I’ll start by saying my family and I have been on well over 2 dozen guided fishing trips, all East of the Mississippi.  With each trip, we have learned what the guide can control and what they can’t control.  The things the guide can control is communication with the client, being prepared, educating the client on using the equipment and explaining the local waterways.  Captain Kaleb had all of that down perfect. His communication leading up to the trip was perfect.  He had a well stocked and very well maintained vessel and his equipment top notch.  He knew the local waterways of the Low Country and knew right where bait fish would be and you could tell there was no guessing as to our trip. His experience and explanation of what to expect during the trip will make even the most concerned person be at ease.

Now the things the guides cannot control.  No matter who your guide is they cannot control the weather or the fish biting.  We took our trip out of any typical season for fishing (mid July) and on a day where the weather could easily ruin even the best laid out plan. While major thunderstorms did pop up during the trip, Captain Kaleb was already ahead of the game. He uses his knowledge of the recent weather patterns (something only a local would know), NOAA Radar and other local fisherman to make the best decision on where you and your family can safely fish at. Thankfully our trip wasn’t ruined by the pop up rain and he was able to adapt pretty quick.  As for the fish bite, while the guides can’t make them bite, they do know multiple places where your best likelihood of landing fish are at.  All in, thanks to his knowledge and willingness to adapt, we boated almost 15 fish in a short 3 hour trip.  Several even were of notable size.

During our trip we did reel in a Ray fish, which he took the time to teach the kids that were poisonous to the touch.  We also had an encounter with several dolphins that brought an unexpected joy to our day.  I’ve paid good money to go on dolphin tours and never see the first one. Today, not only did we see them but they came closer to the boat and even interacted as if it was part of the experience.

Our trip today was nothing short of what I had expected it to be. The kids had a blast (6 & 9 years old) and my wife and I had a great time as well.  I’ve attached some photos from our trip and I really hope they help anyone else out there considering a trip make the best decision for their family.  I don’t know exactly when we’ll be back in the Charleston area again, but I know for any inshore fishing trip, we’ll definitely use Captain Kaleb again.