We offer a variety of fishing charters near Palm Beach Gardens.   Palm Beach Gardens is located directly west of some of the best fishing spots in South Florida.  Our boats range from small center console style boats all they way up to luxurious fishing yachts.  We only use the best captains and boats near Palm Beach Gardens.  

On average it takes about 20 minutes get to our fishing boats from Palm Beach Gardens.  We can arrange multi boat trips leaving from the same location for larger groups such as corporate trips, weddings, bachelor parties, and family get togethers.  Our Palm Beach Gardens fishing boats offer catering as an option.

A typical catch on one of our fishing charters includes, sailfish, shark, mahi, tuna, swordfish, grouper and more.  Fishing Trips usually range from 4 to 8 hours but can be customized to any length.  Our boats are so nice we have a lot of people from Palm Beach Gardens just charter them for an Intracoastal cruise.  Check out some of our different fishing options available near Palm Beach Gardens by clicking HERE.

We have amazing fishing charters located 5 minutes from the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL.  Our fishing boats are the nicest in the area.  Book you fishing charter directly through us and avoid choosing the wrong fishing charter.  We can arrange multi-boat corporate fishing charters for guests staying in the Westin Diplomat.  Our Westin Diplomat fishing captains are family friendly and great with kids.  Our boats typically hold up to six passengers but we have different options for larger groups.  

Our Westin Diplomat fishing charters is the perfect activity if you are looking for some excitement while staying at the hotel.  On any given day our fishing charters catch sailfish, mahi, tuna, swordfish, shark and more.  Our repeat clients will tell you "Book your fishing charter with VIP Fishing Charters, because it doesn't get any better!"  

We can accommodate all of your charter needs.  Catering and hotel pickup is an option on all of our fishing trips.  We'll clean your fish at the dock so you can take it back to the restaurant to have it cooked up for dinner.  Our captains and crews will go out of their way to make sure our guest have the best experience possible.  Give us a call today!

Check out this great video of a group of anglers landing a hammerhead while shark fishing in Miami, FL.  This hammerhead is a beautiful fish and I'm always amazed by their size and power.

One of our most popular requests is shark fishing charters because many of our guests want the thrill of catching a shark. Besides hammerhead sharks, we also find quite a few other species of sharks near Miami, including bull sharks, thresher sharks, nurse sharks, and more.

Our Miami shark fishing charters are suitable for all types of groups and families. Our crew are experts at shark fishing and know how to safely handle these powerful creatures. We are also concerned with shark conservation and therefore comply with all Florida shark fishing regulations.

A common question we get prior to our fishing charters is how to best avoid sea sickness.  First off each person has a different tolerance to getting sea sick on a boat.  Don't freak out though the vast majority of our clients have no issues. There are people who get sick on the calmest of days and then there or people who can handle 10 foot swells.  Sea sickness is basically a type of motion sickness.  Chances are if you experience other types of motion sickness you have increased odds of getting sea sick.  If you've been on a boat in the ocean before and haven't had any symptoms you most likely don't have to worry.  Here area few tips to help you avoid becoming see sick on a fishing charter.

1. Hydrate before the trip.  Drink a lot of fluids as if you were preparing for any type of sporting event.  This will keep you from getting dehydrated on the fishing trip.

2. Don't come on the fishing charter hungover from a late night of drinking.  This is one of the main reasons people get sick on boats.  We understand a lot of people are on vacation but please keep drinking down to a minimum before the trip.

3. Charter a good quality boat.  Some poorly maintained boats put of a significant amount of exhaust and that can make anybody nauseous.

4. If you know you are prone to sea sickness you can always buy Dramamine over the counter at pretty much any pharmacy.  Dramamine works remarkably well for our clients.

5. My last tip to help prevent sea sickness is to buy some ginger candy or ginger ale.  Ginger is known to help sooth the stomach and actually helps a lot on boats.

Fishermen rejoice. Today is national rum day. Rum is to fishing like hot dogs are to baseball. Although if you're a novice, you may be better off sticking with beer or coke. Either way, Forbes magazine has a great article about different types of aged rums.

There's nothing like being out on the water and making yourself a delicious rum cocktail. My old favorite is the rum and coke AKA "Cuba Libre", but after a recent visit to Newport, RI, my long time favorite was eclipsed by the "Dark & Stormy". The Dark & Stormy is a delicious combination of dark rum and ginger beer. My favorite dark rum is Myers, which has a unique flavor that you either love or hate, but if you're in the hate it group, there are plenty of other dark rums out there to try, Goslings Black Seal is a little milder.

