Contact %captainName%

Message Sent!

Angler’s Choice Benefits

Find Out More

Answers to some frequently asked questions.

You've provided all the necessary documents to be fully verified on FishingBooker, showing you care about your customers' safety.

Our Angler's Choice Award highlights captains and charter operators who went the extra mile over the last 12 months. Focusing on customer service, reliability, quality, and eligibility, this award reflects the top FishingBooker listings worldwide.

Angler's Choice: Celebrating the Best in Charter Fishing

If your listings have met the following criteria over the 12 months, you'll receive the Angler's Choice Award.

How to Win the Angler's Choice Award

We reserve the right to revoke your Angler's Choice Award if you misuse the platform or violate our terms and guidelines.

At least 98% of your bookings went ahead successfully, excluding cancellations caused by bad weather, customer cancellations, and extenuating circumstances. Anglers are confident that this guide will work hard to get them out on the water.

Recognition as an industry leader

Angler’s Choice goes beyond FishingBooker. Winners also receive an exclusive widget to add to their own website, so they can gain increased trust and recognition from customers everywhere.

You've successfully run at least 98% of your trips, excluding cancellations caused by bad weather, customer cancellations, and extenuating circumstances.

You have replied to at least 98% of your booking requests and inquiries within 24 hours, so customers haven't been left waiting for a response.

You've received reviews with an average of at least 4.8 stars over the last 12 months from FishingBooker customers.

Captains or charter operators that have won the Angler's Choice Award have their listings highlighted in search results. They receive a badge that attracts attention from customers and increases chances of getting booked.

FishingBooker customers rated you with an average of 4.8 or more over the last year. Anglers know that they’ll have a great fishing experience and exceptional service.

Stand Out in Your Area

Angler's Choice Award Program Details | FishingBooker

You've received at least 10 reviews from verified FishingBooker customers over the past 12 months.

How to find the calendar address

Our Team

Angler's Choice

4.25+

4.50+

4.75+

This reservation qualifies for a full refund because of the incident affecting %locationTitle%. If you've confirmed with your captain that your trip is affected, we can help you change or cancel the reservation now.

COVID-19

We are now offering customers full refunds and captains penalty-free cancellations for reservations booked on or before March 14 with a trip date of June 15 or earlier in affected areas. Please note this policy will not cover any new bookings.

Southwest Florida is fishing again! Hurricane Ian has passed, and captains are back in action.

Need a fishing charter? Search, read reviews & book the best deals online with us! More than %numCharters% fishing boats in %numCountries% countries.

Need a fishing charter? Search, book & review the best deals online on FishingBooker.com

FishingBooker.com - Search, Compare & Book Fishing Charters Worldwide. Book your fishing trip now!

Search, Compare & Book Fishing Charters Worldwide - FishingBooker

FishingBooker – the world's largest fishing travel company

Securing your account gives you full control over your data, trips, and payments.

Are you sure you want to skip securing your account?

We've sent your password-free login link to %email%. Open the email and click the link to sign in.

We will send you a confirmation email once you register. This will give you access to all the benefits FishingBooker has to offer.

Log in or sign up to continue

Welcome

Choose a unique but memorable password to give you access to your FishingBooker account.

To have full control over your data, trips and payments, set up your account by linking one of your social accounts.

Successfully created password

Sign up as captain - FishingBooker

We're almost done!

Finalize creating your account

A verification code has been sent to %email%

Enter verification code

Try logging in with a different email address or go back to view all login options.

%email% was not recognized

You have already submitted a review for this trip.

[1,Inf] %p1%% of customers who left a review tagged it with '%p2%'

The captain canceled

e.g., parking instructions, dock/slip number, boat name/description, nearby landmarks...

Check out this review of %charter% from %date% in %location%, %country%!

%charter%: %reviewTitle% - See %num% customer reviews, photos and charter deals for %location%, %country%, at FishingBooker.

