Gaff Charters

Great trolling trip with The Gaff Charters over Spring Break in April 2018. We fished in the area for several days prior to the trip so we knew the fishing was tough given the weather. Our expectations were pretty low, but that changed in a hurry on the boat. We caught a limit of Spanish mackerel in 45 minutes and were excited to have some fish to eat back at the condo.

The boat is nice clean and roomy for family and kids. The captain and his staff were very friendly and accommodating. I highly recommend them if you're in the area and looking for a great way to spend a half day.

I'm Harlan Rentfrow, in my eighties and have been going out on charter boats for 60+ years. This by far was the lousiest trip ever. Overall communication was poor. The Gaff's Captain Joey and mate Tripp never introduced themselves. We had to ask their names. There was no safety talk ie. what to do, what not to do, location of life jackets, location and use of the head, etc. Although the ad mentions the possibility of live bait, it was never offered to pick-up any. They never questioned the experience of the guests which all but myself had never been out charter fishing. The little bit of instruction from the mate on what to do was very assuming and abrupt. At one point I was trying to instruct my 16yo great-grandson on how to set the drag when the mate, without a word, grabbed the pole out of my hand. Totally rude! I read on other reviews about how much fun others had with the crew joking and such. We had no interaction with the crew. No conversation...no joking.
We paid for an 8-hour fishing trip. We were gone from 6am to 2:25pm. Lines were in the water a total of just over ONE hour. We'd stop, drop lines, wait 5-10 minutes and move on to another spot. We were on the move more than 7 of the 8 1/2 hours! Needless to say, our "catch" was a pathetic THREE red snapper, one of which the legality was debatable. Surely not what I expected on an 8-hour trip. The disappointment of my family members is such that none of them ever want to do it again.
The boat had no fighting chair. In fact, the only comfortable seat appeared to be the captain's. Two members stood leaning on the rail most of the time and then sat on the steps. Seven hours of moving around and not enough comfortable seating or cup holders. The boat is better suited to 4 fishermen than 6. The "downstairs cabin" was a catchall of "stuff". Guessing the fighting chair may have been in that mess. There was no air conditioning.
On arrival back at the pier, we were met by a woman wanting payment. She seemed anxious and on edge. It turns out there was another party waiting to depart for afternoon fishing and the boat crew was running late. To top it all off, there is no place to clean fish on the premises.
To sum it all up, this was by far the lousiest charter fishing I've ever experienced.

Gaff Charters was amazing! It was our family's first time deep sea fishing and we had no idea what to expect. Captain Brandon and Scott took us out and really made the trip worth it. It was the highlight of our vacation to PCB and can't wait to do it again! Scheduling was quick and simple, the fishing trip itself was great, we caught lots of fish, the guys were fun and very knowledgeable, and they even assisted with getting our fish to a local fish market so we could take them home. It was an all around terrific experience and I highly recommend them!