Michael Dawson
Captain

Michael Dawson

Holiday, United States
Angler's choice
100+ reviews
Growing up in Tarpon Springs area, I grew up fishing the waters of the Tampa Bay area. The first fish I ever caught was a 32" Speckled Trout. Ever since then I have been hooked. My fishing career took off in high school when I started a fishing club at Tarpon Springs High School. I then went to USF Where I was the president of the USF fishing club and team. I have done work with TheOnlineFisherman and am the official guide of The Patriotic Angler Podcast.

Charter

Rating

5.0
172 reviews
5.0
Boat & Equipment
5.0
Captain & Crew
4.9
Fishing Experience

What anglers say

98%
Good experience
100%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
99%
Appropriate for children
100%
Satisfied with the boat
94%
Caught fish

All reviews (172)

Showing 1 – 5 of 172 reviews
  • Mary Galik
    Mary Galik
    us
    Florida, US
    Member since 2026
    5.0
    Verified
    NEW

    Best trp ever

    4 Hour Trip - Inshore (AM) • 3 adults

    Mike is amazing. we had the best time. we caught a lot of fish. Mike is an amazing Captain. He is knowledgeable, kind and so patient. He made this trip so special. He knows exactly the best spots to catch fish. Ask for Mike you wont regret it.

    Reported catch:
    Redfish
  • Rod Kelsheimer
    Rod Kelsheimer
    Repeat angler
    us
    Indiana, US
    Member since 2025
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified
    NEW

    Great day on the water catching fish!

    4 Hour Trip - Inshore (AM) • 3 adults

    We had a fantastic time with Captain Michael catching redfish and trout! Would definitely book another trip and recommend him to others!

    Reported catch:
    Redfish
    Speckled Trout
  • Joshua Wright
    Joshua Wright
    us
    Tennessee, US
    Member since 2026
    5.0
    Verified

    best captain ever

    Afternoon Shark Fishing • 2 adults

    not only was he super friendly and joke around with us too he made dreams come true today i would recommend to book him for all family and friends and also on top of that he told us where the fish was baited everything where all we had to do was cast and reel best experience ever couldn't have gotten any better

    Reported catch:
    Hammerhead Shark
  • Steven Seeley
    Steven Seeley
    Repeat angler
    us
    North Carolina, US
    Member since 2024
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified

    great time Captain very knowledgeable of the area!

    8 Hour Trip - Specialty Trips • 4 adults

    caught some sharks that was a first for me good fight good time! caught a nice aize Gar, some cat fish, and others! weather was not great that limited us on catching alot of other types. all in all a good time!!

    Reported catch:
    Blacktip Shark
  • David Dalton
    David Dalton
    us
    West Virginia, US
    Member since 2026
    5.0
    Verified

    Great Trip

    4 Hour Trip - Inshore (AM) • 2 adults

    On vacation with son and the experience was great as we had fun, caught some fish and made memories. Definitely recommend!! CAPT Mathew went above and beyond to make the trip enjoyable.

    Reported catch:
    Snook
    Redfish
    Speckled Trout

Real catches shared by our community

  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Great day on the water catching fish!
    Rod K.
    Rod K.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    unbelievable trip
    Richard S.
    Richard S.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    great time Captain very knowledgeable of the area!
    Steven S.
    Steven S.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    best captain ever
    Joshua W.
    Joshua W.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Awesome Trip!
    Meili K.
    Meili K.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    great charter and captain
    Brian T.
    Brian T.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Will book again!
    Roshelle P.
    Roshelle P.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Awesome Awesome Awesome
    Joe S.
    Joe S.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Fishing trip
    Jeff M.
    Jeff M.
  • Patriotic Guide Service
    Patriotic Guide ServiceHoliday, FL
    Great day on the water
    Jay T.
    Jay T.

What's biting with Patriotic Guide Service in Holiday

Top catches for October

Fishing reports

A young angler proudly displaying a large Grouper while fishing on a boat, showcasing a successful day on the water.

October Red Hot Bite

Sep 21, 2021 • Holiday
Inshore: October leads to some of the best fishing we see all year! The inshore bite will be on fire this month! We can expect to see large schools of redfish on all of our common flats. This includes the mouth of the Anclote river, west of gulf harbors , cow key and all of the areas in between. My favorite bait for redfish will be a cut bait on the bottom. Take a pinfish and cut the head tail and fins off and it makes the perfect bait! In these same areas we can expect to see snook, trout and even some cobia showing up! Have a line rigged on some heavier tackle with no weight to pitch to these fish. Offshore: the nearshore grouper bite is really taking off at the moment ! Trolling and casting plugs at these fish is by far my favorite technique, however freelined pinfish or white bait in a split work just as well! Kingfish should be showing up this month as well. Target hard bottom in 20-50 feet of water bump trolling larger streamline bait fish . Tip of the month: bring lots of bait ! Wether it be offshore or inshore, all of our species can be chummed up ! If you chum they will come! Tarpon fishing outfitters sells great tools to aid in chumming, so make sure you ask your associate on their favorite tricks and techniques!
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Family group displaying a large redfish, or red drum, aboard a small fishing boat with two young anglers.

REDFISH BITE IS RED HOT!

Sep 17, 2017 • Holiday
Hurricane Irma did not effect the bite out there for us. On this 6-hour charter we caught fish until the family could not lift there arms any more. The morning starts off for myself as i launch the boat at 4am in search of bait. After filling both 40 gallon live wells with thousands of bait fish i return to the dock. Meeting the family of 4 at the dock at 8am, we ran through some introductions then were off. The first stop of the day was a shallow Rockpile in search of some tasty mangrove snapper and grouper. The first bat full of chum over the rocks was a great sign. Every bait we through over was immediately eaten by a predator fish. The first fish of the day was caught by young Ian, and it was the one fish he wanted to catch more than anything. A shark! A 4 foot Black tip to be precise. Soon after all the rods and the boat were going off. A list of species we caught on that single spot included: Mangrove snapper, Gag Grouper, Red grouper, Speckled Trout, Spanish Mackerel, Black Sea Bass, Flounder and sharks. And this was all before 10am! As i looked at my watch i knew the tide was high enough for our next spot. This fishing spot is located up in the Back country where you will not see any other boats, people, or signs of civilization. We pulled into this shallow spot and could see fish darting all around the spot before we even put down the power pole. This was going to be great! From that moment we caught Redfish every single cast!!! We fished in this area for 1.5 hours and in that short time we must have caught 50 Redfish! After the Redfish no one could lift their arms to bear catching another fish. So we started the next task of the day. Teaching 12 year old CJ how to catch bait like a pro. We headed out to my bait spot where Cj learned how to chum for bait as well as of the other types of bait available in our area. He did a great job catching bait. (Maybe i should hire him to be my first mate) We finished the day out by watching the dolphins play in the wake of the boat for a little bit, and then a few opportunities at a nice Snook. Unfortunately the Snook wouldn't cooperate, all of them breaking off or spitting the hook before they could come up for a nice picture. Tight Lines- Captain Michael Dawson Patriotic Guide Service
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