Review - Reel Passion

Capt. Nick is a true professional.  He does what he says, and tells you what he does.  He’s a great teacher, and a talented and ambitious Captain.  He worked extremely hard to show us a great time, and make sure we had an awesome first experience fishing in Clearwater.

He was kind enough to risk a cancellation to fish on a better weather day, rather than have us get rained on with an impending storm.  Just because you CAN fish inshore when it’s blowing 20 knot gusts - doesn’t mean you always should.  I appreciated the Captain’s call on this, and we opted to defer by a day thankful to some flexibility in our group.

We found a fine florida flat filled with fish in Clearwater and moved our way up at the end of the falling tide.  The large loads of live chards ensured some type of success, but landing 5-10 fish in an hour is a treat that only a great guide can deliver.

Capt. Nick K. of Reel Passion charters put us on the fish.  We caught a dr seuss slam - redfish, bluefish, redfish - and well over 22 fish - in just a 5 hour trip. 

The tally tapped at 20+, and we lost some good grouper that hung up in holes and held hard before breaking us off - hiding dreams of grouper fingers, and undoubtedly bring us back for another attempt at grouper greatness on another day.

The approach was straightforward and effective - find the live bait, and feed the fish what they eat - match the hatch with pilchards and pinfish.  Catch a ladyfish or two as cut bait, or find other stinky fishy critters that are appropriate for the end of a hook with the intention of luring the target species.  Capt. Nick even caught the bait for us before we arrived so we could focus on the fishing, and spend our time as effectively as possible.

Everything was rigged in advance, and ready for the many potential break offs that occur with big fish near docks.  He was prepared well in advance, and kept all the gear cleaned and well managed.

A nice mix of live and cut bait got the bites, and sadly I left all the artificials at home this round.

I decided to take the “Captain’s choice” experience, trying to learn instead of trying to apply my past experiences to what we would catch.

Dad asked for grouper, and got a gag gift, only to be hammered, hung, and snapped by the possible daymaker.  I watched two monster bites from fish that could not be moved on light tackle.  The gifts were short lived, and we’ll be dreaming of them until next time. 

Thanks again Capt. Nick - a really awesome and memorable experience that my father and friend will undoubtedly recall for years to come.  I hope anyone reading this will appreciate how great our trip was, and get to get out there with you for an awesome trip like you gave us!

We had originally booked a pm trip with Captain Nick. He gave us a call and asked if we minded switching to a morning trip, since the weather would be a better fit, and he was right!

We had a great time out on the water with Nick! He’s very knowledgeable and will do whatever it takes to try and get you on fish! We had a somewhat slow day, but we still caught a lot of fish! He got us on a nice nurse shark, some tripletail, Spanish mackerel, red groupers, grunts, another small shark, a lizardfish and a toad fish, and a good size Bonita for a nice fight!

At the end of the day, we tried to get on some snook and redfish, but they just weren’t hungry for ours. You could see them swimming and busting around the boat, just didn’t want to eat. Next time though!

All in all I would definitely use Captain Nick again, and highly recommend him!

We had a wonderful trip with Captain Nick today! Starting off he was very professional and on time! We had an exciting adventure! From seeing manatees, dolphins and the crazy pelicans! We got our limit of Mangro snapper and Redfish! Also got a Sea Trout, Snook, and even black tip shark! Captain Nick found the perfect spot, non stop red fish for over an hour! Our arms were burning from all of the reeling! He kept the lines baited, fixed the breaks, and helped us reach the spots! He even had drinks for us! Definitely a memorable experience we will not forget! Thank you, Captain Nick! We got the shark! Lol!

Nick was an awesome guide! Super patient and kind. We loved hearing his stories and the thrill of catching our first Tarpon was incredible.
My boys (18) and (17) loved it! It took some time to get the fish we were hoping for but Nick made it happen! Totally experienced captain, knows what he’s doing. We even did a little fly fishing and loved it!
The boat was awesome, plenty of room, enjoyed the music. We had the time of our lives when we saw that Tarpon on the end of the line. That was by far the highlight of our entire trip! Experience of a lifetime!  Highly recommend Reel Passion Charters.

As a retired charter captain, I can honestly tell you that if you want a good time on the water BOOK THIS BOAT.

Booked for Tarpon 6 hour trip
Caught 2 Tarpon around 100 lbs each
Captain Nick is friendly and works very hard to make the trip enjoyable.  I have done different types of charter fishing and Nick is with the best of them !  Nick Is a young captain, but is an excellent fisherman and is exceedingly passionate about what he does!  His boat is properly named!!
Be 100 percent confident knowing that Reel Passion Charter with Captain Nick will give you an AWESOME Experience on the water!  We will definitely fish with Nick again
MANY THANKS TO YOU, NICK, FOR MAKING MY DREAM OF CATCHING A SILVER KING BECOME REALITY!!  I will always remember this day!!!!!

Jim H and Howard z