- Home
- United States
- Florida
- Key West
- Good Times Key West
- Reviews
- We are a fun family so of course we had a good time.
Recently Viewed
We are a fun family so of course we had a good time.
We are a fun family so of course we had a good time.
VERIFIEDOur Capt was not Justin - who was advertised.ย After many conversations with โthe captainโ we show up and it is not him and our new captain knows nothing about us.ย We arrive and there is no water on the boat.ย Since we want to fish, we pass on him running to the store - this was not his fault.ย We get out on the water and look for live bait - that took up time we were honestly not expecting.ย We get to our location and the rigs are not all rigged up.ย We donโt want to sit around so we happily volunteer to get this going ourselves.ย You know those charters that have a first mate, this was not one.ย We fished and caught mangrove snapper.ย This was not what we asked to try and catch.ย Our captain didnโt allow us to keep the grunt my 72 year old mother caught.ย Come to find out he doesnโt want to fillet it.ย We didnโt want any of our fish filleted and ask for them to be just gutted and scaled and he says he doesnโt know how.ย Like I said, I have an awesome family so we always make it work but this was not a trip worth recommending.
Our Capt was not Justin - who was advertised.ย After many conversations with โthe captainโ we show up and it is not him and our new captain knows nothing about us.ย We arrive and there is no water on the boat.ย Since we want to fish, we pass on him running to the store - this was not his fault.ย We get out on the water and look for live bait - that took up time we were honestly not expecting.ย We get to our location and the rigs are not all rigged up.ย We donโt want to sit around so... More
I do regret that you feel the experience was not what you expected. My boat is 95%owner operated. I had a medical issue and was instructed to stay home from work for a few days for recovery. In the notes of your reservation and our previous conversations you continuously mentioned how โfun and easy goingโ your family was. This is why I didnโt feel it necessary to tell you that my fishing mentor and relief capt was going to be taking you out. Capt Ryan is the best fisherman I know and an even better person.
I advised you that the mornings are busy for us, getting fuel, ice, frozen bait/ chum, waters re rigging, ectโฆ and I specifically said the boat would not be completely set up and ready until about five minutes prior to trip. You arrived at the boat 45min early and said you wanted to depart early. As You stated in your review, this is why there was no water on the boat, also why Lines were not pre rigged.
My boat can accommodate up to six guests, and I have a personal recommendation of a limit of 1000lbs. (A few kids a few adults is fine, six adults changes the boats handling characteristics). Your reservation was made for 5people, you showed up with six adults. You can put five adults in a sedan for a road trip , but maximum capacity is not preferred . Also onboard as you stated was your 72 year old grandmother. I put my guests safety and comfort as priority number one. Your requested species was not 100% feasible, for many reasons including that day the national weather services wave estimate was 4-6ft.ย Ryan found flat calm water in the backcountry, that held a ton of fish.
As experienced fishermen in key west, we know fresh well presented bait catches the best fish. We also know time is of the essence. This is why we use baitfish traps. It takes only about 3-5min to pull and reset. We have multiple traps, and their GPS coordinations are set in my Garmin. So we donโt spend time โlooking for baitโ.
The guest requested to catch yellowtail snapper and triple tail. As seen in the photo we did catch a few yellow tails. We also caught large mangrove snapper, few juvenile white grunts. My self and most guides in Key West are conservationist, we often set different rules or limits based on our morals over the letter of the law. I set my boats aggregate limit to 20fish per 4hr trip. And we do not fillet juvenile fish (as seen in pic, the small grunt was snuck in the cooler against captains orders) I feel this is 20 fish limit is what our local fisheries can sustain.ย
As seen on my listing a mate is never provided on my boat, nor is it on any boat charter in my class (23 ft center console). The boat was already over my pre recommended guest weight limit. Also as advertised we offer to fillet your catch, we do not offer to scale, gut, marinate, or cook your fish. Itโs simply to time consuming, messy, and require special tools.
Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Next time you (or like minded friends) are in Key West, feel free to call or text me. I will happily refer you to a boat/ captain/ mate that will accommodate your groups wants/ needs.
I do regret that you feel the experience was not what you expected. My boat is 95%owner operated. I had a medical issue and was instructed to stay home from work for a few days for recovery. In the notes of your reservation and our previous conversations you continuously mentioned how โfun and easy goingโ your family was. This is why I didnโt feel it necessary to tell you that my fishing mentor and relief capt was going to be taking you out. Capt Ryan is the best fisherman I know and an... More