My experience on this was charter ,was the worst experience on a charter I have ever had. And I have chartered a lot of boats around the world.. First thing when shopping for charter , you read about the captain.. Captain Russ had a video and description on why he was good . When we show up to board there is no Captain Russ . A Guy shows up and he says he was not coming he was taking us .. I had spoken with Captain Russ two days before the trip he made no mention that he would not be there .. You select a charter based on what you read about Captain and the boat .. To me this is very unprofessional.. Next thing was the boat it looks like it has never ever been maintained. The cabin was filthy and stunk with the smell of mildew . You couldnโt even see out the windows there were water stains where the windows had leaked and junk just spread out everywhere.. In your listing you had selected this boat as a anglers choice from your criteria. Obviously you have never inspected this boat it is deplorable.. Next thing was the fill in Captain. Before we headed out we discussed the plan for the day .. We would go out and troll for Mahi if it was not hot action we could come in and fish the reef. I stated that I agreed with that.. We were not getting any action. I said can we fish at the reef and he stated itโs to late we gone to far out .. To add insult when we got back to the dock their was a boat that came in they had been to the reef and had 10 mutton snappers averaging 16 to 18 pounds .. The guy who chartered the boat that caught all the fish stated our captain is great if we didnโt have any action he moved and went to another location.. And Iโm not saying we would have caught all the same fish but we went for a boat ride thatโs it.The fill in Captain had even stated if the Mahi fishing was not hot we would move on and that never happened. We went for a boat ride out and back ..The fill in Captain had no personality and he could care less if we caught any fish and made no effort to try and find fish .. As I stated I have chartered many times and this was the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced .. It also tears the credibility of your services recommending them and we as customers are relying on your insight to the different boats . The only bright spot was the mate he worked very hard and was a pleasant young man ..ย So in closing itโs buyer beware there is no accountability to your service and definitely the boats you advertise.. Feel ripped off and disappointed as I was trying to have special day with my son .. And where I like to recommend a job well done and send customers I will make sure to tell any one considering chartering a boat stay away from your service and diffidently this boat .. Letโs see if you post this .. Sincerely..
My experience on this was charter ,was the worst experience on a charter I have ever had. And I have chartered a lot of boats around the world.. First thing when shopping for charter , you read about the captain.. Captain Russ had a video and description on why he was good . When we show up to board there is no Captain Russ . A Guy shows up and he says he was not coming he was taking us .. I had spoken with Captain Russ two days before the trip he made no mention that he would not be there... More
In response to your review of Corsair II Sportfishing, we want to first apologize for your experience. That said, in the FishingBooker profile for Corsair II, you will find that it states that I am a โCharter Operator,โ (see attached) which indicates that I am not the only Captain. If I were the only Captain, the profile would read โCaptain Operator.โ In addition, all confirmations, including the one you received on the evening of June 13, 2022, include both my name as well as Captain Craig (see attached screenshots for actual confirmation). In the charter industry, it is common practice to have a fill in Captain. As in the instance with Corsair II, you are working with one of the busiest charter boats in Key West, and itโs not physically sustainable for only one Captain to run the boat 365 days a year.
In regards to your expectations and the fishing experience itself, the boat went very far offshore and was catching plenty of mahi mahi. There were a total of 33 caught, however there was an abundance of smaller fish. At approximately 2pm, the request was made to Captain Craig to switch gears and fish the reef. At the end of an eight-hour trip, the boat is expected back at the dock at 4pm.ย You were an hour and a half away at the time the request was made, so it was in fact too late, due to the substantial amount of set up required for reef fishing.
You said a lot in your review of the Corsair II, but what you failed to mention was that your girlfriend was seasick from approximately 9am and was upstairs with Captain Craig. She was complaining about going in, and the crew asked you specifically several times if you wanted to return to the dock. You stated no, that this was a very special day for you and your son.
As previously mentioned, you booked one of the busiest charters in Key West. With that, comes a rigorous maintenance schedule, as well as continuous equipment upgrades to ensure we stay competitive in the industry.ย Your comments in regards to the condition of the boat are not factual, and itโs evident by the average 4.8 overall rating among the other 200 reviews on FishingBooker, that you are using these comments to fluff your review.
The bottom line, is that if you would have had a few snappers mixed in with your mahi catch, and your girlfriend wasnโt complaining the entire charter, this would have been a five star review. My suggestion next time you charter a boat is to make sure you read the entire profile, so you understand that there are multiple crew members. I would also ensure that whoever you bring along understands the risk of seasickness, and takes Dramamine in the event they are prone. Lastly, I would encourage you to be more specific prior to leaving the dock that you would like to spend half the amount of time of your charter targeting pelagic fish, and the remainder of the time on reef fish.
Capt Russ McKinley
In response to your review of Corsair II Sportfishing, we want to first apologize for your experience. That said, in the FishingBooker profile for Corsair II, you will find that it states that I am a โCharter Operator,โ (see attached) which indicates that I am not the only Captain. If I were the only Captain, the profile would read โCaptain Operator.โ In addition, all confirmations, including the one you received on the evening of June 13, 2022, include both my name as well as Captain... More
I dont think this is a fair reveiw. Bryce didnโt leave a written review so I decided to give him a call. Bryce stated that he was unhappy due to no food served on the boat. It clearly states we only have bottled water on board feel free to bring anything else with you. We have all good reviews on all platforms except yours (Bryce). Id like to inform my future customers that we will give you excellent customer service and do our best to catch as many fish as possible.