The Connoisseur 

Captain Matt took my family and I out on a great trip into the Gulf! We started out the day catching some small bait fish after seeing a beautiful sunrise on the water. After securing the bait, we went fishing for some Vermillion Snapper. While this is what we were primarily aiming to catch throughout the day, we also caught some Trigger fish and Squirrelfish while fishing for them. When Captain Matt saw some gulls diving and fish jumping, he rigged another rod to use some of the live bait to catch Amberjack. With his help, we were able to bring a couple of these into the boat with one being about a 30-pounder and the other having been bit by a shark on the way in (which was certainly a cool experience)! We unfortunately had to throw them back because they were out of season, but they offered a great fight. Captain Matt was very attentive to everyone throughout the day, constantly keeping everyone's hooks baited, pulling fish off the hooks for everyone, and genuinely just making sure everyone was having a good time. He was quick to move to a new spot when the fish weren't biting, and he was ready to listen and adjust his plan to what we all wanted to do. Overall, we caught 42 Vermillion Snapper we could keep, and I'd estimate we probably caught over 60 fish throughout our time on the boat! Matt filleted them all when we got back to shore, and even recommended a restaurant (Brotula's) that would cook the fish for us! We ended up with around 6.5 pounds of fillets and it felt immensely satisfying that the 5 of us who went out to fish were able to feed our full party of 10 with no issues. It was a fantastic experience, and I'll definitely be passing on Matt's information to anyone I know looking to do some fishing here in Destin!

Captian Matt was amazing! Weather started out bad, but he kept us out and put us on some fish! We trolled a bit and caught a Spanish Mackerel, so he decided to do some bottom fishing and put us on a lot of Amberjack, which unfortunately is not in season, but still fun to catch! We also caught some Red Snapper, Red Grouper and Scamp Grouper! We will be chartering with him again in the future, when Amberjack season comes in! Highly recommend!!

Absolutely had a blast the captain was very nice and put us on some fish. Caught a few red snappers to keep and caught some amber jacks to experience the fight. I definitely recommend this charter if anyone is wanting to have a great time and catch some fish.

Matt was great!!! we caught so many fishes. We took a lot home and some we had to put back. He was knowledgeable and helpful!! 100% recomend him.

The captain explained everything really well and was fun to fish with. We had a great time and would definitely fish with him again.

despite unexpected rough seas Captain Matt put us on fish and made sure my grandson had a great Birthday trip!

We had some weather that morning that pushed the trip back a little bit but captain Matt stayed in contact with me and stayed on top of the weather. We went out around 1 and went and started catching bait and fish to eat which is what we were wanting to do and after we had got pretty much all we wanted for eating then we went after some bigger fun fish. I caught a 6’ shark probably 100 pounds or better and hooked up on a couple amberjacks and we think another shark. All in all this was a great trip and Matt kept us on top of fish. Great guy and we will be planning another trip. Hopefully soon😎

We had an amazing fishing trip aboard the Connoisseur! Captain Matt knew exactly where to go—he put us on the fish at several great spots throughout the day. His expertise and friendly attitude made the whole experience fun and stress-free. Everyone had a great time, and we’ll definitely be booking again. Highly recommend!

I went on a fishing trip with my girlfriend, her friend, and my friend with captain Matt. We had a blast! We caught a good bit of fish and a couple STUD red snapper. We will most definitely be booking again in the near future. 100% recommend!