First Time Deep Sea fishing

I’ll be down in Panama City Florida in early April and would like to try deep sea fishing. If anyone has suggestions on what to look for in a Charter or what type of fish to go after please let me know.

Thanks!

Matt

Matt,
You’re going to love it! I’ve been down to FLA a couple of times, and have access to a boat. There is nothing in the waters around here that fight like the fish in the Ocean do. Here is a link to a forum of the Florida Sportsman magazine’s website:
http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeromain?id=1
Actually, go to a Magazine stand and pickup the latest edition of the Florida SPortsman and there are also a number of guides that advertise.
Good luck, you’ll never regret paying the captain’s fees. You’ll have a blast!
Steve

Matt…Imagine that…..I’m going to be in Panama City Beach April 8th – 17th…. I’m also planning on going fishing…I’ve been doing some research myself and have been asking those same questions…. Who knows…maybe i’ll see ya there!!

If you guy were heading down to the Keys, I could give you a very good guide for bone fishing ect.

I’ve found many guides for coastal waters by using the net.
After checking out there websites to see what kind of fishing is available, then what type I want to do, I check the prices to see what the average price is. It’s my opinion that the cheapest is not always the best. When I’m in an area for a short time, I don’t want to take a chance on a guide that does it for a hobby. Generally there’s a reason they are cheaper…but find out what kind of equipment they have too. A 50′ boat ride is going to cost more than a 21 footer. On the other hand, you might not get out of the harbor with a 21′ boat on windier days.

In my mind communications is the key. Send them an email as to what you would like to fish for, the time you have available to fish and the times you’ll be there. You will be surprised as to how many guides won’t respond to you. After making contact, the more open the commmunications and info they will share with you ahead of time, the better I feel about the trip.

I’ve been very happy with all of my guided trips, although a couple have been canceled because of weather…one because of 30′ waves.

One last thought, although I have gone on a large charter boat fishing (open to 30 or more fisherpeople) in my mind, I prefer the one on one service of two or four to the group. It only makes sense that the guide works harder to get you on fish and have a pleasurable experiance when there’s just a few.

DON’T FORGET THE CAMERA!

Matt, I have been fishing in the gulf several times off the Panama City coast. While I have not chartered a private boat, I have had a great time with the “party” boat trips.(no, not that kind of party ). If you go that route, I would suggest the full day trip. When I did it, we left well before dawn and traveled a few hours before even wetting a line. Trust me, it was worth the wait! We (my Dad and I) caught several grouper, red snapper, flounder, bonita, and a few fish I have no idea what they were! There were other people on the boat that were catching the same as we were. One in particular hooked into a giant red snapper and after a fairly long fight, got it to the side of the boat only to have a very large shark take all but the head. I have had pike do that to sunny’s a couple time but that dosen’t even come close! Needless to say, this didn’t please the crew at all since it took a nice fish away from their customer. They proceded to bait a very large hook attached to a heavy chain and rope and trolled for the shark. Well they caught it, pulled it to the boat and pumped a couple 12 gauge slugs into it. After pulling it on board, they measured it (15 1/2 feet) and strung it up across the bow of the boat. Evidently the charters had a contest for the largest shark for the season and this was the largest so far! If you go this route, you should have a very good time. As you may guess I did. I remember it like it was yesterday and it 24 years ago!