Galveston Fish Commander with Captain Experiences

Recent Reviews of Galveston Fish Commander

4.1

based on 8 reviews

Mitzi

Verified Review

Mitzi

Verified Review

I will start by saying this was by far the worst guided fishing trip I have ever taken. I normally do 2 a year and have used this company before with much better treatment. The two guys that took us out were disrespectful, neglectful, racist, and assholes to be polite. I flew my father and father in law to Texas to for a pre Father’s Day get together. I also had 3 of my best friends join us. It was the worst time for everyone.

1. The boat was too small for 6 people not including the captain of the boat and deck hand. There was barely any room t walk on the boat let alone fish. We were so crowded that we were fishing over each other. We were constantly tangling each other’s lines. On one occasion, the captain called my friend stupidly under his breath. My friend and I heard him clearly say it. The wind was a bit high and strong. The captain and deckhand asked us to throw our baits near the rocks which was impossible. They expected us to throw a line against the wind with no weight or lead except for the weight of a baby shrimp. We couldn’t throw any further than 6 to eight feet out. When I ask for a bobber or to add some lead to give us some ability to cast out, we weee ignored. One of them talked about the presentation of the shrimp which I understand. If we can’t cast, presentation does us no good. With the wind and current, a small amount of weight wouldn’t have mattered. Instead he took my rod as if he was going to make adjustments, he told us to bring in all the lines so we can move 30 min before our time was up. If we were going to move, we should have moved earlier to cast down wind. Out of 6 people with my group, we took home 5 or 6 fish. I caught 5 of the 6. Not only did we only catch 6 fish, the captain totally ignored our request to target sheep head and red fish. He told us we would be fishing for trout. I don’t like trout. The captain hadn’t nerve to call my wife or text her telling her that we had a ln excellent day and that we caught 21 fish when we only caught 6 fish.
2. My father is 80 year old and my father in law is 72. I own a boat and know how to deal with deal swells and white caps. The captain tossed my 80 year old father up and down the boat and my friends. I was bothered by his crap especially with my dad. My dad complained about his head and neck hurting afterwards. I am tempted to reach out to my attorney to see what options I have.
3. The captain kept blasting the music in our ears up front to the point it hurt our ears. The captian and deck hand played a song that racially depicted my group as monkeys. I knew what he was doing. He didn’t know I knew. In a different situation, a thought such as this would have never crossed my mind. He proceeded to joke with other guides next to us in an attempt to belittle my friends and family by playing the music loudly indirectly calling us monkeys while his deckhand gyrated on the back of the boat as if he was dancing.
4. The last thing and most disrespectful of all was a request I made to use the bathroom. Both captain and deckhand ignored my request. Instead both told me to get in the water to use the bathroom. He told me to get in water. He didn’t ask if I could swim. He didn’t ask if I felt comfortable. He just ignored me. They had a porta potty on the boat. He would not let me use it. He tried to get in front of his shitty actions by sending my wife a text talking about his porta potty being broken but he still let us use it. He is full of lies. I knew it was there because my friend saw it when he put his hat in the cabinet. He never said I’ll take u back to docks. He just ignored my request.

Ive come a long way in life. I’m successful and financially very comfortable. To not jeopardize my career and freedom, I gave both of them a pass as being young and stupid. My instinct was to physically destroy both of them on that boat but my mind told me otherwise. I had to convince a couple of my partners from doing the same. Overall this was the worst experience I e ever had with a charter. Attached is the bullshit texts he sent wife. After all of this, they offered 50% refund. I am a business owner of several franchises. I would have expected much more and offered much more resulting from a situation described above.

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Response from Captain Experiences:

Good morning David and Mitzi. Our goal is to have everyone leave their trip with a great taste in their mouth, and it’s clear that this wasn’t the trip of a lifetime. I empathize with the wind picking up and the boat feeling small, and I can see how frustrating that could be. While there are no guarantees in fishing regarding the weather or the fish, when we spoke on the phone and heard that you were dissatisfied with the trip we didn’t hesitate to refund 50% of the trip value and offer 20% off any future trip with us so we could make it up to you. When this offer was immediately declined and a full refund was expected, and we heard threats of legal action (and physical violence like above), we began to feel like this was just an attempt to get a free trip.

