My son and I were in Orlando for a wedding and wanted to slip out for a day on the water. We both enjoy saltwater fishing and frequently book charters. We strongly prefer offshore and open waters to the close or intercoastal fishing. Being that there were only two of us, I didn’t want to book a huge boat for tons of money that usually gets split up between friends. Southern Thunder Charters was the perfect solution. The lower price for a smaller capacity is an OUTSTANDING solution if just a few of you want to go out. A smaller capacity does not mean smaller fishing. You literally sacrifice NOTHING on this trip. We met captain Bryan at the launch by the inlet. Within minutes we were under way. Launching from the inlet put us out on the water in a few short minutes. We stopped about 1/2 a mile from shore and found some bait fish schools to load up on greenies(sardines) which are a choice bait for most game species off shore. As we headed out, the amount of boats thinned considerably as we realized the winds had become strong and the waves were fairly tall for this time of year. Captain and us discussed this and he asked if we were comfortable proceeding out or to use other alternatives. We assured him we do a lot of offshore fishing in some bad seas so we were very comfortable proceeding. And what an awesome day we had. We ran out between 8 and 10 miles and that was as far as we needed to go. Captain Bryan put us immediately on the fish! It was a struggle to anchor up well due to the swells of the seas, the wind, and the conflict with the water current so we did a lot of drifting and trolling, which worked really well. Immediately, my son landed a beautiful Bonita, and the day was on. With in a few hours we had landed (and occasionally lost a few monsters hehe) quite a collection. Captain Bryans experience and outstanding communication put some great fish in the boat, many good eating species, which freed us up to ty some other techniques and target rarer and more exotic species. It was a very fulfilling day. Its hard to believe it all fit into one day and yet was also relaxing and enjoyable. In addition to bonita, there were a plethora of species including snappers (all shapes and sizes), cobia, barracuda, sharks (again all shapes and sizes) and more king fish than I remember seeing in one day, including gulf side. Cobia and kings are definitely the captains specialty but he was able and capable to put us an just about anything we wanted. I learned a lot from him. It really felt like more of the type of trip where a friend takes you out for the day on their boat and we all have a great time. I strongly recommend Captain Bryan and Southern Thunder Charters for any type of fishing you would like to do in the area. His knowledge, communication skills, experience and just general personality add up to just an outstanding experience for everyone.

The weather predicted for our original trip was extremely windy and we were so thankful that Captain Bryan was able to accommodate our time frame and still got us out on the reef catching fish!
We booked a full day and had open expectations with it being our first time ocean fishing.
The knowledge and experience provided were outstanding and truly an experience to remember.

We had an absolutely amazing trip with Captain Bryan! We caught our limit of cobia and a good number of lane and mangrove snapper, too. I’m definitely not experienced and he was very kind and patient teaching me, and even I landed a couple cobia! He is very knowledgeable and kept the fish on our lines the entire full day trip in spite of the wind and less than agreeable sea state. We could not have asked for a better experience all the way around. If you’re scrolling through reviews looking for who to book, book Southern Thunder with Captain Bryan!

If you are looking to have an amazing day on the water, Southern Thunder charters is the one to book.  We have gone on 100 charters and this is the best experience we’ve had. We caught our own live bait and went off to catch cobra and king fish. After we got our fill of that we went on a search for mahi. Captain never failed to get us where we needed to be to get on the fish. He’s also got a great personality and makes the trip fun and super happy for everyone. 10000% recommend booking here! Thanks again cap!

This was the most awesome trip I’ve had fishing in yrs. Would highly recommend this trip. Caught both fish that was targeted on my fishing list within the first 30 mins after catching bait. Adding a few that we didn’t expect also. Can’t say enough how great the trip went. Captain was excellent with great experience very well knowledgeable about what he does. Will definitely if I come back to the area take more trips with this captain. Thanks Bryan for great day on the ocean!