Key Largo charter trip

[dman]

Going to the Keys in mid October and looking for a good fishing guide who can accommodate two couples. Any suggestions?

[Hannah Grady]

I stayed at Marriott in Key Largo and did some back country fishing on The Lyin Hawian" he's docked right at hotel. I had a great time but 1 person comfy 2 would be a little tight but do-able. I suggest you look very hard and get references if you are to go off-shore. I saw some of the boats that looked great on-line until you saw them in person, a little scary. There is a keys fishing and weather website that seemed to have a little higher end charters, good luck.

[dman]

I stayed at Marriott in Key Largo and did some back country fishing on The Lyin Hawian" he's docked right at hotel. I had a great time but 1 person comfy 2 would be a little tight but do-able. I suggest you look very hard and get references if you are to go off-shore. I saw some of the boats that looked great on-line until you saw them in person, a little scary. There is a keys fishing and weather website that seemed to have a little higher end charters, good luck.

Thanks. You're the second person who has told me to wait until I get there to find a charter. Since I want to go on my third day there it may be the way to go.

[Bob's Cay]

I suggest you check the web for any tournaments that might be going on during the time you are there. Went down once and was disappointed to find all the captains were fishing in one. We had actually booked in advance and we ended up with a "replacement" crew that tried but had little experience.

Call several charter captains and see if they are available for the date you want. If they are already booked you can be sure something is up.

Good luck and have fun.

[one4water]

We went to key West earlier this year and were told the same, wait till you get there to pick a boat. Glad we did. Everyones web site looked good but some were obviously old pictures and what was once new equipment was very well worn by the time we saw it. We walked the docks at two places and talked to a couple boat owners and looked at the boats and equipment. We actually had talked to some of the guys we saw web sites for. One in particullar was downright scary. The boat was now beat and he practically talked us into choosing someone else after trying his best drunken sales pitch. . We decided to go with one of the owners we spoke to. Nice guy, friendly, knowledgable and accomodating for 4 adults, one teen and one preteen. The down side was when we showed up for the trip, he wasn't the Captain for the day. It was one of his guides that was taking us out. we were definitly let down since we chose the charter based on the boat we saw and the owner we spoke to. Make sure you ask who your guide will be. Ours was OK but not real great. We caught fish and had a great time but felt like we got a little short changed as far as the captain goes. We wanted sails that day and he really never made much effort to put us on them. Went right to a wreck and we landed some great AJ's for dinner though. We got a good deal, had fun and overall was well worth it. So go in person and make your choice.

Good luck and have a great trip