Many offshore charter fishing vessels are powered by inboard diesel engines, which are reliable but provide a constant plume of burnt fuel fumes which has a tendency to aid in an angler’s seasickness. The advantage of an inboard engine is that the propeller(s) is literally under the stern of the vessel making it easier to land fish directly behind the boat. On our Contender, the outboard engine(s) are mounted on the stern transom and create a fishing obstacle, but it is 4-stroke and gasoline powered, leading to a quieter and cleaner experience.

Our goal is to create a world class fishing and boating experience for you! That can only happen if you and your crew have fun. While we cannot make the fish bite, we can guarantee you an enjoyable and quick ride to the fish with music of your choice. Once on site, we will work with each angler based on their experience and give advice and helpful hints to most effectively handle the tackle and hook up the fishes below.

First, you have to understand what seasickness is to be able to combat it. It’s a condition that occurs when your brain has difficulty making sense of the information being sent from your eyes, ears, nose and body. While there is no one single factor that will keep you from getting seasick there are many things you can do to help your chances. Reliefband (https://www.reliefband.com/) and Dramamine (https://www.dramamine.com/) are two of the leading methods some people use to combat seasickness. However, we have found that not eating or drinking alcohol excessively in advance of or on a fishing trip, not falling asleep on the fishing trip and standing while scanning the horizon are some of the most important factors in preventing seasickness.

Vessels are designed by engineers who create environments with specific uses in mind. Generally speaking, a vessel with a cabin is anticipating that the crew will be sleeping on the vessel at some point. That is a great attribute for overnight or multiday trips, but for day only fishing trips creates a great deal of unusable space. A center console fishing vessel, like our Contender, allows for fishability literally from the bow to the stern of the boat providing ample separation of anglers and aids in them not becoming entangled with each other.

We pride ourselves in providing the finest fishing tackle possible and recently completely reset our entire inventory with brand new Daiwa equipment. The set ups cost us roughly $ 500, but we generally get up to 100 days usage. While we hope you don’t lose a unit, we will never ask you to replace it. Accidents happen. It’s part of the fishing life, relax and enjoy the day.

There are four things we will ask you to be mindful of while fishing aboard the FINSEAKER. As we will be bottom fishing most of the time, we will be using large weights to get the bait down to the fish. When you reel up to reset your bait or bring a fish abord please do all in your power to control the weight, to keep it from bashing into the side of the boat and damaging the gelcoat. Second, we will typically be using heavy monofilament leaders, please stop reeling before the leader reaches the rod tip as the knot can damage the tip eye with repeated impacts. Third, when catching bait fish or small fish it’s ok to hold the rod at a 45-degree angle. When hooking up with big fish please hold the rod horizontally or at a slight upward angle as a big fish will literally snap a rod held at a 45-degree angle in half in a millisecond. Fourth, while trying to land a big fish please understand that it will be doing everything in its power to escape, including wrapping your line up on/in the engine props. If this happens please alert the Captain and First Mate immediately as this is a huge safety hazard as the line will literally destroy the lube seal of the lower unit which in turn will lead to the lube escaping and saltwater entering and gear box failure, an $ 8,000 repair which we can avoid by merely untangling the fishing line as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, our boarding ladder on the Contender is not designed for much more than an emergency boarding. We will be happy to put you in contact with qualified scuba operators if this is an activity you would like to pursue.

The Contender has a ton of built-in storage space perfectly designed for your gear, food and drinks. We supply the ice and bottled water but ask that you bring whatever else you would like to consume, including food or beer/wine (no red wine or orange drinks please).

We include fish cleaning service within our service rates. Cleaned fish filets will be supplied in zip lock bags, not vacuum sealed, allowing you the opportunity to decide to consume fresh or seal on your own for proper freezing.

Our licensure allows us to take up to six anglers. On most trips our Captain will be accompanied by a first mate, bringing the total to eight persons.

You should relax, take a deep breath, and read on. Fishing can be one of the most amazing family, friend and business relationship building activities that you will ever encounter. Unlike other sports where you are actively competing against your playmates, most often in fishing you’re simply cheering each other on and celebrating with each fish landed.

In the Big Bend Region of Florida, the water depth is very shallow, generally gaining a foot of depth per mile travelled from shore necessitating runs of 30 to 130 miles to reach the targeted species. We grant the customer the choice of fishing closer to shore or further from shore, with the associated fuel consumption. Our offshore gulf coast fish are migratory, going deeper in the warmer months in search of cooler water, and shallower in cooler months in search of warmer water. Our Captain will provide his best guidance based on all weather conditions including water and air temperatures, barometric pressure, moon cycle, and tides, and will reach agreement with each customer before leaving port.

Our standard hours of operation are 7AM to 5PM, 10 hours. However, different times of the year, targeted species and weather necessitate individual fishing plans that may start earlier or go later. Please coordinate with our Captain.

Generally, we advise clients to plan for a 10-hour day which includes travel time, but that can be extended or shortened depending upon time of year, species targeted, weather conditions and more. Coordination with our Captain will yield the most specific fishing plan.

Depending on the day and targeted species we will use frozen bait, live bait and artificial baits. Our Captain and Mate will ready the tackle and set up the bait for you. If the bite is happening really fast and the crew is busy helping the other anglers and you don’t want to wait, feel free to grab a bait and get back out to the fish.

On the gulf coast of Florida, the offshore species include amberjack, cobia, grouper and snapper. We will catch an occasional shark as well. All species are monitored and managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (https://myfwc.com/) and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (https://gulfcouncil.org/). The season for some species is year-round subject to bag and size limitations, whereas others, like red snapper are limited to June 1st to mid-August each year.

Layered, water resistant, clothing. Hat. Sunscreen cream. Sunglasses. Slip resistant boat shoes (no black soles please). Whatever you wish to eat or drink beyond bottled water (no red wine or orange drinks please).