Paul Manoogian and Legacy Charters Fishing come with our absolutely highest recommendation. Neither my wife nor I is an angler, but we have always loved the Everglades, living close and visiting often. Our half-day charter with Paul was a chance to see and experience this beloved place from a new perspective. The morning we were set to go started off with a lot of rain, but we bumped the plans by an hour or so and found a four-hour rain-free window. [These conditions actually made for really comfortable fishing: Cool temperatures, few bugs, and fish eager to take our bait.] Paul knew exactly where to go, exactly what techniques to use and was patient and tremendously helpful to a pair of novices. We boated our limit of speckled trout and many snapper, as well as catching a releasing a plenty of snook (they were out of season) and other species. It’s clear that Paul would also be an excellent guide for more experienced anglers who wanted to up their game and add to their knowledge.

Along the way we saw crocodiles (this part of the Everglades, with brackish bay waters, is home to some large examples), dolphins and sharks. Paul was a great host – companionable, knowledgeable, competent – as well as a great guide. He ran a safe, comfortable trip despite challenging conditions (included a real downpour on our way back to the dock) and we knew were in good hands the entire day. Paul cleaned our keepers (of course we shared some with him) and sent us on our way with wonderful memories and great pictures and video. We’ll be back later in the summer for a trip into Florida Bay for permit, tarpon, sharks and other game fish.