My family had a blast with Ethan, even though the fishing was what the locals consider tough!  We had water temperatures near 100 degrees but Captain Ethan knew where the Snook & Redfish would be hiding!  He put us on some monsters right away…  They were some of the hardest fighting fish I have ever felt.  We even caught a couple sharks!!

On our trip we also saw several different species of other fish, birds and mammals.  I chose the longer 6 hour trip which was probably out of our league for fishing with my wife and two young daughters who are constantly glued to their cell phones.  And just when I thought my youngest was going to make the trip unbearable with her usual complaining when things get slow and hot… Ethan steps up and has no problem engaging the kids at their level with exciting stories and wildlife knowledge.  So the kids never lost interest.  We’ve been on trips before when the Captain just didn’t have a personality and it just makes for a bad day on the water. 
Ethan has a great personality and we could have stayed on the water with him all day…  He kept our kids (two teenaged divas) engaged and that was more important to me than the fish we brought home. 

It truly could have been a bad trip due to the conditions but I think with the right attitude and Captain you can make any day on the water a great day regardless of the fish you catch or bring home.  But don’t get me wrong we still caught a lot of fish! We just were not expecting this good of an experience considering the conditions.

  I remember several other fishing charters making contact as they wrapped their days up only two report 1 or 2 fish being caught their entire day while we had caught several.  But it took work.  I was sure glad we chose Reel Sanibel we were willing to put in the work and so was he.  I honestly felt so lucky to be on that boat that day… even though we brought a bunch of Bananas!  If you want your family to feel comfortable with your Charter Captain and remain engaged even if the fishing sucks as well as know that your captain is doing all he can to create a memory for you choose Reel Sanibel.  Just remember the fish are not just going jump in your boat…  you gotta be willing to put in the time and expose yourself to the elements if you want to come home happy.  My biggest fear was taking my teenage daughters and keeping them excited… that happened!  Thanks Ethan!!!!!

Captain Ethan was very friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating host. Although the recent hurricane (Ian) did a lot of damage and a red tide caused some challenging issues (Punta Rassa boat ramp damaged so pick up point had to be moved further across the bridge to Sanibel island and many species of fish were decimated by the red tide), Ethan made the best of the situation and offered choices and suggestions to try to accommodate our preferences ( we preferred catching fish to bring home to eat rather than trophy fish that we couldn’t necessarily bring home to eat because of fishing regulations). Also, expect to pay $40 for parking your car in the boat ramp pick up area. We did have fun and managed to catch some trout and a mackerel.

Booked an offshore trip Captain Ethan let us know ahead of time offshore was horrible fishing at the time. Gave us the option to go inshore instead, which we choose to do, he put us on fish right away. Definitely recommend we had a blast.

My family and I were worried about the weather. Ethan even reached out to give us a chance to cancel before we drove the hour to him. Trip couldn’t have gone better. Ethan did all the work from start to finish. He was super great with my kids (girls). If I’m ever lucky enough to come back down this way I will definitely book with him again. Thanks again Ethan, my family really enjoyed your trip.

This was one of my first trips with a boat captain and it turned out to be everything and more than i expected.  Captain Ethan was knowledgable and skilled and put me on fish all day.  We caught numerous Snook one pushing 39 inches and a Redfish of around 10 pounds.  It was one of the most memorable fishing experiences i have ever had. This is one fine Captain!