boat handling skills are top notch. No sudden or jerky starts. Boat was very speedy and quiet with his nice 4-stroke. No t-top so wear plenty of sunscreen (and reapply!) and wear a hat and/or buff.
The captain was always ready with live bait, and did all the work baiting the hooks and taking off the fish. I even let him do it for me even though I can do it in my sleep, because he was so quick and we’d be back in the water. I usually fish with jig heads or under a cork, so fishing with his live pinfish and a barrel weight was a little boring for me. However, it was almost guaranteed we’d catch fish that way, and the circle hooks made setting the hook a non-issue for the ladies (who have less fishing experience).
Although we didn’t get into many keepers, we caught a nice variety of fish including redfish, sea trout, flounder, mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel and “trash fish” which are still fun to hook (sharks, bluefish, ladyfish, etc). Saw plenty of dolphins playing, sting rays, and sea turtles everywhere.
The captain busted his butt to get us on fish and remained positive and upbeat even when things got a little slow at times. He gave us more than our money’s worth, for sure. Plus he cleaned all the fish for us, too, which some guides don’t do.
I’d like to come back down and hit the area again with him. I highly recommend this charter, especially if you’re not super experienced or even completely new to fishing. Thanks, Captain!
We came down for a few days to give our wives a little fishing experience. Water temps had dropped a fair amount and the higher...
