The best decision we made while in the keys!! First, the boat was amazing and very clean. With 900hp possible, we only used about 200-300 and cut through the ocean like butter! The ride out to deep waters was awesome! Once we got about 1200-1800 feet (10 miles out) we searched for hot spots for mahi. He put us on quite a few of these but wasted no time if he thought they weren’t there! On our way we saw a group of bottlenose dolphins!! When top water wasn’t successful we came to 200ft if water and fished the bottom. Immediately caught 4 different reef fish! My husband even saw a shark bite one catch in half on the way up! Jurassic park style!! Our next catch to reel in was the best part! For an hour and 45 minutes we battled what the guide thinks was a grouper at least 500lbs!! It was so awesome and we are so tired! Though we didn’t get to see it or bring it in the boat, the fight was such a fun experience. He even allowed us to go over our time since the first part was slow.
I wish I could give way more than 5 stars! Amazing people, and we will be back!!!

We did the split trip 4 hour charter. There were two other people that came, but it was absolutely wonderful! Andrew and his first mate work incredibly hard to make sure you have the best experience possible! The boat was spacious and clean. They even tried to clean in between fishing spots of things got messy.

Andrew immediately put us on mahi and we were pulling them in for the entire duration of the charter. We were able to keep 15 fish!! (Throw back the small ones per law enforcement) We also hooked a 500+ lb shark! Not something we had planned, but was a fun twist in the trip. 🙂
This was definitely the best fish charter that we have taken.  It is a great outing for any level. They are also very personable. :) We can’t say enough great things about Hillbilly Hookers. We will definitely be back the next time we’re down! Thank you, Andrew!!

  We had an amazing morning out with Captain Mercer. He was great with communication before our trip went out, was responsive when I had questions and took all of our goals into consideration when we went out.
  Our group (my wife, 3 children and myself) caught a ton of fish. Captain Mercer did an amazing job keeping bait on everyone’s hooks, unhooking fish constantly and netting the larger ones.  He was considerate of my daughter’s potential to get motion sick and selected some great water for us to fish without anyone feeling the littlest bit ill. I am a fairly experienced fisherman and had a great time as well.  We even caught a few big king mackerel.
  On the way in he took the time to show my wife and kids some sharks, native birds and even a manatee. Fishing want a priority for anyone on our group but me when we came down to the keys, but I can guarantee our morning was the highlight of our trip!
  I couldn’t recommend Captain Mercer enough! Anyone looking for a great trip should reach out to him!

My son and I had a wonderful time fishing Key West with Capt. Mercer aboard the Hillbilly Hooker. We took a morning half-day charter on Thanksgiving. Including, Capt. Mercer, there were only 3 of us on the trip, which was perfect. The entire vibe was like 3 guys out for a half-day of fishing. It was relaxing, fun, beautiful weather, great company. My family prefers medium-sized boats with fewer people for both fishing and diving. It’s more personal, customizable and less stressful. That’s recommendation #1 for Capt Mercer.

Capt. Mercer has excellent electronics, quality fishing equipment, a wide range of tackle for different types of fishing, a smooth, roomy and comfortable boat, appropriate bait, live well, etc. He knows his gear, the different fishing setups, the species he’s targeting and rigs everything efficiently to keep things going but not in a hurried, stressful way. That’s recommendation #2 for Capt. Mercer.

The most important thing about the charter is that Capt Andrew had hundreds of fishing spots! The bite was not hot but he kept trying new spots. We hooked up a couple monster groupers but simply couldn’t dig them out of their holes. We caught loads of yellowtail snapper but they were all shorts. The African Pompano, however, made the trip complete - they’re rare and very tasty! So, despite the fish not biting - whether trolling or on the bottom - Capt. Mercer worked hard to put us on fish. Not all captains put that much effort into delivering a positive experience. That’s recommendation #3 for Capt. Andrew.

When we come back to Key West, we will exclusively charter with Captain Andrew Mercer and the Hillbilly Hooker. You should too!

Thanksgiving 2019

The day started off with being picked up in our marina. Capt Andrew and his son First Mate Noah were great. He moved around to several different spots. The kids caught many fish, but only one keeper…. which was ok with them! After several hours of fishing, Capt Andrew then took us to Sand Key to snorkel with the gear we brought with us. On our way back to Marina, he stopped at the other side of “Southern Most Point” for a photo op with the boys! We would do this again. Thank You Andrew and Noah! The Conways… John, Kim , Jack and his cousin Hayden and friend Evan!!!