Linda D SportFishing

  Had a great day out on the water with Captain Billy and Patrick. With one drop of the line we hooked on to a huge shark. We caught a ton... read more of yellow tail. If the fish stopped biting, we were taken to different locations and immediately started catching fish in the new spots. Both Billy were super friendly and helpful teaching me the ropes as it was my first time fishing. I highly recommend the Linda D!

  Look no further.  

Took my two adult daughters deep sea fishing for the first time - a lifetime of memories were created.  Captain Tom and first mate Patrick exceeded expectations... read more on all fronts.  Patrick worked like a dog keeping all rods working...captain Tom kept us in fish the whole time.  Check photos for results - they speak for themselves- especially for a 4 hour afternoon fish in august! (Note: Released a handful more)

  This is the fourth charter trip in my life. Within 30 minutes of dropping the bait, we caught more fish than I have in all the other trips COMBINED!  And... read more we didn't stop there! Jay and Patrick were fun, knowledgeable and put us in a position to catch a lot of fish. Best thing was how they involved me and my boys in the trip, having us help them, which made the trip more interactive and fun.  Most incredible part. My son wanted to catch a shark. Announced the intention from the beginning. When one happened along, Jay and Patrick worked hard to make it happen. And it did! Thrilled for my boys to have that experience!
Thank your Jay, Patrick and Billy!!!

  Best fishing day ever!  We caught more fish than all the other boats combined that day.  Captain Billy knew where to find the fish and our fist mate Patrick worked... read more diligently all day helping us.  Great experience

  Best fishing experience ever!
You know it's going to be good when captain Tom introduced himself and said "it's going to be a great day of catching today!"
We had more... read more fish on than we had people I think.   Seriously- I've fished a lot of places and this has been the best!
Thanks Guys!

  I went out on a full day fishing charter aboard the Linda D V with my father this past Monday.  Our captain for this trip was Captain Jay and our... read more first mate was Patrick.  We were set up to leave Charter Boat Row at 7 AM and actually ended up arriving around 20 minutes or so earlier.  After a short talk with Captain Jay we pushed off early and were quickly trolling for some fish.  Whenever you book the boat they ask what you are looking to catch and I had noted that starting out with some mahi before trying for something bigger would be nice although anything was good for us.  Even if it was by coincidence, we ended up following that script exactly with some mahi on not too long after getting the lines into the water.  We ended up getting mahi on a number of times throughout the day which was nice.  First mate Patrick talked to us throughout the day and worked hard making sure that there wasn't any seaweed on any of the lines.  With the amount in the water that day he was almost constantly bringing one line or another in to get rid of some seaweed it had collected.  That seaweed also meant that we couldn't fish with any wire which was a problem later in the day whenever they thought that they had a wahoo bite.  Unfortunately we never did end up getting that big fish on although it wasn't from the lack of Patrick and Captain Jay trying to get us one.  At the end of the day we ended up with 11 dolphinfish caught and 3 more that we had let go due to them being small. Overall it ended up being a fun day for both my dad and myself and we left with a bag full of mahi which would be dinner that night for our group.

The bottom line for me is that I wouldn't hesitate to book with Linda D Sportfishing again in the future.  We caught a number of mahi which was nice and they tried hard to land us that bigger fish which both my dad and I appreciated.

  We had an awesome time on our trip! Tom and Alan did a wonderful job getting us on the fish. We enjoyed our time with them and the great conversations.... read more Alan's ability to help me with my skills and catching the biggest fish of the day was super! We left with more knowledge and experience in deep sea fishing than we started with. If your considering alternative STOP book here with Linda D it was the highlight of our trip. Ask for Alan and Tom! Thank again Alan our southern brother from another mother

  No wonder it's an award winning crew! Captain Wickers knows where the fish are and puts you to catch! Mate AJ made everything look too easy! It's nice to go... read more catching with people who truly love what they do and it showed. I'll be back 100%!

  Captain Johnny and mate Patrick love giving fishing tours and were good at knowing where the fish were. Also very good with nonprofessionals! Best fishing charter in a dozen over... read more the years. We had a great time.

