Gulf View Island Adventures 

We had a friend's and family outing with Capt Eric of Gulf View Island Adventures. We left out of Hudson Beach Boat Ramp in Hudson Florida on a muggy Sat morning at 7:30 am. His boat was in excellent condition and handled our group very comfortably. We powered a bit north and into the Mangroves to start our morning looking for Redfish. We quickly caught two smaller reddish, a ladyfish and then got plagued with several catfish signaling time to relocate. Our next stop produced a small blacktop shark and a few speckled sea trout then again a couple of cats. On to the next spot. This spot produced some very nice sea trout. Florida fishing rules only allow one sea trout over 19 inches per BOAT. Any fish under 15 inches must be released. Speckled Sea Trout over 20 inches are called Gators. Unbelievably we released 6 gators. We had 8 keepers and only caught 1 under 15inches. I've been fishing the gulf for about 40 years, never had a day catching sea trout like these. We also caught about another 5 or 6 fun 2-1/2 to 48 inch sharks. All released but talk about fun. They fight like heck. Capt Eric's fishing gear was up to the task. This is the second trip with Capt Eric that I have taken, he has lots of knowledge of the area, he keeps track of the weather and tides. We had a rain storm coming in from the west but it tracked to the north as well, Capt Eric kept track of the storm if he wasn't busy baiting hooks or netting fish.

Good communication prior to the trip. Captain Eric was on time at the dock. Since the weather cooperated, we were able to do both nearshore and inshore fishing as I had hoped. Captain Eric took us out to a couple spots and the bite was on! Caught quite a few different species of fish, including a pile of the sheephead we wanted for dinner. Captain Eric was always ready with bait, the net, etc. After the nearshore fishing, he took us inshore to try a few different spots, where we caught pinfish and snapper. (sadly, no reds today). Got to see the stilt houses, lots of dolphins, stingrays, a huge jellyfish, a shark, and a bald eagle on the trip! My son and I had a great time, and would highly recommend this charter!

It was a cold morning, so we decided to run to a store for some extra clothing, and Eric waited on us, and extended out trip as long as he could to make up for that missed time. He was also terrific with the kids (we brought 4 on board (ages 6, 8, 9, and 13). Everyone caught fish except one of our littles, but everyone had a great time!! Then, Eric gave us a great recommendation for lunch (Get Hooked in Hudson), and the kids loved that too, because they had a great area out back to run around. We had a great time!!! Thanks Captain Eric!

Captain Eric was the best captain, and I would strongly recommend him to anyone looking for a fishing charter. He was extremely knowledgeable, had a great sense of humor, and made the entire trip enjoyable. His experience and professionalism made for an unforgettable day on the water. If you’re considering a fishing charter, Captain Eric is an excellent choice.

Despite it being six million degrees and next to no wind, Capt. Eric was hard at work keeping everyones line baited and changing spots when the bite got slow. Great Captain and better man that made evey effort for my family and i to catch some fish for grilling. My 15 year old said it was the best trip she’s been on, ever, and shes been on a few.