Linda D SportFishing

  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.

  The worst experience of one of our many Keys trips. This guys are crooks, It looks like they are good from the site and reviews but they took our money... read more and never took us out. We listed who was going on sign up and with our big family of 5 kids they said we had to leave one behind, even though we stated exactly how many people were coming. I talk to the owner Bill Wicker and he had the nerve to ask if I could read...Lol Then said he was keeping our $1060 we paid in advance, keep in mind with full knowledge of the people coming. That goodness for Credit Card disputes. This guy is a bum.

  Linda D's charter was not bad. We went out on the Linda D V and I was hoping there would be some AC but there wasn't. It wasn't bad through... read more inside but outside it was super bright and hot. Make sure you bring long sleeve UV protective clothes, sunglasses and a big round hat.

Trolling can be quite boring so we asked if we could add some time to drop line and fish stuff. CPT Wickers recommended that we start that as earliest as possible. Which we went on his recommendation and it just happen to work out for us. It's Mahi Mahi season and I really wanted to catch on this trip but since we were going to start off just dropping line we were catching yellow tail. We had two lines down bottom trying to catch groupers which to me was not as successful as the Yellow tail. CPT Wickers and his first mate Josh i think was his name were litterly walking us through exxxxxactly how to let our lines and then reeling techniques. They were the experts and it was paying off. I don't think Josh was able to bait us fast enough to catch all the fishes. Even CPT Wickers came down to assist a little. I think we ended up only catching 1 fat grouper between two lines bottom fishing and the other two just dropping line. The two catching yellow tail had to switch off the bottom line guys so they could get some action.
CPT Wickers and his first mate made sure they kept throwing chum and shaking a bait bag to keep the fishes coming. So you kind of get your moneys worth there.

We eventually ended up trolling after a while but CPT Wickers already warned us that there wasn't much Mahi Mahi biting from reports on the radio from the other boats.  I think we spent almost 2 hours of trolling of no bites. We eventually got a Barracuda. Then an Amberjack that we threw back. The third fish trolling was a fighter and the first mate was excited and screamed it's probably a blue Marlin. It was a good 10 mins of fighting and then this bright green/yellowish glow beamed from the water. IT WAS A MAHI MAHI! So Beautiful a really good size. Meanwhile when this is all going on. CPT Wickers yelled at the mate to get him a rod and from the top deck he threw the line in where another Mahi Mahi was visable. Hooked him and then passed it to one of my other friends to reel in. So we ended up with two Mahi Mahi and although I didn't get to reel one in which was quite sad. I was still happy to see one in person with all the colors.  I guess maybe next time......

CPT Wickers and his 1ST Mate know their craft. They are great folks.
Overall we had an amazing time.

The last tip is to ride up top with the CPT to get shade and a nice breeze.

  Excellent charter service! Capt. BILLY and 1st Mate Shawn hooked us up within 15 mins of putting bait out. They set the bar very high for our next charter on... read more Thursday, that may be hard to reach for competitors! Boat was ready to go when we arrived, clean and loaded.

  I've been on plenty of chartered and guided trips and I've come to believe that the captain and mate make the trip... and Captain Phil and Mate Ryan were awesome.... read more  We did two full-day trips and would definitely return again.  We met Captain Billy (owner of the fleet) at the end of the day and he seemed to be good guy too.

1st Day: showed up early and Ryan was prepping the boat.  He was friendly and ran us through our options.  Phil was on time and had us rolling for the day.  Started off-shore and hooked a dolphin and sail fish (9 footer!).  Got great photos with the help of the crew.  Spent the second half of the day bottom fishing and jigging - caught a few shark, snapper and grouper.  Crew filleted all for us and froze the fish overnight so we could take them home.

2nd Day: We told Captain Phil we wanted to catch a bunch of snapper and eating fish.  Lit it up all morning long in more than a few spots... fishing is fishing, not catching - but having a crew who knows the spots and what they are doing makes a big difference. Limited out on snapper!

  Cold, windy and cloudy day made spectular by Captain Billy and First Mate Bobby.  Once we got out to the fishing grounds, we immediately starting getting strikes.  Landed 15 and... read more lost 2 in a span of 4 hours.  Caught 13 black fin tuna, the largest just over 22.5 lbs.  First Mate Bobby is the hardest working First Mate I have experienced and I have been on a lot of charter trips.  This was the best charter experience I have ever had.

