This is a perfect example of why you should call your Captain and get expectations up front. Without getting into the specifics this was a bad deal for us. Equipment is all brand new this season and is always serviced every year or replaced by Penn and Shakespeare.
Thier first requests when they got to the boat is to go get red snapper. We would have had to run 100 miles to do so. They booked a four hour trip. These were supposed to be seasoned anglers from Florida.? We adjusted their expectations immediately to what the waters had available to catch in the ways of big fish and that’s what we did. In order to do so you absolutely need live bait which is not sold so it has to be caught which we did. We spent a total of 20 minutes catching bait so my math on a four hour trip doesn’t compute to 25% but that was requested by the guests for us to do so we could target certain species. We already had live shrimp and other frozen baits on the boat as well as a blend of chums which is why we had so many chances at big fish. Also we never said they couldn’t keep fish. We said we only take migratory species like cobia, mackerel and so on because of the red tides over the last few years have been depleting the inshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico, plus the FWC and NOAA advise against eating fish in a red tide zone. This is clearly stated on our page with Fishing Booker.
At the end of the day we hooked them up each with a huge fish but unfortunately the fish got the best of them. When hunting for big fish it takes more than luck. Even with years of practice, that still doesn’t guarantee anything. We work hard to coach people as you will see from our daily pics of big fish caught but sometimes our help isn’t taken which then it is out of our hands. The lesson here is, always call your Captain before booking so you can understand what to expect and what type of trip to book. You can see by the reviews from the majority of our guests will say how hard we work and the dedication we put into providing the best experience possible.

This is a perfect example of why you should call your Captain and get expectations up front. Without getting into the specifics this was a bad deal for us. Equipment is all brand new this season and is always serviced every year or replaced by Penn and Shakespeare. Thier first requests when they got to the boat is to go get red snapper. We would have had to run 100 miles to do so. They booked a four hour trip. These were supposed to be seasoned anglers from Florida.? We adjusted their expectations... More

We always appreciate any amd all feedback. This is unfortunate but the a lot was left out. I explained before we left the dock my deckhand got sick and yes I just had surgery and could not do the anchoring which is nothing more than setting it the water which we do at miship. At no time does anyone go up front. We also use an anchor ball to float the anchor when retrieving it even with a mate so there is no heavy lifting for anyone. But since I just had surgery I couldn’t lift more than 10 lbs. Back to the facts, I offered these guest a full refund due to the situation and had taken there trip as a courtesy which was booked last minute only less than 12hrs prior. I explained the tide was not going to be good and it would be very difficult to get a bite since we already missed the feed. I had a charter previous to their trip which gave a 5 star review and caught 3 Barracuda over 45lbs plus plenty of other fish. When the bite is off it doesn’t matter how great things were earlier, you can’t wish the fish into eating. Once again I offered them a full refund before we left the dock and once again while we were out due to the constant negative attitudes about how slow the bite was. Now for the best part. We spent a bit of time trying to get a few Spanish Mackerel to use for Barracuda Bait which we ended up doing. Also what they failed to mention was that we in fact did get two huge Barracuda to bite ( after tons of effort) also 5 other boats were on the reefs and not 1 fish. Both times there guests lost the fish. Ofcourse that is our fault as usual but unless we fight the fish and land it what is the point if trying? Fortunately this group is the 1% that complains because we are 100% upfront and honest because we do have the experience and education of what is happening in our local fishery and what impact it is having on the world. By now everyone has heard of the major problems Florida is having due to red tide especially in the Gulf of Mexico. If you read any of the warnings put out by NOAA, FWC, FGCU, Mote Marine and I ther environmental agencies you will read that is is highly recommended not to consume fish from a redtide zone which is one of the reasons we practice catch and release within 30 miles of the coastline in Southwest Florida. The other reason is in 2017redtide killed over 50,0000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico with the epicenter being the Calusahatchee River and we are 15 miles from there. They also didn’t mention the trip they did well in was out of Marco Island which is 45 miles from the Calusahatchee and they also went out in the morning, went our past 10 miles and fished the good tide as our morning trip did just as well. No one ever said the were stupid for eating fish or anything of the sort, that is a complete lie but absolutely we do try an educate our guests with the facts on what the current conditions are in the fisherybthey are visiting due to global warming and environmental contamination which is a huge problem in Florida. We the industry have been battling with our State Government for years trying to get them to cleanup their act and stop dumping toxic water into the Gulf of Mexico as wel as the Atlantic Ocean plus what most people don’t realize is that the ground water is highly contaminated from all the agricultural spraying, mosquito control spraying and run off which ends up in our ground water, springs and rivers that all end up in the lakes and Gulwhich is killing it. Anyone that has been coming to Florida for any period of time has noticed we have lost most of out marine birds amd wildlife including fish, Dolphins amd manatees. So yes we do educate our guests on the serious problem we are experiencing as well as the entire planet is experiencing. Anyone that is in love with our planet and cares about Mother Nature and another human being would have never made the ignorant and uneducated remarks this guest did. Fortunately most people can see this for themselves which is why we have been the largest growing Excursions Company in Florida, Alaska and growing worldwide with our new Provider Network. We thank everyone for their support and look forward to providing our CruiseFishDive Family Members with many more years of service. Here is a pic from the morning trip. CMG PS our rates he quoted are our backwater trips. All our rates can be found easily on on websites at CruiseFishDive.com.

We always appreciate any amd all feedback. This is unfortunate but the a lot was left out. I explained before we left the dock my deckhand got sick and yes I just had surgery and could not do the anchoring which is nothing more than setting it the water which we do at miship. At no time does anyone go up front. We also use an anchor ball to float the anchor when retrieving it even with a mate so there is no heavy lifting for anyone. But since I just had surgery I couldn’t lift more than 10... More

Brandon, it was a pleasure taking you all out fishing. I appreciate how hard everyone tried their best and at no time gave up. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Capt. Mark

Brandon, it was a pleasure taking you all out fishing. I appreciate how hard everyone tried their best and at no time gave up. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Capt. Mark