It was a beautiful day for fishing. Nice weather with a gentle breeze.  Unfortunately, it was not a good day for catching.  Captain Dave did everything he could to get us on some fish.  We did catch a few, but only 1 was of keeping size.  We moved to multiple sites trying to find them.  The area captains were communicating to try to find where the fish were, but were not successful.  Nobody was catching fish this morning.  That’s why they call if fishing and not catching.

Fortunately, it was a beautiful day to be on the water and we had a nice boat ride.  I would not hesitate to go back with Captain Dave and Great White Charters again.

Dave Ballard is a seasoned Captain. He’s home grown St. Augustine, and knows the waters and how to catch the fish. Accommodating to all age limits to the sport regardless of experience, he’ll make your day a memorable one. Dave and I fished together on my first trip with him. That gave him a day off. We both had a great time, great camaraderie, caught some nice keepers and plenty more that were less than limit size but all in the fun. If you’re heading out to fish some inter-coastal waters, Great White Charters is a premier player. Just do it.

Can’t possibly say enough good things about Capt David! We went out early that morning with open faced spinner poles rigged and ready with plenty of live bait (shrimp, mud minnows, even pieces of crab). Right off the bat, Capt David put us on some fish! Even when things started to die down (catching saltwater cats), Capt David was open to all suggestions regarding fishing locations in the area. He even had a few “secret” local hot spots that he moved us too. All in all, my dad, husband, and I wore out the fishing that day, catching plenty of mangrove snappers, whiting, black drum, sheephead, redfish, even 4-5 foot sharks (thrown back with hooks removed). We were laughing and joking around the entire time. Definitely book Capt David if you’re interested in a great day of fishing and fun on the water!

We reserved a 4 hour inshore fishing charter trip. However, since there was no wind, David took us out into the deeper ocean waters for the majority of the trip.  David knew exactly where to fish and wasted no time in getting us there.  Throughout the morning, we were busy with fish on the line!  We caught and released 3 large red snapper, and also caught several yellow trout.  David even filleted our trout and put it on ice for us to take and enjoy.

We highly recommend Captain David Ballard and Great White Charters.  David was very well prepared for our trip and communicated with us frequently before our charter.  He was personable and extremely helpful with every part of the trip, and customized our outing according to what we wanted.

We had a great experience with Captain Dave and Great White Charters. He was patient and kind with my family (kids 7 and 10), gladly bating the hooks for the three out of four of us who wouldn’t touch it. He gave wonderful guidance on how to real in a bigger fish than we should have caught in light tackle and we ate for days because of it! My son ended up not feeling well with an hour left so instead of simply cutting the trip short, Captain Dave gave us a smooth ride tour of St Augustine from the water. I would recommend Great White Charters and would book them again if we are ever back in St Augustine!