I wanted to do a fishing charter on a recent trip to Clearwater. I did some research and found that there was a bait shop close to my resort just off Belair. I picked up a few cards of local charters. I did a little more research back at the hotel and decided to contact Captain Phil at Sliprock Charters. He sounded professional and directed me to his website to find a time slot that worked for me. It was easy and I was able to make a reservation on line with a credit card.
We met Phil at the Belair Bait Shop. Buy a fishing shirt while you are there. They have a great selection and they are cool and comfortable and keep you from getting burned.
Phil asked us what we were hoping for from our trip. He offered to catch fish that we could eat. He is well connected to many resturauntsis the area and said we could have our catch cooked and served to us at a choice of restaurants.
We were on the last day of our vacation. We did not have any interest in catching something to eat. I asked them to show us a good time. They delivered.
By not having to worry about catching a meal for us, they were free to go after BIG fish...Tarpon, Big Snook, etc. We first went after Tarpon. They had a spot in mind. We arrived and found a crazy amount of bait fish. We were fishing for less than 20 minutes when we hooked a huge tarpon. It jumped 4-5 time before a violent thrust that allowed it to get free.
Next we went for "big" snook. They had another spot and few miles away. Wishing 15 minutes we had 2 fish on. They were monsters. We got them to the boat. Phil's friend Frank, who is a professional photographer offered to take us ashore for pictures! We got some great shots.
We then trolled for another large fish unsuccessfully however we had fun. Last we went inshore for some smaller Redfish and Snook. We caught both and had an amazing time.
Captain Phil is very professional and has a nice clean boat with the latest electronics and high quality gear. Coolers were offered to store our drinks.
Thanks to Phil and Frank for a day we will not forget.