Captain Mattison was very knowledgeable about the local fishery and the tidal movements of fish. I am fairly new to backcountry fly fishing, and Captain Mattison did not hesitate to teach me new techniques. I learned a lot! If you are a Fly Angler, this is your guy!
I went with my son and, while we are experienced freshwater fishermen, we were absolute novices regarding Florida Gulf fishing with artificial baits. Captain Aaron found us some fish and taught us the fine art of sight fishing for tarpon (heavy swimbaits), snook and redfish (creature baits and topwaters). Unfortunately we had some difficulty getting any bites until the end (and Captain Aaron made absolutely sure we weren't skunked). We eventually hooked a shark, and landed a snook and a black drum. We gained an appreciation for finding the fish and fishing artificial baits. We learned a lot from Captain Aaron and really had great time!
Captain Matt was awesome! He worked hard to find the fish and we saw many but I couldn't get them to chase my fly. He was also great at "fine tuning" and adapting my trout fly-fishing skills to the salt water environment. Casting an 11 wt fly rod is a lot different than casting a 5 wt and even the 9 wt I use for Lake Michigan kings, browns, and rainbows! While the fish didn't cooperate, I will definitely be looking Capt. Matt up next time I am in the area. He knows his stuff and I wouldn't hesitate to go out with him again.
We did a half day of guide fishing with Aaron! Great experience from start to finish. Aaron is very knowledgeable about the area and fishing. We caught some great fish too!
Out of several trips we took off the Marco island, this one was the absolute best! Not only because we caught a *beautiful* 29” red and a nice size, absolutely *beautiful* trout. Just being out there, early on the water, in a beautiful, shining boat, learning about fishing and fish and life of the 10000 islands from Matt was a great experience. Matt is a fantastic guide, he knows the area and all the right places, having grown up in Naples. Courteous, timely and prepared. Time totally flew by, we look forward to come back. Thanks a lot for a great trip, experience, memories and pictures!!!
Booking my fishing trip with Skinny Water Guide Co. / Captain Manziano was the best decision I've made in a long time. Captain Manziano had all the equipment for a successful fishing experience. He had all the rods and reals you can think of even fly rods. The entertainment and personality of Captain Manziano was also great , He was funny and also very educational regarding fishing and the ocean life. The best part of my fishing trip was that Captain Manziano knew exactly how an where to find the fish!! Its exciting to see the fish prior to catching it then seeing the fish you target be the one you catch! (Sight Fishing) If your looking for a fun and exciting time fishing, I 100% recommend you booking with Skinny Water Guide Co. !!!
