1st Choice Charters (Formerly Southern Country Charters)

Rating

Anglers' gallery (316)

What anglers say

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  Giancarlos Mancini

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  Georgia, US

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  Member since 2024

  5.0

  Verified

  had a blast! it was our boys 1st time out and couldnt have went better.

  6 Hour Trip – Offshore Summer on July 10, 2026 • 5 adults • 2 children

  big shout out to Captain Anthony! The trip started out slow but Capt Anthony worked extremely hard moving around until we got fish in the boat. He did an awesome job entertaining our boys on a fun boat ride as well. We ended up with around 47 Mingos which is almost the limit for our crew and 1 big red grouper. Not counting the nice Cobia we caught that wasnt quite big enough and a bunch of Trigger fish too bad they was out of season. But will definitely hook up with this charter again. Dont let 1 bad review turn you away i would 100% advise you to trust the good ones with 1st Choice. Great guys!

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  Response from Charter operator

  July 29, 2026

  Thank you so much, Giancarlos! It was a pleasure having you and your boys aboard. Captain Anthony works hard to make sure every trip is a success, even when the fishing starts off slow, and we’re glad it paid off. Those Mingos and that red grouper made for a great day! We appreciate you trusting us and taking the time to share your experience. We hope to have your family back on the water again soon!

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  Dana Hansen

  Repeat angler

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  California, US

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  Member since 2025

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  2 trips

  5.0

  Verified

  awesome trip!!!

  6 Hour – Offshore Fishing on June 24, 2026 • 2 adults • 1 child

  We had an amazing fishing trip with Dusty in Destin, to say the least! He was friendly, patient, and made the whole experience so much fun. This was my stepdaughter's very first fishing trip, and she said it was her favorite part of our entire vacation! Seeing how excited she was every time she caught a fish made the day even more special. Dusty knew exactly where to take us, the boat was really nice, and he made sure everyone had an unforgettable experience. We caught lots of fish including groupers and limits of red snappers, then took to local restaurant he recommended for them to cook! We highly recommend fishing with Dusty at First Choice Charters and can't wait to come back! 🎣🌊💙

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  Response from Charter operator

  July 8, 2026

  Thank you so much, Dana, for the amazing review! It means the world to us that your stepdaughter’s first fishing trip became the highlight of your vacation. We’ll be sure to pass your kind words along to Captain Dusty he takes great pride in creating unforgettable experiences for every guest. We’re thrilled you caught some great fish and enjoyed a delicious fresh-cooked meal afterward. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Destin for another incredible day on the water! 🎣💙🌊

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  Luke Johnson

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  Missouri, US

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  Member since 2026

  5.0

  Verified

  Best fishing I’ve ever had!

  6 Hour Trip – Offshore Summer on June 24, 2026 • 4 adults

  Anthony is a heck of a guide! He made sure that everyone on the boat was included in catching fish and for the less experienced fishermen on the boat he was there to answer any and every question they had. We caught over 50 mingos and were able to keep 40 for our 4 person limit. We also caught many many trigger fish and rock fish and were able to catch some trophy sized Amber jacks! This trip was above and beyond anything we could’ve imagined and I can’t thank Anthony enough for being so kind and friendly and taking care of us while sending us home with a cooler full of fish and memories to last a lifetime!

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  Response from Charter operator

  July 8, 2026

  Thank you so much, Luke! We truly appreciate the incredible review. We’re thrilled Captain Anthony made your trip such a memorable one and made sure everyone had a chance to catch fish and enjoy the experience. Congratulations on an awesome catch, and thank you for choosing 1st Choice Charters. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another unforgettable day on the water! 🎣🐟🌊

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  John Sweeney

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  New Jersey, US

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  Member since 2026

  5.0

  Verified

  NEW

  Amazing first charter trip!

  6 Hour Trip – Offshore Fishing on October 20, 2026 • 2 adults

  we had a great trip 6 hour trip with Captain Anthony out in the gulf. the water was rough, but he found us some spots to pull up amazing fish. Bonitas, mahi, red snapper, mingo and triggers. Lost a big red grouper to a shark on the way up! Very memorable trip for my son and I. We will definitely book again!

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  Response from Charter operator

  October 25, 2026

  John, thank you so much for the awesome 5-star review! We’re thrilled that you and your son had such a memorable first charter experience with us! Even with the rough seas, Captain Anthony made sure to put you on some great fish. Sounds like that shark wanted the grouper just as bad as y’all did! 😂 We truly appreciate you choosing 1st Choice Charters and trusting us with your day on the Gulf. We look forward to having you both back aboard for another adventure. Next time, we’re getting that grouper in the boat! 🎣

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  Kevin Carle

  Repeat angler

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  Texas, US

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  Member since 2018

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  2 trips

  4.0

  Verified

  NEW

  pretty nice trip with great memories

  8 Hr Offshore (Federal trip) on October 15, 2026 • 5 adults • 2 children

  scheduled the 8 hour trip because i wanted to get out to bigger game than just a snapper trip.. Took my two boys 13 & 11 on their first non party boat offshore trip. along with my wife and mother in law. overall, was an amazing trip for my kids first experience. Water wasnt too choppy and we were able to get out pretty quick. was hoping that on a trip that started at 8am and not 6 or 7 that the boat would have already been gassed up, loaded with bait and ready to go but we had to make a quick stop to grab that. Ran out 20-30 minutes before our first stop. Captain Anthony worked his butt off baiting and removing fish. Only 3-4 of us fished at a time as my mother in law didnt fish. caught the normal snapper, trigger bottom fish as we were trying to catch live bait to use for bigger fish such as grouper and amberjack (to which i had emailed the captain days before saying thats what we were hoping to target) caught a fair number of bait fish and ran a bit deeper and after trying a few places landed on a few where we were getting bigger fish. bad problem was equipment was definitely geared more for catching snapper rather than the ideal targeted species we were after. we broke prob 15+ lines… from hook breaking off, to whole leaders breaking off. we had to losen drag to where grouper could run for their rock homes. and there were times where the reels wouldnt even reel in because they just werent strong enough for what was on their lines. we were told 40lb test was on the lines. i feel for what we were trying to go after that we should have been using 60+ … equipment definitely felt party boat quality. and was my first thought when i saw the pile of poles being brought in board. not that they are bad reels… when im paying 150$ a person on a 12hr party boat trip … but at this price, felt like they were designed to go after snapper and trigger fish and thats all. at times multiple people couldnt fish becaise captain was having to fix broken lines non stop. overall, trip was great. captain anthony put us in position to catch a ton of fish we were targeting, but equipment just couldnt keep up. i was worried that the boat being a little smaller would be an issue, but really wasnt. we couldnt get out to the deeper blue water where maybe some bigger fish were becaise it was beating the boat up too much. but capt. anthony took us to our last spot where there were definitely huge fish and we caught some, but lost way more due to lines breaking. we did have two larger reels on the boat, but they were more desined for large trolling fish or tuna. would recommend this trip for others, but if i went out again id prob find something geared more for what i was hoping to target and not just a snapper trip.

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  Response from Charter operator

  October 19, 2026

  Kevin, thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed review! We’re glad your family made some great memories with us, especially your boys on their first offshore adventure. Captain Anthony takes a lot of pride in putting our guests on fish, and we’re happy that showed. We also appreciate your honest feedback regarding the equipment and preparation. Those are things we will be discussing with our crew as we continue improving the experience we provide. Thank you again for choosing 1st Choice Charters, and we hope to have your family back aboard!