Frequently Asked Questions

What is Captain Experiences?

Captain Experiences makes booking fishing guides simple, effective, and trustworthy. Search Captain Experiences for your ideal trip, read our verified reviews, and book with our licensed and insured Damn Good Guides. We’re based in Texas and offer trips across the United States and beyond.

How Does Captain Experiences Work?

Follow these simple steps to Search It, Book It, Live It with Captain Experiences:

** Search It: **

1. Enter your fishing destination and date at captainexperiences.com.
2. Filter our trips based on location, group size, target species, and more.
3. View photos, videos, and trip info and read verified reviews to find the perfect trip for you.

** Book It: **

4. Choose your ideal trip and click “book now” to reserve your dates and pay your deposit.
5. Receive your QR code via email (like a mobile boarding pass).

** Live It: **

6. We'll connect you directly with your guide to talk specifics on location, conditions, strategies, recommended packing etc. and to answer any questions you may have.
7. On the day of your trip, show your guide your QR code on your phone’s screen. They will take a photo of it, payment will transfer automatically, and you’ll be all set to go fishing.
8. Stash your phone in the dry box and focus on fun with family and friends!
9. After your trip, please tip your guides and crew (10-20% is customary) and complete your own 100% verified review to pay it forward to the next group!

Where Are Your Guides?

Our Captain Experiences Damn Good Guides are located all over, from San Diego, California, to Chatham, Massachusetts, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Zambia, Africa! That being said, most of our guides can be found right here in Texas.

If we don’t have a guide in the specific area you’re looking for, reach out. We’re always adding new guides and will do our best to get you out on the water.

I'm new to fishing, what trip should I book?

Please refer to our introduction to fishing concepts, which goes over everything from water types, to how to choose a boat, to which species to target and everything in between!

How Do You Vet Your Guides?

In order to receive a trip through Captain Experiences, all of our guides must send us license and insurance information. We require our guides to upload current and complete license and insurance documents that meet local, state and federal requirements.

Beyond these firm requirements, we make sure our Damn Good Guides are knowledgeable and experienced professionals. We vet our guides just like you vet your friends. We make sure they’re fantastic people that we’d like to spend a day on the water with. We guarantee you’ll have a blast with our Damn Good Guides!

What Does 100% Verified Reviews Mean?

After booking your trip, you’ll receive a QR code via email (this is like a mobile boarding pass for your trip). On the day of your trip, show your guide your QR code on your phone’s screen, they will take a photo of it, and you’ll be all set to go fishing. Payment will transfer automatically and we will send you a link for you to leave your own 100% verified review after your trip.

Guides must scan a group’s QR code to receive payment and groups must present their QR code to leave a review. This mutually enforcing “virtual handshake” ensures all reviews were left by someone who actually met their guide and took their trip. No bots, no fake story from John Doe about a trip that didn’t happen; just 100% verified reviews.

We don’t tell you who the best guides are: our community does. It’s in the best interests of all involved to share honest reviews, and that’s what our 100% verified reviews encourage.

If you have a 5-star trip with one of our Damn Good Guides, please share your experience for others to book and enjoy. While our guides really are Damn Good, they’re only human. If your trip left something to be desired, please leave your honest and authentic review nonetheless. Our guides appreciate these reviews as well, as they provide valuable feedback for guides to improve for future groups.

How do I pay? Do I need cash at the dock?

Thanks to our QR code system, you’ll only need cash to tip guides and their crews (10-20% is customary).

Once your guide confirms your trip you’ll be charged your trip deposit. You’ll also receive a QR code via email. A QR code is simply a special black and white image that you will have on your phone. When you meet your guide to start your trip, show your QR code to your guide on your phone screen. They will take a photo of it, and the outstanding payment balance (the total trip value minus the deposit that you already paid) will be paid automatically using the same credit card you used to pay your deposit for the trip.

This simple, 5-second solution means there’s no need to bring cash or checks to the docks (aside from a tip for your guide and crew). Our QR code system also gets you out on the water faster as there’s no cumbersome check-in process.

How do I Communicate with my Guide?

Once your trip is confirmed, we'll connect you directly with your guide to discuss trip specifics.

Do I need a fishing license?

The license you purchase will depend on local regulations. Within the United States, you will need to get a fishing license based on the state in which you will be doing the fishing. You can consult the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for more information, or search online for purchase requirements in your state. Many local retailers will also sell fishing licenses in person.

Internationally, different countries and regions can have different requirements. It is best to check online or with a knowledgeable party before you go on your trip. When in doubt, you can confirm with your guide what is required for that area.

What if I have to cancel?

Our deposit and cancellation policies vary on a trip-by-trip basis. If you cancel before the indicated cancellation window, you’ll receive a full refund on your deposit.

If you cancel for any reason within the cancellation window, you will relinquish your deposit to your guide. These cancellation windows are set by our guides and protect them from lost revenue in the event that groups cancel without enough time for guides to rebook the date.

Where is Captain Experiences based?

Captain Experiences was founded in 2019 and we’re headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA.

What causes do you support?

Captain Experiences is relentlessly committed to supporting local fisheries and the ecosystems, industries, and communities they support through our active involvement with the IGFA, CCA, Trout Unlimited, and B.A.S.S.

We also dedicate our time and efforts to supporting active duty military servicemen and servicewomen, veterans, first responders, policemen and policewomen, and firefighters. If you dedicate yourself to these causes, please reach out for a 5% discount as a small token of our gratitude.

Booking a trip with Captain Experiences is a direct donation to these causes, and please reach out if you feel that Captain Experiences can help you in supporting these causes!

Still can't find what you need?

Contact us, we'd love to help out.

More in this series:

The Captain Experiences Story

What Does Captain Experiences Do?

How Does Captain Experiences Help Adventurers and Guides?

Who Does Captain Experiences Support?

Co-founders Attison and Jonathan casting just after sunrise in Aransas Pass, TX.