  WHAT A TRIP!  One is never sure what their experience will be but can only have high hopes.

Well, if we were hoping for a 5 STAR experience, we set ouR... read more sights too low.  If a sixth star was somehow a 'thing', Billy and AJ would have sure earned it.

There were 3 main reasons they FULLY EARNED the 5-STARS plus the BONUS star.

1.  FAMILY Friendly for young ladies.  Fishing is frequently a guys-trip with booze, burping, and coarse language.  Coming with my father, wife, and 2 young daughters, I was curious to see how the dynamic would play out.  Well, I could not have been more pleased.  Before we even left the dock, First Mate AJ made my 11-year old feel super special by showing her around the boat before the rest of us boarded. AJ's fun-loving optimism only made the trip more enjoyable as the trip progressed. They were respectful and pleasant with all of us.
 TOTALLY impressed and relieved that Billy and AJ were so adaptable to their guests.

2. Flexible and GRACIOUS.  After being about only 30 minutes into open water (1 hr into the trip), my wife started feeling ill and it became clear to them that, even though she was willing to tough it out, for her to continue would not only be unpleasant for her but could actually be dangerous.  At Billy's confident prompting, we turned around and headed back to the dock.  She felt better once we got back into calmer waters, but all agreed that thinking anything would be different if she tried again would be foolhardy.  She decided to stay on land and we ventured back out for open water.  We were about 2 hours behind schedule and in my younger years, I may have been frustrated.  Now, I trust God's plan as being better than mine and for some reason this was it.

3.  We CRUSHED IT on the water. Well, no fishing trip is top-notch without catching a mess of fish.  Even though we got a late start and maybe BECAUSE we got a late start, we found ourselves finding some fortune quickly, pulling in close to 50 pounds of Mahi Mahi within the first hour and my 11-year old catching a 23-lb Bull Dolphin!  What an amazing experience for her and as her father... it was a great memory for me as well.

My daughter then wanted to see if we could go reef fishing before the day was done.  Upon that request, Billy pointed to boat back towards the island yet suggested we keep trolling. That was sage advice and we subsequently caught another 50 lbs or so of Dolphin bringing us to a subtotal of about 100 lbs across 14 fish.

On the way back in, Billy planted us on top of a wreck to do some quick bottom fishing.  We pulled up a 20 lb Black Grouper in just a matter of minutes.  Dropping the line back down yielded similar results, boating another large Black Grouper.  Upon finding such quick success, AJ suggested we sit tight and keep working the wreck rather than head to the reef where the results would likely yield smaller bounty if anything at all.

AS the day was rounding out, we boated another large Black Grouper and a couple of awesome sized Jacks! All in all we brought in over 20 or so fish for 200+ lbs.

Billy is a gracious and masterful boat Captain. Everything we tried, WORKED.  Not only did he keep putting us on the fish, but he also put us on the fish we specifically requested.  Seriously?  Wow.

AJ worked tirelessly throughout the day keeping 6 or more lines baited and untangled.  He was a master with the gaff which is hugely important.  (If you have ever lost a prize fish from a missed gaff, you know what I am talking about.)

If you found this review helpful, give it a thumbs up and make sure you book your trip with the Linda D - you will be glad you did (and YOU TOO WILL WONDER why they don't charge more than they do).

We. Will. Be. Back.

  Yesterday a group of 6 of us chartered out Linda D, we were in town for my wedding week and wanted to take a fishing trip. Captain Billy was excellent,... read more he knew where all the Grouper holes were and the boat was a nice smooth ride, we caught a ton of fish, outlet goal was to catch enough to feed a 40 person party for the following evening, and in the end we caught way too much fish and let the crew keep the remainder. We had a great time on the Linda D with Captain Billy and we would definitely go again when in Key West.