We can’t control the weather and we do offer larger boats on our site, and maybe we could have done a better job steering you towards a bigger boat, but there is a reason 6 people is the legal limit on most charter boats, and 6 people casting at once is rarely practical on any size boat. Overall, our guides are in the business of keeping everyone safe and giving you the best chance of catching fish. When we go to a certain spot, or cast in a certain direction, it is to give you the best opportunity to go home with some fish in the cooler. Your group caught over 20 fish, of which 5 were legal size to keep. To speak to some of your other points, our captains aren’t in the business of degrading our charter guests, who we rely on for tips, word of mouth referrals, and future repeat business.

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Chad

Verified Review

Awesome fishing experience with Darren with Gslveston Fish Commander!

Chad

Verified Review

Awesome fishing experience with Darren with Gslveston Fish Commander!

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Shirley

Verified Review

Shirley

Verified Review

Oh, man, let me tell you about this fishing charter in Galveston. If you want an adventure on the high seas that rivals Moby Dick without the depressing ending, book a trip with Captain Sean and his first mate Abbie. These folks know their stuff.

So, we start the day with my stepdad, bless his heart, hooking a stingray. Yeah, you read that right. He thought he was reeling in a sea monster. The water was choppy, and I was starting to think this was gonna be a long day of nothing but stories about the one that got away. But Captain Sean, the Gandalf of the Gulf, says, "Hold my beer," and finds us the perfect spot.

The man’s a fish whisperer. I don't know how he does it. One minute, we’re fighting the waves, thinking we’re gonna spend the day swapping sea shanties, and the next, we’re reeling in trout like it’s a fish buffet. Captain Sean knows every nook and cranny of that ocean like it’s his backyard.

And let’s not forget Abbie, the deckhand. She’s like the ninja of fishing. You need a new bait? She’s got it before you even ask. Tangled line? She’s on it. The only thing she can’t do is make your stepdad catch anything other than weird sea creatures.

By the end of the trip, we had caught our limit. We were tired, sunburned, and grinning like idiots. It was one of those days you remember forever. If you’re looking for a fishing trip that’ll make you feel like you’re in a Hemingway novel, do yourself a favor and book with Captain Sean and Abbie. Five stars aren’t enough for these legends.

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Justin

Verified Review

Had a good time with capt shawn and his son. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Would for sure book him again.

Justin

Verified Review

Had a good time with capt shawn and his son. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Would for sure book him again.

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Brandi

Verified Review

So this definitely was not the experience we were hoping to have. Our Captain showed up late it very much appeared that he was hungover and or he just didn't have any desire to be there. Everybody has their bad days but speaking as a former hunting and fishing guide he had no interest in doing his job. If I wanted to sit on a boat and catch catfish I could have stayed home. He...

Brandi

Verified Review

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Response from Captain Experiences:

Hey Brandi, I'm sorry to hear about this experience. It sounds like the fishing conditions were rough all around. We will be sure to chat with Captain Shawn about the day. In the meantime, please give us a call so we can give you a coupon code to get you back out on the water!

Response from Captain Experiences:

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Roy

Verified Review

Trip was good. Timely departure, waters were nice. Unable to catch much fish that day, but fish were there just not biting. Overall experience was good. I liked Captain Shawn and will do future bookings.

Roy

Verified Review

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Leslie

Verified Review

HAD A GREAT TIME FISHING. SHAWN IS A GREAT GUIDE, NICE BOAT, TOO. CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN.

Leslie

Verified Review

HAD A GREAT TIME FISHING. SHAWN IS A GREAT GUIDE, NICE BOAT, TOO. CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN.

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Kiera

Verified Review

Captain Roy took great care of us during our trip for our father's birthday! It was a fun and entertaining trip. We caught quite a bit of fish. We will be using this team again for a day of fun!

Kiera

Verified Review

Captain Roy took great care of us during our trip for our father's birthday! It was a fun and entertaining trip. We caught quite a bit of fish. We will be using this team again for a day of fun!

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