In Florida, about 1.5-2 2 hours South of Tampa for the week. It's the wife, 5 boys (age 8-19) and me.  Thinking that we'd really enjoy a fishing trip. As many time as I've been down here, I've never done it and I want to give the family a cool experience that doesn't involve stupid shit like Disney. Can anyone recommend a good person/company to call that's within a couple hours of us. I've been told that there is a charter or party boat option. Any advice on which to go for?  What's a good duration for being out, etc?  I don't mind spending money for a good experience, but we are on somewhat of a budget here.

Thanks in advance!

-Justin

The weather is going to hinder anything "offshore" in the Gulf for the next few days. The Middle Grounds, 60 - 80 miles out, is THE place to go, but you probably wont like the ride right now.

Steinhatchee has some good fishing a little closer in and I use to go out with The Jolly Roger 2, but I haven't been out in a while so don't know if he's even still in business.

You might check over on http://www.floridasportsman.com/ for a decent charter in your area.

Good luck & have fun!

Thanks Speargun!  Yeah, it looks kind of rough out there, but I'm here for the rest of the week. Hoping there's a day where it's calm enough to go out.

Where are you, Ft Myers area?  I'd go with a charter over a cattle boat, but some of the cattle boats can still be fun on a budget.

Go to the Crystal River area and hire a guide to take you scalloping. It's probably the most bang for the buck and your kids will love it. Plus, it fits the budget description. A good resource on guides will be the big bend forum over on floridasportsman.com.

Thanks, Dogue


We're about halfway between Sarasota and Ft. Meyers, on Knight Island close to Englewood.

Scalloping, sounds interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks for the suggestions.

 
Crystal river will be about a 3 hour drive from where you are staying. though, it will definitely be fun for the entire family.

A buddy of mine has a offshore charter business in Clearwater.  He has 3 nice boats, very reasonable on price and  you will come home with fish.  

2 Shea Charters

Fishanddivetampa.com