Review of %charter%

You'll be able to leave a review after your fishing trip.

You didn't leave any reviews yet!

This account is not authorized to leave a review for this trip.

%p1% on %p2%

Headline

Write a headline

e.g. Best trip ever!

Your window to leave a review for this trip has expired.

Please kindly note that, once a review has been submitted, it cannot be altered. We appreciate your understanding.

Ready to submit?

FishingBooker is not liable for the content of this summary.

Review Summary

This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews. Select topic to read summary and reviews.

When a review is marked &ldquo;Verified&rdquo;, it means that the customer who wrote the review booked the charter at FishingBooker.com.

This captain has been rated highly by customers.

Filters are loading...

Finding the best local fishing charters for you...

Looking for fishing charters nearby? Compare & book fishing charters and deep sea fishing trips!

In %p1% this listing was one of our most booked in %p2%!

Explore available charters in these nearby destinations.

Special loyalty prices are only visible to members who have completed their first trip.

This is a shared trip. There will be up to %p% people on the boat, including children

Denne annonsen deltar i ordningen vår for "Anbefalte annonse". "Anbefalte annonse" tilbyr utmerket service og kvalitet i forhold til de beste tilgjengelige prisene. Basert på dette, og på tilbakemeldinger fra tidligere gjester, anbefaler vi denne oppføringen på det sterkeste.

You will have the entire boat privately chartered

This captain has published fishing reports in the last 15 days.

{1}This is a shared trip. There will be up to %p% people on the boat, including children|{0}This is a shared trip. There will be up to %p% people on the boat

Your dates are popular – we've run out of trips with this charter! Check out more below.

We also have great deals in the following cities that match your search criteria.

When you book with FishingBooker you&rsquo;re getting the lowest rate &bull; If you find a better price for your trip we'll refund the difference!

After 12:00 AM local time on %p%, you may only cancel free of charge in the event of unsafe weather conditions, captain-related issues, or extenuating circumstances.

After this, you may only cancel free of charge in the event of unsafe weather conditions, captain-related issues, or extenuating circumstances.

%p% before trip

Booking confirmed

Found a lower price?

Check that it qualifies

We'll refund the difference

Which fish you can target

This rating reflects the overall reviews the charter has received. In the Review section, you can view separate scores for trips and the charter itself.

Reviews

%packageTitle% with %charterTitle%

Since the listing has a non-refundable policy, you may only cancel free of charge in the event of unsafe weather conditions, extenuating circumstances, or captain-related issues.

If it is unsafe to travel, you may still cancel free of charge or change the date(s) of your booking.

Unfortunately, this captain doesn’t have any trips available on that day, everything’s already booked

Trips page

Which amenities are available onboard

Boat specs

How cancellations work

About the charter captain

About the charter operator

Which fishing techniques you can try

How you can pay

What’s included in the trip price

Which types of fishing are offered

Trip date

Cancel free of charge up to %p% prior to your trip.

You can cancel or modify your booking up to %p% before the trip date, free of charge. If you cancel or modify your booking later, or fail to show up, you'll forfeit 100% of what you've paid.

Since your selected date is less than %p% away, you may only cancel free of charge in the event of unsafe weather conditions, extenuating circumstances, or captain-related issues.

You may cancel your trip free of charge up to %p% in advance. However, since your selected date is less than %p% away, you may only cancel if it is unsafe to travel.

Your Fishing Charter

English

Deutsch

Русский

Español

Italiano

Français

Nederlands

Српски

Will luck shine on you in the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village?” Join First Shot Charters and come see for yourself. Captain Mike Dates, the owner and operator, has been fishing the area waters since childhood. A native of the Destin area, he’s been a USCG-licensed captain since 2001.

You’ll test your luck aboard the First Shot, a 20’ Cape Horn center console that can fit up to 4 passengers per trip. The First Shot crew primarily uses live bait, but they can accommodate fly and artificial fishermen as well. 

