Gulfstar Fishing — Attraction in Tarpon Springs

I owned a charter business in Florida for 18 years and can fully appreciate how hard-working and professional this operation is. Hands down the best fishing charter of any sort I have been on in this state.

Upon arrival the crew introduced themselves and did all the work of boarding our coolers and equipment so as to maximize organization. After boarding and looking around I could tell time and effort had been spent keeping the boat clean and running smoothly.

It took about 8 hours to get to the fishing grounds and the crew gave tips on fishing this area and the targeted species (initially mangrove snappers and as the sun came up, groupers and red snappers). They helped anybody with rigging, bait preparation, etc and were always on tops of things - fish to get on board, tangles to deal with, getting rigs off the bottom when stuck, and more. Very organized and professional.

The food, which is included by the way, represented a slight challenge for me as I do not eat red meat or pork. The first two dinners were based on pork! Fortunately, the chef was prepared for kooks like me as he had chicken breasts and even turkey bacon in the morning as substitutes so I did just fine.

The Captain (Mitch being the primary one) moved the boat frequently as need to maximize the bite, get away from amberjacks, find different species, etc. He took his time to position the boat right on the money and boy did he ever. I must have caught over 50 snappers total (couldn't keep them all, of course) and a couple nice groupers. The rocks got a few more groupers from me, but they were there.

Back at the dock the crew unloaded the heavy coolers and offered to clean the fish. Fish are cleaned in the order in which you sign up, and the latter folks had to wait several hours. Most went off for dinner somewhere as we got back at the dock 4 PM. Another nice touch - fish were also caught by the crew when off duty and stored separately. Those that did not catch their limits (often red snappers on this trip) were given fish from this batch to fill their limits so every person on board went home happy.

If you compare prices, note these trips are all-inclusive - bait, food, drinks, fish cleaning, etc. Although tips are also included in the cost, the crew worked so hard I felt it was proper to add to the tip, which they appreciated.

Since no operation is perfect, I'll list a few minor complaints: 1.) Since the boat runs so slow (it felt like 8-10 knots) it takes 8-10 hours to travel each way. This means less time for fishing. 2.) Most, if not all, the crew smoked cigarettes. Bad enough, but they tossed their butts in the ocean. These never degrade and have been shown to clog the digestive system of birds, turtles and fish that eat them. 3.) I wish there were more healthy options, including more vegetables, offered at mealtime though I realize this is not a cruise ship! 4.) I wish the crew would properly vent fish that were releases as I saw too many floating on the surface unable to descend.

I cannot recommend this operation enough, and cannot wait to go out...

I have to say this was a great trip . My wife bought me and 3 of my boys a 12 hour night trip . We called and the lady he answered the phone was awesome 😎 she had great attitude explained were to park and said tuck and roll boys 🤣🤣 we was running a little behind but made it 10 minutes before 7pm she also made staff know 👏 so let’s start trip out was great , deck hands introduced themselves and showed us how to bait up , my boys were ready .. I cant remember the 2 hands names but they were nonstop on there game making sure ice , lines , fish and sizes of fish were on point. They both were absolutely generous with their time and very personable to all of us. Great job 👏 this means a lot the boys and myself felt very comfortable talking and working with these 2 . We filled our cooler with lots of fish boys arms were sore for 2 days after and mine maybe more.😂 my oldest son 17 was able to visit the captains Quarters and he explained what things were and what they did , even told some unheard stories, how cool is that. Great job captain for that he will always remember that and all the fish you put us on. So boat was clean , looked clean ,smelled clean, bathrooms clean. I mean it’s a fishing boat I was expecting it to be a little fishy 🙃so everyone knows there’s a big red button in bathroom like the ones you see at the gas stations incase of a emergency 🚨 it’s ok to push it the boat will not stop 🤣🤣it’s the toliet flusher yeah I did ask someone walking by I didn’t wanna ruin everyone’s trip by stopping the boat with the red button. So trip out was smooth and fishing was awesome and as well as trip back . I didn’t know they had a cook 👨🏼‍🍳 on board and he did Phenomenal on getting food out and everyone fed . Awesome job sir. I tried the French toast it was better than I make it at home. This is a 5 star 🌟 experience Thank you all from...

A good way to spend some time on a warm winter day. The ride out to the fishing spot was nice. We saw many dolphin and a many nice water front homes. The crew was hard working. The capt put us right on the fish. We caught 27 fish. The crew cleaned the fish also. I would take this fishing trip again.

7/8/2022 Returned to the Gulfstar. Right away the problems began. In on Dec 17,2021 I purchased an online gift card for a Christmas gift. The office would not honor the E gift card. They could not find any proof of purchase. I showed them my credit card transaction, but they still would not honor E gift card. Not exactly a good start to the loosing a $50 gift card transaction. Some important changes has occurred in the operation: The trip heading out to fish was a long one. The capt only ran the boat 10 mph and it took just under 2hrs to reach our first stop to fish. Again the capt put us right on the fish.. Again the fishing was GOOD.

But the boat ride back was even slower as the capt was only running the boat at 9mph. The capt. brought some kids with him. Probably his grandkids. They were constantly running around the boat. Even though a sign on the wheelhouse says crew only, these kids were constantly running in and out of the wheelhouse. Having anyone running in and out of the wheelhouse is distracting. Even more so with grandkids. It's just natural to keep an eye on grandkids. Be very cautious if heat and humidity cause you issues. In the summer, you probably should avoid gulf fishing. The boat has air conditioning, but it was overwhelmed by the high temperatures and humidity. The mates were kept busy taking care of passengers who became overheated. They handed out cold water and bags of ice for customers who became over heated,all at no charge to...