  Great experience!!! I went out on the Linda D IV with Captain Andy and deck boss Ryan. Both pros that make it look easy. We caught mackerel and bonita while... read more trolling. We got a big hit that I fought for a little over five minutes but I screwed up and allowed too much slack and the fish threw the hook. So then we went to a wreck site and went for amber jack. Caught a big one right off the bat, then hit a bonita then four more amber jacks that we released. By this time it was time to head back... thank god herself because my forearms are still cramping. I met Billy Wickers at the dock. Good guy! I recommend fishing with the Linda D family.

  Greatest fishing experience! Both captain and mate were awesome. They were beyond helpful and extremely knowledgeable. Caught more than we thought was possible!

  We booked the Linda D V 4 months in advance so we could use the inside air condition. It seems to be the norm in the Keys but you don't... read more always get what you book. When we showed up the older Linda D IV was the only boat there. I asked the Captain where our boat was and he seemed to have no clue we booked the other one. The choice was either leave and loose our money or go out on the inferior boat. We chose to go out. Everything was fine with the trip but when you don't get what you reserved it puts a damper on the trip. I've called and emailed for a small refund and shocker no response. The only thing I can do is warn others.

  We chartered the Linda D this week while on vacation. The deck hand was super kind, however we were bummed that the captain never gave us our change that was... read more owed to us $25 . That is even after we tipped 20% . No change said the captain, Andy. We said we would take 2 t-shirts for the difference and call it a day. All  of a sudden there was a case of the missing shirts and they just could not pin down Billy ... he was always just driving off when we called / stopped in. My husband was super cool about it, but we clearly got the run around. No shirts no change. Really????
You would think that they would appreciate cash business . Too bad this is the way they treat their customers.

  Great group of guys, put us on the fish and made us feel like old friends. Highly recommend doing the afternoon fish,  watching the sun disappear into the water after... read more fighting fish for the last couple of hours was amazing.

  Another awesome trip with Billy & Adam. I cannot say enough great things about them. This is our second trip & will not be our last with these guys. If... read more you want to have a enjoyable fun trip...book these guys. Last year did my research on charters & so glad I found them. They are top notch - well known & well respected throughout the entire town. They WILL NOT disappoint!

  I recently set up a charter with 2 boats for myself and 6 buddies and had an absolute blast!  Captain Billy and his crew were awesome, friendly, and put us... read more right on the fish.  We caught a ton of snapper, a rare grouper, and a couple of nurse sharks.  Highly recommend and will be back the next time we are in the Keys!

  First met Adam... We were impressed. Good deckhand. Sincere dude who did his job well. Worth the 20% customary tip.

Capt. Billy put us right on the mangrove snapper as... read more soon as we arrived to our first spot. He was a trend setter. He called all his other commercial fisher buddies over to share the feast. 26 boats were tight on us by the end of the hour.
We maxed out at 5 "each" but really 10 for me and my friend. We then caught a handful of yellowtail snapper on the surface and a 4-5 ft shark (cool but was a wasted of our time and was a catalyst to my seasickness. I called it quits after a little over an hour on the water since we both caught the seasick virus. I regret not sucking it up for one more hour to fish for dolphin, etc. My call. Can't blame the Capt.

  I just did a full day charter with Captain Billy in July.  On the trip was my daughter (20) and son (18).  We had a GREAT day with Captain Billy... read more and 1st mate Adam.  We started trolling, but all reports were that is was slow for mahi due to the impact of the alge on the west coast...so we re-routed and went reef fishing.  Billy was incredibly knowledgeable - we ended up catching about 50 fish in about 4 hours!  What I really appreciated was how professional Captain Billy was - since we hit our max catch, he only charged us a portion of the rate as we ended up not going the full day.  He did leave it to me if we wanted to go trolling the rest of the day, but was honest that it was pretty hot, and again, slow due to the conditions that were out of his control.  Billy and Adam were incredibly patient with us an helped us along the way.   When we returned we noticed other charters, with more people, had 1/4 of the catch that we had.  In addition, Captain Billy recommended New York Pasta Garden where they cooked out catch - and they treated us with 1st class service.  A really memorable experience for me and my kids.  I absolutely recommend Linda D!