Reef Raider Fishing Charters

My wife and I visited Florida this past week and wanted to do some fishing. All of the charters seemed to be over $200 CAD a person from what we could find. Our family in Florida found this charter for us. As it was February the price went up to $70 USD a person. The whole trip takes approximately 6 hours. It takes approximately and hour to make your way to the first spot and then about an hour to come back, so about 4 hours fishing total. Though there were about 35 people on the boat our lines rarely got tangled and if they did Brad the mate or the captain was there quickly to untie it or give a new rod to keep the fishing going. We had a slow day according to Brad but between me and my wife we caught approximately 15 fish. They are not very large nor trophy fish but we knew that going out but still had fun. One man caught a rather large grouper which was exiting for all. I do not know the price for the squid bait but I would recommend it as the biggest fish seemed to like that more than the stuff they give you. When we got back to the shore Brad and another gentleman were there to clean the fish for a dollar a fish. Brad was nice enough to give us some extra fish that others did not want and we went home with enough fish to feed four people with sides. There is a bathroom on the boat that my wife used and said was good enough for what it was. At the bait shop there is a porto potty so if you need to go try and use the McDonalds right up the road before you go there. They also board the boat in priority of people who checked in a paid first. So if you care where on the boat you stand go earlier than later. Overall for the price which was $140 USD for two plus 15% tip to Brad and then a dollar a fish to clean it was well worth it in our opinion. I would recommend this to my family and friends and would go again if we are ever back in the area.

i had a great time fishing with Captain Jack's charters. I went with my son who was 13 and my brother. The three of us caught several fish (4 keepers..red snapper and key west grunts) and the captain went to several locations from 7 miles to 15 miles off shore. The first mate, Brad, was excellent. He was very personable and made it a priority to know the younger people fishing. With some of the rarer types of fish that were caught, Brad would bring them around the boat for everyone to see. Even though we didn't set a record for amount of fish caught, it definitely met my expectations for a charter and Brad exceeded my expectations. Please remember to tip the first mate as they only work for tips!

We signed up for the charter the day before and the price is super reasonable ($60/person).

Good luck Fishing!

Have fished twice now on the Reef Raider from Captain Jack's head boat on Beach Road in Engelwood, FL. An older but very solid boat, it gets out to 16 miles with plenty of time to catch fish. Jerry is the current captain and gets the boat on fish nearly every drop. He is a safe captain and will not take the boat out in high seas or high wind. Mate Brad is one of the best I've been on a boat with. Friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful, he single handedly supports up to 26 people in the boat. At $100/person for the 6 hour trip, you can't beat this rate. For $1/ fish Brad will filet your catch or you can take them home and clean them yourself. I fish on a party boat once a week and have found this program is very good one for everyone to enjoy. I'm scheduled to go out again this Sunday morning!
Major Anthony G Smith
USAF, retired

Showed up 6:30am On 11/23/20 for fishing with my son & 3 friends. Stopped in the day before to check in & make sure the trip was on. They assured us they would call if canceled. No call to 2 phone cell numbers left. Bad customer Service.
Would not recommend going on Capt Jacks headboards.

Had a BLAST! FIRST time doing this kind of fishing. went with my brother, beats walleye fishing it was The BEST! Brad was a lot of fun an made the day. Coming back in april bring my sister with me to experience the fun. Loved the dolphins that played in our wake

This is a head boat and you are going out to catch some fish a little ways off shore. If you catch a few keepers it's a good day because a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. The deck hand is a great guy and they do a good job.

I had family come from Miami and there were 6 of us in total. They made sure that we were altogether. They found lots of good fishing spots and we all caught a lot!! Brad was the most polite and sweet guy you could have had that day and was attentive to everyone on the boat helping get the fish and keep them for us. It was only $1 a fish to clean which was reasonable. They say Brad only gets tips and no pay for going out, not sure I believe that but if its true that would be my only complaint!! Would definitely go on again!!

I was recently on vacation with my family in Englewood. We had rented a pontoon boat to fish in the bay. As were other boats, we were drifting through the channel at the pass. The Mimae Too was heading out to the gulf and decided to take aim at our boat and come within about 6' of our rental while throttling at full speed. We were screaming at him about being so close and he threw his middle finger up and yelled at us to stay out of the channel. He not only had passengers on his boat, but I had my 2 young children aboard mine. His behavior was unprofessional and unacceptable. He shouldn't be allowed to drive anything larger than a hot wheel.

Three of us went out deep sea fishing on this boat on Father's day. The boat is old and miserable. The old men working the boat are grouchy to put it nicely. Why don't people like this stay home? They put everyone so close to each other you will be un-tangling your line most of the time. It's all about money, right? There might be room for 20 and they have 49 spaces. We had 40. Not one nice fish caught in 6 hours. That should tell you something. I have been deep sea fishing before and this boat is, by far, the worst. Also, the dumpy building where you check in has no bathroom except an outside john. The boat needs to be retired, like it's crew and the property needs to be bulldozed. Go to Sarasota or Ft Myers to go fishing. Stay away from this rat hole of a place. I have tried to be nice about it. Sure wish I had that $60 back. Watch your receipt. They put the whole number on it instead of the last four like modern places. LOUSY DAY IT WAS

Made the reservation in person the day before at the tackle shop next to the Tom Adams bridge on Beach Road. The boat leaves the dock around 7am but you need to arrive by 6am to pay your $60 (card or cash) and get your boarding pass as the boat is boarded in number order so its important if you want to get to choose your spot. Once I paid and got my number I went down the road to MacDonalds for breakfast. Before boarding there’s a short safety briefing them the mate Mark demonstrated how to use the fishing rods. All tackle and bait is provided but you can bring your own. The boat has up to 32 people on it so it gets pretty busy. Be sure to pack sun cream, wear a hat and bring some food and drink. It was pretty cold so unless you are here in the summer a jacket or fleece is recommended. The boat goes out up to 16 miles so it took over an hour to reach our first stop. Mark gave extra tuition to anyone who needed it. The boat moved a few times to get the best fishing for everyone. There’s plenty of fish and one of the mates is always on hand to unhook the catch and untangle lines. Those fish that get to be legally kept are put in the fridge for you to collect at the end of the trip. Most fish go back as they are either undersized or not in season. The boat returns to the dock around 1:15pm and if you want there’s someone on hand to clean and gut your fish for a few dollars. Overall well worth the $60 for a really enjoyable trip. If you are thinking about bringing children I think they need to be at least 12. I saw some younger kids struggle and found the trip too long.