So if you're going on a fishing charter and have the wearwithall to throw back a cocktail or too, celebrate National Rum day with my new favorite drink.

Over the last several months we have been expanding VIP Fishing Charters throughout the State of Florida. In total we are now in over 100 cities and the list keeps growing. Our mission has remained the same of helping our customers identify the best fishing charters in a given area and giving them expert unbiased advice on planning their fishing trip.

In addition to our VIP Fishing Charters website, we are also creating city specific websites such as Destin Fishing Charters. Here, we have a unique site with unique information tailored specifically to fishing in Destin.

We've taken a lot of cues from our VIP Fishing Charters site, such as providing providing large fishing photos and clear information. We've added additional features like interactive maps showing where our Destin fishing boats are located, as well as better fish information pages with great Destin fishing photos showing off the different fish. We've also incorporated our on page fishing quote request form to save people a step of having to click to another page to make an inquiry.

So, if you're considering planning a fishing trip in the Destin area, stop by our new site, or just click on over to our Destin page on our main site. We have two of the best fishing boats in Destin with great captains and crew.

Wow. This has to be some of the best footage of dolphin porpoises ever captured.

Some fishing enthusiasts go tuna fishing in a center console off of Santa Cruz. They built a custom fishing enclosure for their GoPro camera that they could tow behind the boat presumably to get footage of the fish hitting their baits. Then some photogenic dolphin porpoises show up and you really have to see the video to understand how special the footage is.

I could watch this video on loop over and over again (minus the tuna part at least!).

Booking a fishing a charter in Miami should be the highlight of a vacation or special occasion especially for the kids.  Any parrent knows that for the family to have a good time, the little kids need to have a great time.  The captains of our kid friendly charters in miami go the extra distance to make sure all of the kids on our fishing trips have a good time. 

The little things make all the difference.  I know a lot of our guides involve the kids in the selection of the color lures and bait they are using.  They instruct and explain to them why they are doing each step of the fishing process and how it's going to help successfully catch fish.  Some of our captain give the children fun nicknames and have expanded their jokes to include kid friendly ones.  Special invitations up to the bridge to help steer the boat is another small but meaningful jester kids love.

Families should not be stressed on a fishing charter, but should be totally relaxed and excited instead.  Parents tend to relax when they have confidence in the crew and the boat.  All over our family friendly fishing trips are on safe reliable boats with captains and crews we would trust with our own families.  Give us a call and we can arrange a fishing charter that fits your families needs.  Check out our pictures and it will be hard to find a photo without some kids with great big smiles on their faces.

We know a lot of our clients in Fort Lauderdale visit us before or after they go on their cruise from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.  Besides our amazing fishing charters, there are plenty of other cool cruise ship excursions you can do from Fort Lauderdale.  

• The World Famous Jungle Queen River Boat is a great Fort Lauderdale excursion that the whole family can enjoy.  The narrated sighting seeing cruise let's you see Fort Lauderdale in it's best light which is by boat.  Check out the dinner cruise for some delicious all you can eat bbq and some live entertainment including comedians and magicians.
• My second choice for best cruise ship excursion would be an airboat ride in the Everglades.  If you have never been to the Everglades this should be a must on your list.  The Everglades is diverse and exciting environment not to mention you should see a ton of alligators.  Airboats are fast and loud so hang on to your seat and make sure your earplugs are in tight.
• Another excursion in Fort Lauderdalethat looks really fun is ZAINOJET.  The company allows you to rent a jetpack and fly around the canals of Fort Lauderdale.  This might sound rediculous but it does exist and it looks awesome.  I'm having trouble describing this excursion so look it up on Google.
• Of course I have to mention a VIP Fishing Charter.  I always save the best for the last.  There's not a better cruise ship excursion than chartering a private boat for a day of fishing with family and friends.

If you have any qustions or need any recommendations about other cruise ship excursions don't hesitate to contact us.  Steve grew up in Fort Lauderdale and knows everything there is to do there along with the best restaurants and hotels.

The A-Dock of Bahia Mar Marina is the long time home of Fort Lauderdale’s sport fishing fleet. Here, two dozen or more sport fishing boats entice tourists with mounted sharks, dolphin, sailfish, and more, whetting want to be anglers appetites for the bounties that the Atlantic Ocean has to offer.

