About Your Trip

Water Type

Inshore

Skill Levels

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Weather

You won’t lose your deposit if the trip is canceled due to weather.

About Your Trip

On this inshore fishing adventure in Tampa Bay, you'll get out there and enjoy the great fishing and natural beauty this area has to offer!

Captain Phil runs these trips aboard his 24' Dorado "hybrid" bay boat, which has a 10" draft and is perfect for navigating the shallow waters of Tampa Bay, where you'll be targeting Mangrove Snapper, Redfish, and Snook. As you depart the marina, Captain Phil will provide a brief safety orientation and explain the fishing techniques you'll be using to target these species.

Once you reach your fishing grounds, Captain Phil will use his knowledge of the local area to find the best spots to drop your lines. As you work your way through the mangrove-lined channels, you'll be targeting Mangrove Snapper, a delicious and feisty species that thrives in the shallow waters of Tampa Bay. You'll use both live bait and lures to entice these fish, and once they take the bait, you're in for a fight! Next, you'll move on to target Redfish, a prized game fish known for its powerful runs and flaky filets!
Finally, you'll switch gears to target Snook, another popular inshore species that is known for its stealthy behavior and explosive strikes. You'll use live bait to lure these fish into biting, and when they do, you'll need to be ready for a battle that will test your angling skills.

As you reel in your catches, Captain Phil will be there to help you land them and keep them fresh for the ride back to the marina. At the end of your inshore fishing adventure, you'll have a cooler full of delicious fish that you can take home to cook up for dinner. You'll also have memories of a thrilling day on the water that you'll never forget.

All passengers 12 and under must wear a life jacket at all times while onboard the boat.

Amenities

Water Type

Inshore

Skill Levels

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Tackle

All rods, reels, and tackle are included.

Fish Cleaning

This guide will clean your catch for you.

Beer

Feel free to enjoy responsibly, but please no glass.

Live Bait

Live bait is included for this trip.

Weather

You won’t lose your deposit if the trip is canceled due to weather.

Kid Friendly

This trip can cater to kids.

Boat Restroom

No, this boat does not have a bathroom on board.

Disability Friendly

This trip is not suited for those with disabilities.

Flexible Cancelation

The deposit for this trip is non-refundable.

Lunch

Please provide your own food / snacks.

Pricing Matrix

	4 Hours	6 Hours	8 Hours
1 Person	$700.00	$800.00	$900.00
2 People	$700.00	$800.00	$900.00
3 People	$750.00	$850.00	$950.00
4 People	$800.00	$900.00	$1,000.00
5 People	$850.00	$950.00	$1,050.00
6 People	$900.00	$1,000.00	$1,100.00

Pay 15% of the price as a deposit today, with the balance due on the day of the trip.

About Your Guide

Phil P.

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"!

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

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

Start Location & Lodging Options

Ruskin, Florida

Areas Fished

About Your Boat

Boat photo for Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Trip

Boat Type: Bay Boat
Boat Manufacturer: Dorado
Boat Length: 24'
Boat Restroom: No

Trip Details & Amenities

Water Type

Inshore

Skill Levels

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Tackle

All rods, reels, and tackle are included.

Fish Cleaning

This guide will clean your catch for you.

Beer

Feel free to enjoy responsibly, but please no glass.

Live Bait

Live bait is included for this trip.

Weather

You won’t lose your deposit if the trip is canceled due to weather.

Kid Friendly

This trip can cater to kids.

Boat Restroom

No, this boat does not have a bathroom on board.

Disability Friendly

This trip is not suited for those with disabilities.

Flexible Cancelation

The deposit for this trip is non-refundable.

Lunch

Please provide your own food / snacks.

Target Species

Color-coded seasonality below is based on the current month (March).

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

Everything Else to Know

Reviews

4.0

based on 5 reviews

Brad

Verified Review

April 23

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”

Matt

Verified Review

November 23

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

Trip: Duck Hunting Tampa Bay

Chad

Verified Review

July 25

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!

Trip: Inshore Fishing + Lobstering

Josh

Verified Review

March 25

Josh

Verified Review

March 25

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.

Trip: Tampa Bay Shark Hunt

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.

Steven

Verified Review

November 5

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.