We had such a fun time on the water with Captain Tanner while in Destin on vacation. The excursion was exciting almost from the moment that we pulled away from the pier. Our time on the boat flew by- we caught so many fish in such a short time (to level-set expectations, I suspect that even Captain Tanner might be the first to admit that our experience was not necessarily the norm). We pulled away from the pier and Captain Tanner started setting out lines to troll on our way out of bay. As he started to explain our plans for the next couple of hours, something hit on the first line and my son reeled in a Spanish Mackerel. That was the start to three hours of CONSTANT fish on and a super exciting morning!
Now the boring details that people like to read in reviews:
Three Hour Near Shore (catch and release): Myself, 13yo son, Captain Tanner
Pros:
Caught LOTS of fish
Responsiveness
Professionalism
Friendliness
Expertise
Cons:
None come to mindโฆ
Some might consider the boat to be kind of small, but it was perfect for our trip requirements and could have comfortably fit more people.
We are from Wisconsin and fish fairly regularly in small, freshwater lakes. My 13yo son really wanted to go deep-sea fishing. However, the cost for a private charter is a bit too steep for me. In addition, my daughter was scared of the idea and I didnโt want to give up an entire day of our vacation. I went on FishingBooker and found Anarchy Charters. Not only was the trip short and near-shore, but the price was affordable (and I liked the name). We were leaving in a couple of days, and the weather looked rough, except for the next day. I messaged the Captain on Wednesday evening about possibly going out early the next morning, and he responded very quickly. We confirmed details, and I paid the deposit. He then sent over very detailed instructions on where to meet.
The next morning, we found the meeting place easily and Captain Tanner was waiting at the pier (ahead of agreed upon time). We got on the boat and he began to explain some details about the trip, boat, area, fish, etc. As mentioned above, we didnโt get very far before he had to pause his introduction to help us start catching fish! He was very knowledgeable about the area and the varieties of fish. Captain Tanner was really friendly and easy to talk to; his demeaner was casual, yet professional. My son and I both felt comfortable asking a million questions and talking about our fishing experiences back home. But honestly, we were often too busy tending to fish on the lines!
We stayed fairly close to the shore during our time. However, within the three hours, we saw a nice little tour of the Destin area from the water. We also saw some dolphins and a bunch of jelly fish. We estimated that we caught over two dozen fish during that time. We probably caught at least six different varieties as well. None were huge, but we had that expectation before leaving. We didnโt keep any, but got lots of great pictures. It was just fun to catch new and interesting fish that we donโt normally see in Wisconsin. The fact that we caught so many, in such a short time, made it way more fun! Captain Tanner was there to help with the lines and releasing the fish, but we got to do the fishing, which was nice. My son had a blast. We both agreed that we would try to book another trip with Anarchy Charters again next year.
We had such a fun time on the water with Captain Tanner while in Destin on vacation. The excursion was exciting almost from...