Unfortunately, rumors about unscrupulous fishing charter operations abound. Even as a professional fishing concierge, the task of trying to select the best of these boats is daunting, because if you look at them as most visitors do, just by walking down the docks, it’s hard to notice anything that sets them apart. The oft manipulated Yelp and Google reviews aren’t much help, nor are the hotel concierges who are usually on the take. You’ll notice that some of the boats have a few more rust stains than others, but although this is somewhat of a reflection for how much pride a captain takes in maintaining his boat, what’s really important is the crew.

After walking the docks and shooting the sh#t with captains and mates on different boats, I reached the southern end of A Dock and struck up a casual conversation with Captain Mike Johnson on the sport fishing vessel Local Knowledge. Twenty seconds into my conversation with Mike, I realized something was a little odd. Besides the fact that he was a friendly guy and could compose grammatically correct sentences (that’s something new for A dock), Mike was singing a song very, very different than the other Captains on the dock.

“I heard the mahi are running today,” I told him.

He laughed. “Oh yeah, who told you that?”

“A few of the guys down there told me,” I told him pointing north past the Jungle Queen reservations office. (Side note: although the Jungle Queen is the biggest tourist trap Fort Lauderdale has to offer, I highly recommend it!)

“Listen, man,” Mike responded, looking at me straight in the eye. “I would love to take you out fishing today, but that’s total bullsh#t about the Mahi. You are probably not going to catch one today. We can try, but they’ve been running far offshore and even on a full day charter, we probably couldn’t find them. If you want to catch Mahi, give me your number and I’ll text you when I know they’re back.”

Sold.

A few weeks later, I got a text from Mike. It said, “Mahi are back! Call me! It’s Capt. Mike.”

I went out on a trip with him and we had a great time. We caught a few Mahi, although not quite as many as I had hoped, but we also spent time kite fishing and landed a beautiful sailfish. All in all, for a four hour trip, I was happy with the catch. Unless you’re on a tight budget or limited for time, I think a six hour or eight hour trip is much preferable to a four.

Mike was extremely personable and you can tell he just likes talking to people. His mate Brandon was equally fun. Both of them were extremely knowledgeable and easy to get along with.

We had lines in the water just a few minutes outside the channel and we spent our entire time trolling. This is a notable thing about Local Knowledge and Mike’s attitude in general. He will move his boat around as much as he needs to in order to get you on the fish. This is a departure from several other fishing charters I’ve been on in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere where it becomes pretty apparent that the Captain is trying to conserve fuel. On my day on Local Knowledge, we drove by other fishing boats a few times, clearly due to the fact that they were idling around a specific spot, while we tried different spots and speeds.

Mike’s boat, a 43’ Hatteras, I believe built in the 80s, is spacious and well equipped for fishing. It’s not luxurious, after all not many charter boats are, but it is clean and comfortable. The boat is in above average shape, and recently, Mike has undertaken some improvements that really make the boat stand out at the dock, including replacing windows and doors that were in need of some TLC.

All the equipment on Local Knowledge is high quality and in good shape. And more importantly, Brandon and Mike know how to use it all to their maximum advantage.

It was after the trip that I revealed to Mike that I was starting a business for reviewing and directing people to the best fishing charters.

“I’m in,” Mike responded, without asking any more questions. Again, his positive attitude shining through.

Mike ended up being the first boat in the VIP Fishing Charters fleet. After scores or possibly hundreds of trips I have sent to Mike, I have received only one bad review. When I called him to tell him, he was extremely apologetic and embarrassed and offered to do anything to make it right. I know things don’t always go right, but it is owners that react like this when things go wrong that win my business for life. And in Mike’s case, he has now won not only my business personally, but my endorsement for my customers as well

VIP Fishing Charters provides advice on the best fishing charters in Ft Lauderdale. Click here to request a free quote on Ft Lauderdale fishing charters.

A common question that comes from visitors traveling to the Florida Keys is "Where is the best place to book my Florida Keys Fishing Charter?"  My best response to that question is "All of the Florida Keys have amazing fishing."  

It's not about location but the experience and quality of your guide.  There isn't a Florida Key that doesn't have amazing fishing.  The Keys offer great back-country as well as offshore deep sea fishing.  One of the challenges visitors have when planning their Florida Keys fishing trip is that there are hundreds of charters.  