  Holy Mackerel! What a cool experience. We were only out for 3-4hrs but this was the perfect amount of time for the 4 of us. Each fish we caught was... read more a workout (& delicious) including several Mackerel, a Blackfin Tuna & a Sailfish. Shawn & the rest of the Linda D team were knowledgeable about the fish, the area, and did a wonderful job. I'd highly recommend Linda D for your next charter adventure when in Key West!

  Great Day on the water in Key West!  If you are looking for a good captain that puts you on FISH, Captain Billy on the Linda D is your guy.... read more  Proof is in the pictures.  Limited Red Snappers and loaded the cooler with fresh fish.  Definitely would recommend this boat if your looking to fish while in Key West!

  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!

  5 persons went on a 6hr charter in early April. The Captain was "Craig" or Gregg". He only took us trolling in spite of my asking 3 times to try... read more actually pole fish at wrecks or reefs. Trolling is a line set by the Mate in hope of passing a fish that grabs it as the boat moves along.Then you get to reel it in. Nothing happens most of the time.We caught 3 barracudas and a small mackerel. Even though the fish were not biting and my asking to try something else, the Captain persisted in just keep going. Trolling is hardly any work for either the Captain or Mate. It became an endless non stop boat ride . Everyone was unhappy and said they would not come again.  I really do not know what happened-is this what is available other than a head boat? I actually held a pole and caught fish myself on a head boat. Perhaps this was a bad day hired Captain. He probably figured tourists would not be back anyway and why bother.  Maybe if one asked BEFORE getting on a boat about how much trolling the ride will entail  it would help avoid a $200.00 per person endless, non stop boat ride!

  Today was a great day fishing, I choose the Linda D charter boat over all the others, based off their Yelp reviews, and rating!
The deckhand Mike was awesome! He... read more was busting ass and moving fast all day long to make sure everyone on he boat had a blast! Our boat landed 12 fish total, giving everyone 2 fish caught! I must say I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I was to catch the biggest fish of the day! It's a feeling I know to well as I always seem to land the biggest fish now matter the group I am with!
No fish story!!!
If you want to have the time of your life, I highly suggest getting aboard the Linda D!!! They put you on the fish for sure!!!!

  We had 12 persons and two boats.  Fish often in Gulf for Big Fish off of Alabama Coast.  First time we fished shallow and for little snapper.  Everyone enjoyed themselves.... read more Lots of action and too much fish to eat.  Capt Billy and Asst Adam did a wonderful job.  I would return for this as it is good fun for larger crowds and no rough seas.  Recommend them very much.

  Always have a fantastic time with Billy on the Linda D V. Have gone several times over the years and have never been disappointed. He always makes sure you get... read more the best fishing available for that season. His mates are always very helpful and knowledgeable of their job. I highly recommend going. Great experience!

  My wife and I took Linda D V over Labor Day weekend and had a blast! We did a 3/4 excursion and caught around 20 fish or so. My wife... read more Cat caught the Key West fishing tournament record for Skip Jack tuna at 19lbs! We had a fun time with Billy and Adam. Very friendly people and very knowledgeable. We will book again with Lind D Charters when we go back out to the keys. No fought about it.

  What a great time!  Yesterday, my husband, son and I went out on one of Linda D's Charter boats and had a great experience.  Our Captain Billy and his First... read more Mate, Adam were so helpful when it came to showing us the proper techniques for catching Yellowtail and Adam did a great job snagging a Cobia, while assisting my son in reeling it in.  The boat was clean and in tip top shape.  At the end of the fishing day, we caught 50 Yellowtail, 1 Cobia and quite a few Grunts.  Billy recommended an amazing restaurant where we can bring our fresh catch in and they cook it for us.  We ended a perfect day of fishing with an amazing meal!  We will definitely be seeing Billy and Adam again in the future.  Thanks guys!

  My group and I went out with Billy and Adam on the Linda D V and it was awesome! They were not only professional but knowledgeable.  We caught fish left... read more and right and a variety of fish. Great experience and I will definitely be back next year!

  Found on Yelp and not disappointed! Captan Jimmy and Adam where great. Kids had a blast. Book the Linda D and you won't be disappointed. The crew was great with... read more the kids! Adam kept the hooks baited for everyone.

  We went out with Daniel and Ryan on the Linda D IV and had a spectacular time! They were pumped and ready to go from the moment we left the... read more dock. They took us way out to catch the big fish, and boy did they deliver. We were catching smaller size mahi's all day, then we hit the big boy! My husband reeled in a big bull mahi! These guys were great from start to finish, super friendly and very professional. We fished with Captain Billy Wickers on our last trip to the keys and we'll be back to Linda D sport fishing on our next trip! Keep up the GREAT work guys!