Orange Beach
Trips from
US $1,000
Charter operator
Fairwater II Charters LLC
Orange Beach, United States
Federal waters
Angler's choice
250+ reviews
Meet your Captain Tom Ard, a true Orange Beach native and a 5 boat owner at Zekes landing Marina, with over 40 years of offshore fishing experience.
The love for fishing started at a very young age for Tom, fishing farm ponds and rivers around his house for bass and bream, or catching speckled trout and red fish off the family dock on Wolf Bay. This all transitioned to offshore fishing when his father, Captain Gloyice Ard had a custom built charter boat, a Buskins, completed 1980, the 'Bollweevil' which is still in service here at Zekes.
Tom grew up deck handing on the Bollweevil and ran his first real charter at 18 years old. He inherited the vessel after his dad passed away.
After graduating from UWF with a degree in criminal justice, Tom married his love of his life Kim, in 1997. They purchased the Fairwater II in 1998. Since then he's charter fished, raised a family ( son Garrett is working on his Masters degree at Mississippi State) and cared for the boat, trying to make her a better boat each and every year. Along the way they purchased the Water Dog, a 34 ft crusader, continued fishing on the Bollweevil. In 2019 he and business partner Captain Brett Russell added the SouthWind and the TradeWinds in 2022. Captain Brett started his fishing career at just 16 years old working with us during the summer.
Training young men into captains has been one of Tom's strengths, along with having a fishing team that feels like a family. We all work together and help each other with the boats and in fishing which gives the whole fleet an advantage.
One of Tom's passions has been finding older boats and making them look new again with a strong knowledge about engines, generators, and very importantly electronics that keep you safe and help catch fish. This has been his hobby inside his fishing career.
In his 50s now, Tom still has a passion for hunting,and fishing, going on adventures with his family (which includes his two Labrador retrievers) and boats. Tom also runs a 64 ft Viking sports fisher for his lifelong friend, fishing marlin tournaments, traveling on vacations just to hunt and fish, and still loves a good boat ride on an impressive craft.
And lastly he really loves to watch the joy and excitement catching fish brings to his clients and friends who still come back to fish year after year.
Tom A.
Captain
Tristan E.
Captain
Brett R.
Captain
Marian J.
Business partner
Charters
- Orange BeachTrips fromUS $850
- Orange BeachTrips fromUS $1,200
- Orange BeachTrips fromUS $1,000
Rating
4.9
482 reviews
4.9
Boat & Equipment
4.9
Captain & Crew
4.9
Fishing Experience
Anglers' gallery (530)
What anglers say
97%
Good experience
99%
Friendly captain
98%
Recommend this charter
97%
Appropriate for children
99%
Satisfied with the boat
98%
Caught fish
All reviews (482)
Showing 1 – 5 of 482 reviews
Colin Grunnet
Kentucky, US•Member since 20265.0VerifiedMaking Memories
3 hour cruise/trolling trip (PM) • 4 adults • 2 childrenTodays fishing trip with Ty and Shawn was the best part of our trip! My kids had never been on a boat before and these two gentlemen made it a fun learning opportunity. They instantly made us all feel welcome, and like we were on a boat with family. I really appreciate the extra care that was taken to ensure my kids felt safe and they both gave them the boost they needed to get out there and try something new. The kids had huge smiles on their faces and have not stopped talking about all the things they learned and loved about this fishing trip. Ty worked his tail off,and Captain kept it steady at the wheel. They knew were to go to have the best chance of catching some fish. We caught plenty of fish on our three hour tour. If you are looking for a boat that is well maintained, driven and worked by capable and kind individuals, The Boll weevil is it. Thank you to Ty and Shawn for creating a love for fishing and boating for my family. You want these guys to take you and your family fishing, trust me.
Kyle O'nealRepeat anglerArkansas, US•Member since 2022•2 trips5.0VerifiedAmazing Family Outing!
5 hour trip • 8 adults • 4 childrenWe had the best time with crew on the Southwind! Cpt. Brett put us on fish from rhe first hole all throughout the morning. We had four kiddos in our group and Deck Hands Harrison and Marshall did a tremendous job of assisting them, helping them boat rheir fish, rebait and get back in the action. We caught a ton of fish, not ALL keepers, but you aways need to leave some for next time. The ones we did keep were great fish, including a huge, 33.5” red snapper for one of our older boys. One of the other boys caught another really nice snapper and we ended up with a mixed bag including red snapper, Spanish Mackerel, Albacore Jack and a surprise bonus, Mahi Mahi! Would 1,000% recommend a day on the water with Cpt. Brett, Harrison and Marshall. the Southwind delivered memories our families will treasure for years to come and that 33.5” snapper will find its way to my oldest son’s wall in a few months. Thanks Cpt. Brett and crew. you’ll see us again! -Kyle
Reported catch:
Kenneth EvansTennessee, US•Member since 20265.0Verifiedgreat trip
4 hour Spring break special • 8 adultsjust got done with a 4 hour combo charter. this was one of the most professional crews out there. we were going to start woth trolling then go to bottom fishing. the cpt. decided last second to switch it up so we raced the other charters out to the spot. im glad he changed it up. we had 8 people fishing in our group and we hit our limit in about 40 mins. we trolled back looking for mackerel didnt catch any of those. but when you are heading back to the dock with 80 keepers thats not to disappointing. once we got back to the dock it was nice to see what experience got us other boats were coming back with a total of 14 fish. while our deck hand was cleaning our 80. both cpt and first mate were very knowledgeable and willing to share the knowledge.
James HunterGeorgia, US•Member since 20265.0VerifiedGreat all the way around!
6 Hour Trip (AM) • 11 adults • 4 childrenWe just got back from a 6 hour family trip on Captain Tom’s boat, the Fairweather II. We had 7 adults and 3 kids. The boat has a lot of room and a great wrap around deck. We could have fit several more adults and kids if we wanted. We easily caught our limit and had several trophy fish to boot! Tom found the fish and Brad made sure we landed them. The deckhand, Brad, was great with our family and kids, just a great guy all around. Our haul was far better than the competitors at the dock. We’ll book this trip again. No question. Thanks for a great time!
Reported catch:
Jeremy LasswellUnion, MO, US•Member since 20265.0VerifiedGreat Trip for all!!
5 hour trip • 9 adults • 2 childrenWe were a large group of 10 (7 kids and 3 adults) with this being the first time for most of the kids. We chose the 5 hr which was a perfect amount of time for the younger kids. The boat was a good size and the area inside was nice for the kids to sit down for awhile while moving spots. Capt Tristen and mate Ben did a fantastic job of putting the group on the fish and keeping us there. Ben was awesome and so patient and helpful with the kids. I would recommend this trip for any family looking to get out in the Orange Beach area.
Real catches shared by our community
- Fairwater IIOrange Beach, AL
- Fairwater IIOrange Beach, AL
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- SouthwindOrange Beach, AL
- TradeWindsOrange Beach, AL
- TradeWindsOrange Beach, AL
- Fairwater IIOrange Beach, AL
- SouthwindOrange Beach, AL
Our Fishing Locations
What's biting with Fairwater II in Orange Beach
While peak season may be over, the weather is only getting better here. No more showers mean the waters are usually calm and the bite is excellent, with Redfish testing your line inshore, and Marlin offshore.