All the equipment will be ready for you on board. The supplies necessary to clean the fish will be provided as well, along with a seasoned crew who are there to help along the way. As a matter of fact, they’ll also be happy to clean the catch for you following the trip.

If you don’t want to keep the fish, Capt. Mike is experienced in CPR fishing – “Catch, Photo, Release”. This way, you’ll ensure you do minimal harm to the fish you catch, which will then be safely released back into its natural habitat.

First Shot specializes in fishing the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico as well as the backcountry waters of the Choctawhatchee Bay. In the gulf, your targets would be King Mackerel, Cobia, Blackfin Tuna, Sharks, Red Snapper, Grouper, and Triggerfish, depending on the season. The bayside is teeming with Trout, Redfish, Black Snapper, Flounder, Ladyfish, and Bluefish.

From the first-time angler to the skilled professional, Capt. Mike will do his best to keep you on the fish and put a smile on your face. Join First Shot Charters and have your own slice of fishing heaven in Destin!

First Shot Charters

first-shot-charters

This is a trip is for very young children that parents just want to get out on the water and catch a few fish or to see how they do on a boat. We might even get to see a dolphin or 2!! We fish mainly in the harbor or nearby flats depending on child's experience and weather conditions!

2 Hour Kids Trip

2 Hour Kids Trip with First Shot Charters

Destin

Satisfied with the boat

Caught fish

Appropriate for children

Friendly captain

Good experience

Mike Dates

United States

Angler proudly displaying a Snapper while fishing on a sunny day in open waters.

Destin, Florida, United States

Florida

destin

US Dollar

Fishing license

Live bait

Pickup included

You keep catch

Catch cleaning & filleting

Drinks

Toilet

Child friendly

Air conditioning

Snorkeling equipment

Ice box

Rods, reels & tackle

Fighting chair

Food (Snacks & Lunch)

This is just a fun trip with kids in mind. Take your kids out on the water and get them hooked on fishing!! We will teach them how to fish in a fun environment in the calm waters of Choctawhatchee Bay. (sometimes in the gulf if the waters are calm) This is mainly a catch and release trip but if we catch something you can eat I will filet it and you can take it home for dinner!!

3 Hour Trip – Kids Fun (PM)

Catch the early bite and spend the morning fishing the bay or the Gulf. In the bay, you'll get to target species such as Redfish, Trout, and Grouper. If you head out a bit further, you'll get to do some trolling for Kingfish, Spanish Mackerel, and more.

4 Hour Trip (AM)

Get out on the Gulf on this afternoon trip. You'll set up some trolling lines, targeting exciting and delicious Kingfish. These prized species are famous all over the Gulf and you'll need to bring your A-game if you want to fill the boat, and your fridge on this 4-hour trip.

4 Hour Trip (PM)

This trip gives you an extra hour to go get into bigger fish like Snapper (when in season) or Redfish on the beach, or Tarpon etc!!

5 Hour Trip (PM)

You decide what you want to do. The beauty of a 6-hour trip is that it gives you the flexibility to decide what you want to do. You can head out into the Gulf and troll for King Mackerel, or stay in the nearshore waters and bottom fish the reefs and wrecks for beautiful, thrilling, and delicious Snappers, Groupers, Amberjacks, and many more.

6 Hour Trip (AM)

Any serious angler will just love spending a full day on the water. With this 8-hour trip, you'll get to experience the best that Destin has to offer. Troll for game fish in the deeper waters, or bottom fish the reefs and wrecks for a range of delicious and exciting fish. From Kingfish to Snappers, Groupers and Amberjacks – these waters have it all. Beginners are welcome too, with the captain at hand to help anyone land their first catch.

2 Hour Kids Trip

2 Hour Kids Trip

Trip details

About the trip

Which fish you can target

Boat specs

Customer reviews

About the trip

Which fish you can target

Boat specs

Customer reviews