Name: 3rd Degree Charters
Address: Key West, FL
Price range: $700 - $1300
Rating: 5

About Your Guide

A Certified Damn Good Guide is someone who goes above and beyond to show you an incredible experience on your trip. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Paulie Marchan

Certified Damn Good Guide

Independent Guide

Laid-back

Instructional

Adventurous

Quality

Talkative

Expert Oriented

About Your Guide

Paulie Marchan

Certified Damn Good Guide

Independent Guide

Born and raised on and in the waters of Key West, FL Captain Paulie is a 5th generation Conch. Most of his early knowledge of the waters comes from his father Paul Jr., who also grew up in Key West and was a light tackle charter guide. Paulie spent a lot of time on the docks as a kid learning from many of the great local guides as well, hoping to one day be able to guide as well.

Paulie spends most of his time on the water, fishing, diving, and hanging out on sandbars with family, friends and clients. He also loves to share his knowledge of the waters while just exploring the backcountry, mangroves and sandbars.

Fishing with families where the opportunity to teach about fishing in the Keys, rather than just doing everything for the customer or client has always been a big part of fishing for him. “It’s always nice to see people enjoy the process of what we do as guides to produce a day of fishing.” Diving for Spiny lobster is another of Paulie’s favorite ways to spend a day. An art in its own right which takes practice and patience.

Captain Paulie can also take a day and spend it shelling. There are many species of shells located in the keys, you just have to know where and how to look for them. “Most of the good shells you have to dive for. Anywhere between 1 to 4 feet of water is where the quality shells are usually found, (cones, cowries, trumpets.”) Whether it's fishing or diving, it's always a great day in the boat.

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Rapid Fire Guide Q & A

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?

Aside from very large sharks, the largest keeper I’ve ever caught is a 180 pound Goliath Grouper, back when it was still legal to keep them.

If you were cooking for all your friends what would you cook?

An assortment of fried fish especially Snapper and Grouper with black beans, rice and plantains or fresh Tuna salad, tartare, sesame crusted fried tuna.

What’s your favorite band?

To many to list.

What’s your favorite movie?

Men In Black. I will watch it every time I run past it.

Rapid Fire Guide Q & A

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?

Aside from very large sharks, the largest keeper I’ve ever caught is a 180 pound Goliath Grouper, back when it was still legal to keep them.

If you were cooking for all your friends what would you cook?

An assortment of fried fish especially Snapper and Grouper with black beans, rice and plantains or fresh Tuna salad, tartare, sesame crusted fried tuna.

What’s your favorite band?

To many to list.

What’s your favorite movie?

Men In Black. I will watch it every time I run past it.

What’s your favorite sports team?

Not into sports.

What’s your drink of choice?

Sweet iced tea or the occasional Captain and Diet Coke.

What was your last halloween costume?

A hippie.. for Fantasy Fest. I think!!

What do you want for Christmas this year?

I never want gifts. But my wife never listens to me when I tell her that!!!

How did you get started guiding?

I guess you can say it’s in my blood, but my dad was a guide here for many years, so I grew up on the ocean.

What makes you different from other guides?

It’s not a job for me, it’s truly my passion. I enjoy everything being on the water had to offer.

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3rd Degree Charters Trips

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Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Deep Sea, Nearshore Fishing in Key West

Private Full Day Fishing Charter

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 4 People From $1,300

Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Inshore, Deep Sea Fishing in Key West

Private Half Day Fishing Charter

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 4 People From $1,000

Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Snorkeling in Key West

Private 4 Hr Lobster Snorkeling

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 4 People From $1,000

Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Eco Tour, Boat Cruise, Booze Cruise in Key West

Private 6 Hour Sandbar Excursion

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 6 People From $700

Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Snorkeling in Key West

Private 6 HR Lobster Snorkeling

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 4 People From $1,150

Damn Good

Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.

Inshore, Deep Sea, Nearshore in Key West

Private 6 Hour Fishing Charter

100% (12) Guided by Paulie

28 ft 1 - 4 People From $1,150

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Recent Reviews of 3rd Degree Charters

5.0

based on 5 reviews

Lucas

Verified Review

We had an absolute blast on this charter! Captain Paulie is a great captain. He put a lot of effort into making sure we were catching fish and enjoying ourselves. I highly recommend him and would go again.

Lucas

Verified Review

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Nargiz

Verified Review

We had an amazing lobstering trip with Captain Paulie! He made the whole experience really fun and was also very informative throughout the trip. We checked a couple different spots and ended up getting plenty of lobster, which made it even better. He even cleaned everything for us afterward. Such a great experience from start to finish, and we would definitely recommend him!

Nargiz

Verified Review

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Garon

Verified Review

Paulie was an awesome captain. I can’t say enough good things about him. We weren’t sure we’d find my dream dolphin fish since they were pretty scattered…captain Paulie found them and put us on em! The best fishing charter I’ve been on in a long time. I’d recommend him to everyone.

Garon

Verified Review

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Response from Paulie:

Thank you for your very thoughtful review. I had a great time with you and your family. So glad we found some Dolphin for you!!

Response from Paulie:

Thank you for your very thoughtful review. I had a great time with you and your family. So glad we found some Dolphin for you!!

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Sarah

Verified Review

Captain Paulie was incredible - engaging, entertaining and put us on the spots (limits achieved!). Kids and adults had a great time and can’t wait to come back and charter Captain Paulie again. Highly recommend!!

Sarah

Verified Review

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Response from Paulie:

Thank you so much Sarah. We really appreciate the positive feedback. I’m very glad that everyone had a good time. I had a great time with you all too. Enjoy those lobsters!!

Response from Paulie:

Thank you so much Sarah. We really appreciate the positive feedback. I’m very glad that everyone had a good time. I had a great time with you all too. Enjoy those lobsters!!

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Michael

Verified Review

100% would book again. My group had the BEST time with Captain Paulie!! He made sure we all caught plenty of fish big and small and that everyone had a great time! We each caught numerous snapper, jack, and even a Barracuda!

We HIGHLY recommend Captain Paulie!

Michael

Verified Review

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Response from Paulie:

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a great review. It’s greatly appreciated. I’m very happy everyone had a good time. I look forward to fishing with you all again soon. Enjoy the rest of your stay. Captain Paulie

Response from Paulie:

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Potential Target Species

Color-coded seasonality below is based on .

View Full Species Seasonality Chart » View Recent Key West Fishing Reports »

Get it while it's HOT!
This species is in play.
You might get lucky (as long as things are in-season).
Couldn't tell ya! (no data)

Techniques

Artificial Lure Fishing

Types of Trip

Recent Fishing Reports

Mid September 2026

Our trip yesterday was a scramble but we had two keeper muttons, a handfull of mangy's (6 or 7) and some other assorted snappers. The bugs have been keeping clients busy and it's been nice being in the water over the last month because of the heat. A few sand bar trips as well keeping us busy.

Mid August 2026

Hey guys. Had Jen P and her crew out recently to try their hand at catching spiny lobster for the first time. Everyone ended up catching a few. Plenty for lunch and some for dinner.

Mid July 2026

Fishing has been decent but mostly mangys and yellowtail on the reef. Still a few muttons being caught but not as good as it was during the spawns. Dolphin have not been great but still some small fish being caught in our area. The sargasso weed is still making trolling difficult but if you can find a lane you can get a few. Looking forward to the dive season coming up for spiny lobster!