This was hands down the best boating and fishing experience I’ve ever had. I brought my teenage son who like myself have never gone fishing. He not only had the best time of his life , he also wind up catching 5 fishes . our captain Brian was so patient with both of us. I can’t stress enough how professional he was. If its your first time fishing, you need to look no further brian your guy.

As I’m sure, many of you looking at the trips available are reading the reviews and wondering if all the reviews are accurate. I’m here to say that all of them are truthful. I booked the 4-hour trip for a birthday gift for a close friend and another friend of ours, splitting the cost three ways. I was able to contact Capt. Brian before the trip and asked him what gear he uses and what techniques he uses to catch the excellent fish seen in the pictures. As of late 2022, Capt. Brian uses Penn Fierce 3 2500 reels and mostly custom-made rods spooled with 15lb. braid, fishing primarily with live threadfin and gizzard shad as that is the predominant baitfish in the Lake Ida region. I asked this as my friends and I are avid inshore anglers in Melbourne, Florida, and we wanted to bring our own gear to which Capt. Brian had no problems with it, just some concerns as the boat is an 18-foot Carolina Skiff, so he advised us not to bring that many rods since there were 3 of us.

On the day of the trip, it was a bit of a drive to the boat ramp from Melbourne, but it was worth it with how quickly we got into some good fish. We arrived at around 7:45 before the trip was supposed to start, and Capt. Brain was already on the beach with the boat’s live wells filled with shad. Once we boarded, it was a 15-minute drive before we made it to the first spot, which was a spillway lock. Right away, we could see signs of fish in the area and began throwing baits out. Within 5-8 minutes of being there, my friend was the one to catch the first peacock, and the action was pretty consistent. It eventually slowed down a bit, which is when we switched spots. Between the four spots we fished, we caught 30+ fish and missed plenty more.

If you’re serious about fishing, book the 6-hour trip, as peacock bass are some of the best fighting fish I’ve ever caught in Florida, and four hours go by fast when we were getting as much action as we did!

We not only caught a good number of butterfly peacock bass but largemouth bass, a Myan Cichlid, and an Atlantic Needlefish. When my friends and I get the time again, we’ll definitely book another trip with Capt. Brian!

In 4 hours and fishing only 3 spots.  Cap’n Brian is a great guide and someone that was awesome to spend time with.  Being an avid fisherman and having been blessed to be able to fish all over the world with all kinds of guides, Chris is right up there with the best.  Loved finding Peacock Bass in my new home waters; I fish for the bigger version on the Amazon every year so this will keep me tuned up.  My stepson was over the moon as he had never landed a bass before and Brian helped him learn how in just a few tries.  He was out fishing me by the end of the day.  He has already asked if we can fish with Cap when he comes back for one of his college breaks.  This time i won’t lose that Clown Knife Fish…ouch!!!

We fished with Brian on a windy day at Lake Ida and had a great time. While arriving after an unusually cold weather cycle which affected the fish bite we were still successful more so than others who fished on the same day. Brian is an awesome guide, knowledgeable, friendly, willing to offer tips and perspective if you wish to chat. He is polite, timely and it was a great experience. I would highly recommend him and hope if we return to the area he is available again.

Trip was a great time, caught a good number of fish. Caught more peacocks than anything with largemouth being second in numbers. Along with the peacocks and largemouth my wife also caught 2 needlefish a Florida gar and a Mayan cichlid to boot! Captain Brian was great and put us on the fish!