Capt. Joe and Mate Kyle are first class fishermen. In less than ideal conditions, they took us out and though it was the only good catch of the day, we caught one of my dream fish… a Sailfish. Kyle truly worked to make sure we had every chance at catching fish and Capt. Joe was a pro at the helm, guiding us through rough seas while still giving us a great experience. No attention to detail was spared and they were so kind to my wife when she got seasick a couple of hours into the trip. I could not recommend them more and will personally be booking another trip with them on our next trip to the Keys.

A knowledgeable captain, hard-working first mate, and a gorgeous boat - what more could you want from a charter? Captain Joe was great with communication leading up to the trip, laying out what to expect once we got on the water. His first mate, Bryan, was also top notch. He answered any questions we had about the techniques he was using, the fish we were catching, and the habitat those fish were living in - all while hustling around the boat to rig up rods and coach us fighting fish. To top it all off, we hooked into some beautiful tuna and got to sample fresh sashimi dockside. We’ll surely come back to Key West and when we do we’ll book another full day with Captain Joe & Bryan on the Jolly Roger II - the trip wouldn’t be complete without it.

My wife and I booked the 3/4 day tour, and had a phenomenal time. Captain Joe and his first mate were exceptional at making us feel comfortable. We caught snapper, grouper, and barracuda, and had a blast the entire time. We trailed a sailfish for quite a while also, but he refused to bite. Overall, the experience was awesome and it’s all thanks to the crew. They were professional, honest, and seemed to also be having a genuine good time. My wife and I will be back with friends before long, and there’s zero doubt in my mind we’ll be booking with Jolly Roger II again. Thank you guys!

We had an AMAZING day with AJ & Phil! FYI a full day is the way to go. These guys were fun to hang out with & boy did they do their job & did it well (see pics). Not only did they do it well but with “FLARE” We had a Maui rip one of the poles & holder completely off the boat!! Did they just say o’well there she goes…NOPE they caught not only the pole but THE FISH TOO with a different pole & AJ REELED IT ALL IN BY HAND…WHAT A STORY, WHAT EXCITEMENT & WHAT GREAT DAY IT TRULY WAS! We will definitely come back & call up these 2 guys to go fishing again…thank you Jolly Roger’s, AJ & Phil
Love, Dave & Lindsey

My fiance and I did a full day of trolling with Captain Joe and First Mate AJ and had an amazing time. We caught two sailfish, two blackfin tuna, and one bonita. These guys are professionals and it showed beyond the fact that we both caught our first sailfish. It came down to their personability, preparation, and their ability to catch fish! I’ll include further details below.

Personability: Two great guys that made the trip fun from start to finish. They have known each other for a long time and it was clear their goals were for us to be safe, have fun, and catch fish. They walked us through their expectations from a safety perspective and gave us a tutorial about our fishing plan and how to be successful on the boat. AJ had tons of entertaining fishing stories and happily answered any and all questions we had about his fishing career. Each time we landed a fish they were very encouraging about taking videos and pictures, offering to do it for us, and we appreciated them helping us have those lasting memories. Additionally, AJ filleted our tuna and walked us through the process of possibly getting mounts of our sailfish.

Preparation: Captain Joe called the night before and let us know that he thought the bite would be earlier than our scheduled 7:30 AM start time and offered to leave earlier, so we left at 6:30 AM and he was completely right. When we arrived, they had everything ready to go and we left on time. I asked AJ when he began preparing and he said 4am. He re-spooled all the reels, had his own customized hooks specifically for trolling, and prepped all the bait. They had coolers with ice, water, and some snacks that they offered to share. The boat was spotless. They also have a ton of experience fishing in the area and around Florida.

Catching Fish: As I mentioned in the preparation piece, everything was ready and as soon as we arrived at our trolling location it was game on. Joe and AJ were constantly looking for birds, paying attention to other boats, and watching the lines and baits, all while casually talking to us. AJ did a great job switching out old bait for fresh bait and kept lines in the water the whole time. When we got a bite AJ made sure we were set up correctly to fight the fish and made sure all the other lines were out of the way, Joe drove the boat like a pro. Both offered the perfect amount of advice throughout each fight. When we landed our sailfish both were as excited as we were and it was like the whole boat had caught the fish. They make it a team environment. When the bite got slower during the middle of the day they maintained their energy and didn’t give up, they stayed attentive the entire time. Toward the end of the day, we saw more birds and we kept fishing until the absolute last minute. They wanted to get a “buzzer beater” fish to end the day on and we really appreciated it.

Terrific experience, highly recommend, looking forward to our next trip!