Reel Surprise Charters, Orange Beach

Booked our trip with Reel Surprise in advance before our trip. We were traveling with young kids and wanted a morning excursion since the afternoon excursion would be hit/miss if the kids were tired/sleepy. Reel surprise (appropriately named) called the night before to make sure we were still coming and went on to tell us that our trip has been changed from morning to the afternoon. I told her that wasn't going to work and to reschedule me on the next morning trip (which was on our last full day in the area). I called them the night before the 2nd trip and again they cancelled the morning trip without even calling to tell us. There are way too many other boats and captains in the area to waste your time with these very unorganized people.

We signed up for a 4 hour fishing trip. We were told it would be about a one hour boat ride to the fishing grounds, 2 hours of fishing and another hour to get back. Sounded promising!! Well, we left the dock 30 minutes late but were promised the time would be made up. After about an hour, the "captain" came on the PA and said we were about there. He kept telling us that for 30 minutes. Finally, he stopped the boat and said to get ready to fish. Then he started "placing" the boat for a good spot. This took up more time. We finally got to fish for about 20 minutes but caught nothing. I did get to touch a piece of bait so I smelled like fish at least. On the way back, the "captain" trolled for fish. We did get to see him catch a pretty neat looking fish. At least he caught something. I'm glad I got to pay for that. Do not use these people to fish. It was the only time during our entire trip I felt scammed and robbed. Gulf Shores as a whole was great!

Can't believe these a$$holes are still in business. Go elsewhere -- ANYWHERE !!

I have been on charter boats from Antigua to Alaska and from Cancun to Miami all without much success. A friend wanted to go deep sea fishing for the first time so I booked a walk on charter with Reel Surprise Charters. And what a surprise it was. We caught plenty of fish, were treated very well by the crew and walked away feeling that everyone did their best to make us happy customers. I mentioned this to several other people and they also came away with alot of fish and great things to say about Reel Surprise Charters. I made 2 more trips before leaving for the frozen North and was impressed every time with their outstanding service. I'll be back next year.