Reel Deal Sportfishing — Local services in Clearwater

My boyfriend and I had really high hopes for this charter, being our first time deep sea fishing. We both are bass and northern pike fisherman/woman up north. We were told boat leaves at 7am so we got to the dock around 6:45/6:50. Captain didn't show up until a couple minutes after 7. He asks if we'd want to do the 8 hour charter since his afternoon was open. We said no, just the 6 hour. Instead of leaving it at that, the captain says "Why? Because of the time or because of the money?" before laughing. Neither should be any of his business. We then get told we had to get gas before we could head out, which took almost a half an hour... of our time that we had booked. We weren't told where any safety equipment was or any "boat rules" prior to departing.

We spent between 2-3 hours trying to catch bait fish, and we didn't catch a single one. Once again, very few instructions were given as to how to reel anything in. Being used to bass and northern, we set the hook, only to be told "Just reel in slowly". I would have liked to be told how/why we don't need to set it and even given a quick demonstration. This happened a couple of times, out of habbit for us.

A big issue I ran into is that I'm right handed. My personal fishing poles are set up so I reel in with my left hand and stabilize my pole with my right. When booking the charter, my boyfriend told the woman that he's a lefty and I'm a righty to make sure we could both use the equipment. The response he got was, "well you fish using both hands." Every pole on board was set up opposite of what I'm accustomed to. I fumbled around with them each time we'd get a bite (which wasn't often) because it was so backwards for me. Once again, no advice or help as to how to make it easier or even why they were all set up that way.

At one point, my boyfriend cut his wrist pretty badly on the rod. There's no foam or plastic on the bottoms where you put it into your hip while reeling, its exposed metal. Captain even acknowledged that my boyfriend cut himself and didn't offer any first aid so he had to use what little we brought. We spent about an hour and a half trying to jig for barracuda. My boyfriend did end up catching one and I ended up catching a bonita. The captain did extend our time slightly for what we lost in the morning from our gas stop. He fileted our barracuda, but told us our bonita wouldn't be any good to eat? I researched it, and saw that it's a tasty fish, so I feel like we were lied to. If it were a matter of size, that should have been expressed.

All in all, we felt like the captain didn't want to be out fishing with us once we said we wanted to stick with the 6hour charter instead of the 8hour. We didn't get nearly as much information about the fish we were catching, where we were catching them, or how we were to catch them. We are both very...

We hooked ourselves up with Reel Deal Sportfishing for a morning fishing charter, and boy oh boy, it was quite the catch! With so many charters to choose from, it can be tough to know where to cast your net, but luckily, the great reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp reeled us in. We were not disappointed! The crew, led by the lively and enthusiastic First Mate Johnny (or Taco, as he prefers to be called) and the skilled captain Steve Hunsucker, greeted us with open arms and high spirits.

Their flagship vessel, the Reel Deal II, was nothing short of impressive. It's a sleek and spotless 34′ Crusader sportfishing boat, powered by a beastly 450 horse-powered Cummins diesel engine. Equipped with state-of-the-art Raymarine fish-finder and radar, as well as all US Coast Guard required safety equipment, we felt safe and sound out on the open sea.

The price of the charter includes everything you need for a day of fishing! They provide all the rods, reels, tackle, bait, licensing, and vessel amenities you could need. And their captains and mates are experienced offshore fishermen, which means they know the ins and outs of the Clearwater, Florida fishing scene like the back of their hand. They even fillet your catch when you return to the dock and offer advice on how to transport or prepare your fish. Plus, they know all the hot spots in town where you can have your catch cooked up to perfection.

All you need to bring is whatever grub and grog you want for the day. They've got coolers and ice on board to keep your drinks chilled (yes, even a 7am beer is allowed!). Trust us, choosing Reel Deal Sportfishing was the reel deal, and we'll be back for another adventure on the high seas...

Trip at the end of June, 2023. Captain Steve and mate Taco offered to take us out or give us a refund as the weather was windy and water was choppy. We went out anyway. 4-5 footers on the rollers and Taco kept the bait in the water and we caught fish. Bonito's and barracuda's a plenty. We had a blast with the deck rolling so hard we had to use the chairs and be very careful walking around. Captain and mate worked really hard to catch us fish while other charters were turning around. Highly recommend and planning next years trip hopefully in better weather.

Chartered again June, 2024. Better weather. Captain Steve and Taco are the best. Slow action on trolling so we switched to drop fishing and caught about 30+ Grunts and Mutton snappers and a few groupers. Outstanding action. Being from Michigan it is hard to get used to using circle hooks so we lost as many or more than we boated. I recommend while trolling going up top, with captains permission, and looking at what he is seeing. Incredible clarity of the water and watching balls of baitfish swimming over reefs 40+ feet deep was incredible. Had some fish cleaned and took to the restaurant on the dock.

We've already booked for October 2024!

Due to hurricanes finally made it down November 11th. Best trip yet!!! 34 Spanish mackerel and many Jack Crevalle. One Redfish about 34 inches.

October 2025! 3-4 footers. Windy as heck. Capt and first mate got us 27 spanish mac and 3 kings. Excellent...