Nate was a lot of fun and tried to make sure we had a nice time but catching a 15 to 20 10 to 12” yellowtails and snappers was pretty disappointing. It was akin to dipping a worm into a pond and pulling out one bluegill after another. We did connect with one large fish but as often happened during the trip, the line was broken. Usually by barracuda. The boat was very nice, the rods and reels were pretty worn. The bails wouldn’t fully open. Not a good sign. Lastly we spent 20 min hunting for a bait box in the flats which wasn’t at its gps location. The bait should be aboard when a trip starts, fishing time shouldn’t be spent fooling with it. Nate tried hard to keep things moving and was a very nice guy, seemed very knowledgeable but to spend about $600 to catch 3 10” to 12” “keepers” is hard to accept. There were large tarpon all around the dock when we returned. Final kick to the nuts. All in all, I think we could have found a lower priced charter and done as good or better.
Nate was a lot of fun and tried to make sure we had a nice time but catching a 15 to 20 10 to 12” yellowtails and snappers was pretty disappointing. It was akin to dipping a worm into a pond and pulling out one bluegill after another. We did connect with one large fish but as often happened during the trip, the line was broken. Usually by barracuda. The boat was very nice, the rods and reels were pretty worn. The bails wouldn’t fully open. Not a good sign. Lastly we spent 20 min hunting for... More
Thanks for taking the time for the review. Our 19ft is the smallest and least expensive in our fleet. The trip is designed and advertised as calm water fun fishing. Our backcountry fishery often produces a lot of smaller fish with lots of action. Great for kids and families. I’m happy to hear to caught 20 fish in a 4hr trip. We often just use frozen bait on that trip/ boat, but it sounds like Nate could sense you wanted something a little more, so he put in the time and effort for live bait. Again, this boat doesn’t not have multiple traps marked like a larger boats do. The tarpon in our marina are out dock pets, they are residents and live there year round, we never fish for tarpon in the marina. Everyday the fishing and conditions are different from the next. In the future if you would like to target big fish, I would recommend booking a larger “offshore” style boat. Also, putting in time for bait is part of the experience, I don’t know a single guide who has live baits prior to trips. If you want quality fish, you put in the time for quality fresh bait.
Thanks for taking the time for the review. Our 19ft is the smallest and least expensive in our fleet. The trip is designed and advertised as calm water fun fishing. Our backcountry fishery often produces a lot of smaller fish with lots of action. Great for kids and families. I’m happy to hear to caught 20 fish in a 4hr trip. We often just use frozen bait on that trip/ boat, but it sounds like Nate could sense you wanted something a little more, so he put in the time and effort for live bait.... More