A few friends and I want to fish for a day next month... not particular about species, just want to catch some fish.

Anyone have any recommendations for a charter service in the Destin area?

Good luck? There is just under ZERO traffic on this thread......I havn't used them but will next year when we are in Destin.

http://www.swooppartyboat.com/trips.htm

I used action charters from Orange Beach AL and recomend them to anyone....here are a couple pictures from my trip earlier this month.

New Guy,
I've been fishing in Destin for about 25 years and have gone out on most of the boats down there at one time or another. For the last 8 years me and my buddies fish with Capt. Pat Atkins aboard the Strike Zone. Always catch a lot of fish and have good time. He is one of the best IMO. Capt. Pat's number is 850-654-7424. Or call Glenn Owens @ 850-200-3029

www.twowenscharters.com

If you'd like to see some pics, I will be happy to email them to you. Just PM me your email, since I dont know how to post pics.

Thanks!

Adam

Thanks, Adam. That's exactly what I was looking for.

WOW those guys might be good but they are out of my price range. I will stick with a walk on for around abouts $100 per person.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
WOW those guys might be good but they are out of my price range. I will stick with a walk on for around abouts $100 per person.

All the charter companies down there charge the same rate. It's about $110/hr. On our trips there is ususally six of us that go for a 10hr trip. Comes out to $183/person, plus the tip for the mate.
I've done both. The party boats are cheaper for sure, but then you are stuck fishing for what the group and/or Captain wants to fish for. I've done both and to me and my fishing buddies, its worth the extra $$$ and much more fun to have the boat to ourselves, fish for what we want, and be able to stay out a little longer/head in early etc. Plus the fishing, in my experience, is far better on a charter.

http://www.finestkindcharter.com/

Tommy is a legend amongst the Destin charter boat captains and we never would fish with anyone else.

That's been since the late '70s thru about 2000, which was toward the end of my blue water days.

In 1984 for our honeymoon my wife and I did some bottom fishing combined with trolling. I hauled up an 80 pound amberjack and she caught an 85 pounder. The trip made the local newspaper and the photo was entitled "Honeymoon Special". It was 30 minutes of exhausting struggle, each, where you simply stand at the rail in 90 plus degree heat and pull straight up. Ones that size keep the heavy rods bent U shaped. And the deckhands poured ice water over our heads so no one would over-heat. On our last trip she got into a very large bull dolphin that got off right at the boat. After I saw its size and colors I was already planning to have it mounted for her.

Anyway, Tommy is extremely well-liked and used to get nice write ups by our local outdoor editor and became the go-to guy in charter boats for many from the Mid-South.

Our vacations to Destin were usually built around spending time on his Finest Kind, and on the last few trips I decided to skip the bottom fishing (where most of your fish are really caught) and concentrate strictly on off-shore trolling for billfish. That's always iffy, but we usually did pretty good on the kings and wahoo. I have fond memories of patrolling those far off-shore kelp lines. If memory serves right, I think it was something like sixty miles out.

We always had fun and got our money's worth.