VIP Fishing Charters ran into the same issue when it decided to expand it's business south to the Keys.  It's only through recommendations, first hand experiences, and testimonials that somebody can figure out who runs the best charter on each Key.  So first figure out your itinerary in the Florida Keys.

 It doesn't matter which Key you are visiting, give us a call and we'll put on the best Florida Key fishing charter.  There are tons of fish out there and we'll put you on the boat that will catch them.  It doesn't get much better than fishing from Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon or Key West

Call VIP Fishing Charters and we'll help make your dream fishing charter a reality!

Hillsboro Inlet has some great fishing charter options.  VIP Fishing Charters has narrowed the fishing fleet down to the best boats at the Hillsboro Inlet.  In general the Hillsboro Inlet has nicer and better maintained boats that a lot of other Marinas.  My pick for the three best fishing boats at this particular Marina would be... in no particular order:

Killin Time Fishing Charters with Captain Tommy Oberrander on his 53' Hatteras.  Captain Tom has run a countless number of fishing charters from Hillsboro Inlet for VIP Fishing Charters and I can honestly say every client has only given amazing reviews.

Quetzal with Captain John Whitelaw on his 45' Hatteras.  John is an owner operator and takes great pride in his boat and reputation.  His boat is always spotless and icebox is always full of fish.  You can always count on the Quetzal to bring back happy group of clients.

Ringmaster with Captain John Castelli on his 53' Hatteras.  I think most of our clients are blown away by the value of this charter.  This boat is as nice as it gets in South Florida with out breaking the bank.  Captain John is enthusiastic young captain who consistently gets rave reviews from VIP clients

All three boats mentioned above are available for charter out of the Hillsboro Inlet year round.  We do a lot multi boat charters with these great captains for corporate events and parties.  

Give us a call and we'll put you on the boat that best fits you and your party's needs!

There are plenty of deep sea fishing charter options near Disney World in Orlando Florida.  Although Orlando and Disney are located in the center of Florida it only takes about an hour to reach the Atlantic Ocean.  

A lot of people think fresh water fishing on a Florida lake is their only option when visiting Disney World but this is not true.  VIP Fishing Charters recommends heading about 40 to 60 minutes east to Cape Canaveral.  We have sport fishing charters ready to take you out on some of the best boats in Florida.  

The nices part about chartering a fishing boat from Orlando is that you won't have to stand in line like you do at the theme parks.  Come spend a relaxing and exciting day on one of our air-conditioned sportfishing boats and there's a good chance you could catch a sailfish, wahoo, tuna, marlin, cobia and shark.  We offer half and full day charters.  When your done with the Orlando theme parks head east and take a VIP Fishing Charter.    

Sailfish Marina is a great location to charter a fishing boat for anyone staying in the Palm Beach area.  Sailfish Marina is located on Singer Island in Palm Beach Shores Florida.  This isn't your typical marina.  Home to million dollar yachts, high end fishing charters and a great waterfront restaurant Sailfish Marina is one of the nicest fishing charter locations in Florida.  Guests are greeted by a valet as they pull up to the resort.  The quality of fishing charter boats are among the best in the country.  We do a lot of corporate fishing trips out of this location for this reason.  The marina is situated on the north side of Lake Worth Inlet giving fishing boats immediate access to the ocean.  No time is wasted traveling to the fishing grounds.  Sailfish Marina has additional amenities that a lot of other marinas don't have including a general store,  clean bathrooms, restaurant and a resort.  Give us a call and we'll put you on the best fishing charter Sailfish Marina has to offer.  Check out our Singer Island boats.

We now offer fishing charter gift certificates due to a large number of requests.  What makes VIP Fishing Charter gift certificates unique is that we allow our clients to redeem the certificate at any of our locations.  For example if you someone orders a $500 dollar gift certificate for a family member in South Florida they can choose from all of our different boat and charter options and apply the amount to the trip.  People ordering fishing charter gift certificates can also pick a specific boat and trip and pay the full amount.  Once a gift certificate is purchased the recipient can contact VIP Fishing Charters at any time to reserve the fishing charter of their choice.  Some of our clients have already ordered our fishing trip gift certificateds for corporate raffles and charity auctions, birthdays, and holiday gifts.  We can't think of a better gift or prize then a private fishing charter with friends and family.