Reel Escapes Fishing Charters

Ruskin, Florida
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Tampa Bay Shark Hunt

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.

Phil Pegley

Certified Damn Good 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.
Independent Guide
Talkative
Intense
Instructional
Beginner Oriented
Comfortable
Quality
Captain Phil is a full-service fishing and hunting guide with over 25 years of local knowledge and experience. He takes a unique approach to inshore and nearshore light tackle sportfishing.

Captain Phil also provides extreme angling experiences for Tarpon, Sharks, Goliath Grouper, and seasonal charters for Lobster and Scallops in other popular Florida destinations. Book a trip with him to see why Florida is "The Fishing Capital of the World"!

About Your Guide

Phil Pegley

Certified Damn Good Guide
Independent Guide
Captain Phil is a full-service fishing and hunting guide with over 25 years of local knowledge and experience. He takes a unique approach to inshore and nearshore light tackle sportfishing.

Captain Phil also provides extreme angling experiences for Tarpon, Sharks, Goliath Grouper, and seasonal charters for Lobster and Scallops in other popular Florida destinations. Book a trip with him to see why Florida is "The Fishing Capital of the World"!
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Rapid Fire Guide Q & A

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?
415 pound blue Marlin caught on our bay boat
If you were cooking for all your friends what would you cook?
Snapper, piccata, or creamy Tuscan mahi
Whats your favorite band?
Well-versed in all genres of music ex musician, turned fisherman
Whats your favorite movie?
Jaws or the outlaw Josie Wales

Rapid Fire Guide Q & A

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?
415 pound blue Marlin caught on our bay boat
If you were cooking for all your friends what would you cook?
Snapper, piccata, or creamy Tuscan mahi
Whats your favorite band?
Well-versed in all genres of music ex musician, turned fisherman
Whats your favorite movie?
Jaws or the outlaw Josie Wales
Whats your favorite sports team?
Florida college football teams
Whats your drink of choice?
Water on the boat kettle and sugar-free lemonade afterwards
What was your last halloween costume?
A pirate same as every day
What do you want for Christmas this year?
Light winds and blue skies
How did you get started guiding?
Many years of being on the water from Tampa Bay to Key West turned into me, showing my friends were not to run ground
What makes you different from other guides?
I don’t rely on information from others what I do are things that I’ve learned over the years myself
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Reel Escapes Fishing Charters Trips

Choose a trip to get started
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.
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin

Inshore Fishing in Ruskin

Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Trip

95% (19) Guided by Phil
24 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.
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin

Inshore, Nearshore Fishing in Ruskin

Tampa Bay Shark Hunt

95% (19) Guided by Phil
24 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.
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin
Fishing in Destin

Duck Hunting in Ruskin

Duck Hunting Tampa Bay

95% (19) Guided by Phil
24 ft 1 - 4 People From $350

Don't see what you're looking for?

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Recent Reviews of Reel Escapes Fishing Charters

4.0
based on 5 reviews

Matt

Verified Review

Communication was great. Phil did prep work for our trip and gave us options, which was great.

Matt

Verified Review

Communication was great. Phil did prep work for our trip and gave us options, which was great.
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Chad

Verified Review

We had a great Trip with Phil. I took my kids on a family Lobster trip. Phil helped teach my kids and we all had a great experience!

Chad

Verified Review

We had a great Trip with Phil. I took my kids on a family Lobster trip. Phil helped teach my kids and we all had a great experience!
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Josh

Verified Review

We had a terrible experience with Captain Phil on our charter fishing trip in the Tampa Bay. We’ve been on a number of charters in the past and feel we know what type of guide knowledge and service we could expect. Although Captain Phil called the night before to discuss our shark fishing trip he did not bring enough equipment or proper number of rods to successfully manage the trip. As a...

Josh

Verified Review

We had a terrible experience with Captain Phil on our charter fishing trip in the Tampa Bay. We’ve been on a number of charters in the past and feel we know what type of guide knowledge and service we could expect. Although Captain Phil called the night before to discuss our shark fishing trip he did not bring enough equipment or proper number of rods to successfully manage the trip. As a result of a large shark taking our line and stripping pole of its line he became argumentative, yelled at our kids & adults and became very frustrated with us as the anchor line became tangled around the propeller. When we reminded him that he never explained to our party what to do when a shark struck the line, he apologized and acknowledged he missed that part. With about one hour left in our trip we decided to move closer to our launch site and fish for smaller game fish. Once again, without explaining to our kids how he wanted them to fish or what our process should be he began to snap and become very frustrated with our children. When we asked him to stop yelling and just explain to us what we should be doing and how we should be doing it he apologized again and said his focus was on safety. If you or a friend is considering a charter with Captain Phil I would strongly advise you not book your trip based on our experience.
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Response from Captain Experiences:
Hey Josh, I am sorry to hear about this experience with Captain Phil. We've been working with him for a while and were surprised to hear that the trip did not live up to your expectations. Safety is always the number one priority on these trips and I hope you will give us a call soon so we can find a trip that is well suited for your family.

Response from Captain Experiences:

Hey Josh, I am sorry to hear about this experience with Captain Phil. We've been working with him for a while and were surprised to hear that the trip did not live up to your expectations. Safety is always the number one priority on these trips and I hope you will give us a call soon so we can find a trip that is well suited for your family.
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Steven

Verified Review

We would recommend Captain Phil 100%. He handled two rookies to saltwater fishing and all our questions like a champ. We truly enjoyed the day and to top it off he put my wife on a 5ft bullshark so mission accomplished.

Steven

Verified Review

We would recommend Captain Phil 100%. He handled two rookies to saltwater fishing and all our questions like a champ. We truly enjoyed the day and to top it off he put my wife on a 5ft bullshark so mission accomplished.
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Brad

Verified Review

Captain Phil is Great!!’n

Phil is very personable and put you on fish. Phil shared pointers on fishing techniques to help you catch fish. A lot of fishing action in the Tampa Bay fishery!!! You can’t go wrong by chartering with Phil, you’ll leave a friends. 😎

“Phil’s a damn GOOD Captain”

Brad

Verified Review

Captain Phil is Great!!’n

Phil is very personable and put you on fish. Phil shared pointers on fishing techniques to help you catch fish. A lot of fishing action in the Tampa Bay fishery!!! You can’t go wrong by chartering with Phil, you’ll leave a friends. 😎

“Phil’s a damn GOOD Captain”
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Potential Target Species

Color-coded seasonality below is based on .
View Full Species Seasonality Chart »
  • 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
Calling
Cut Bait Fishing
Decoy Hunting
Heavy Tackle Fishing
Light Tackle Fishing
Live Bait Fishing
Shotgun Hunting

Types of Trip

Duck
Inshore
Nearshore

Reel Escapes Fishing Charters Photo Gallery

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Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Trip
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Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing
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Duck Hunting Tampa Bay
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Duck Hunting Tampa Bay
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Tampa Bay Shark Hunt
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Tampa Bay Shark Hunt
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Duck Hunting Tampa Bay
Duck Hunting Tampa Bay
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Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing
Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Trip
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Tampa Bay Shark Hunt
Tampa Bay Shark Hunt
January 6th, 2023
Ruskin, Florida
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