Capt. Paul Thompson knows where the fish are and knows how to catch them! His boat has ample room…read morefor 6 (plus Capt. /Mate). Full bathroom, AC and a good day. Went out with my friends and family and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

From the owner: Near shore, off-shore, gulfstream fishing charters and site seeing tours.read more

Great tackle shop for those in need of bait/lures/fishing supplies/information about local fishing…read moreareas. If you're in a new area to fish, what's the one thing you need to find? SOMEONE who knows the area, and how to fish it. So what're you gonna look for? A run down bait shop to get the low down and best practices for the area! This location on fish factory road has that wealth of information as well as a wide array of live, cut up, and artificial bait for practically any catch you're trying to land. WITH REASONABLY PRICED REELS to boot! Whatever fishing supplies you need, they can provide and likely will throw in a thing or two here and there as thanks for your patronage! All in all, great location and wouldn't stop at any other bait location in the area now that we know we have such a great resource!

What a find!!! Breakfast? Who knew?…read more A volunteer at the lighthouse steered us here after we left the Island Saturday morning - starving after facing restaurant after restaurant overflowing with people with the same idea - to grab a bite after vacating the rental. Old school counter diner with a few tables, great service and the BEST hash browns around! Super friendly service, great local clientele that welcome you in and smile atcha across the room. A MUST for breakfast on the way on and off the island. My only worry is next year there'll be a line out front!

This is a nice, free pier that has a public restroom, restaurant, and coffee shop attached to it…read more There is ample parking and the view is beautiful!

Nice fishing pier. Great views. City maintained. Friendly staff. Beautiful old glory blowing in the…read morewind at the end of the pier.

I've always had a love affair with water. When we think about New York, we tend to think about tall…read morebuildings and no green space, but 15 minutes from my house in the Bronx, was the Atlantic Ocean and Orchard Beach. This beach was free, and just a bus fare or car ride away. Some of my favorite memories as a child are my mother and grandmother filling a scotch plaid cooler that they got with their plaid stamps, with hard boiled eggs and grapes and bread and drinks and plums and salt and cookies. I can see my mom and grandma now in their one piece bathing suits, sun hats and sunglasses enjoying the freedom that we all got getting out of our apartment in the Bronx and feeling that beautiful ocean air and getting in that water. I remember fondly as a teenager heading over to the Shorehaven Beach club which was an inexpensive way for families like mine to join some kind of club where we could have access to a pool and sports facilities, etc. I have great memories of making lots of friends and enjoying many a summer day playing paddle ball, watching the entertainment and eating my cantaloupe and cottage cheese to stay slim Now, years later, I'm happy to say that I am a homeowner on Oak island. What a charming little beachside town. No high-rise hotels, no major thoroughfares running through it and lots of family-owned businesses. I really like it. Once a year, my best friend from third grade, Amy, and her family come down from Riverdale in the Bronx and Baltimore, and my kids come down and we spread a glorious week at the beach. This year they rented an oceanfront house just a few blocks from mine that had a pool! Boy, was that a game changer! We had the best time sitting under the shaded porch on the back and cooling off in that luscious pool. For Mark and Amy's anniversary, we decided to take an hour boat ride out of Southport that travels through the intracoastal waterway and surrounding areas such as Bald Head Island and Southport. We got tix to Southport Boat Rentals. I thought the entire experience was a big winner. It's 20 bucks for adults and $10 for kids, and you get a full hour. Access to the boat was very easy. It's literally right across the street from Flavas ice cream by Provisions in Southport. We each had plenty of room to sit and we were a large crowd of 18. I wish the seats had backs to them, but that's just me talking like an old man. Overall, the seats were cushioned and comfortable. It was the perfect time of day to go as Erik had mentioned. With it being 1pm in the afternoon, the sun was overhead, and since the boat is covered, we were in the shade the entire time and enjoyed the beautiful breeze from the water. It was so exciting when we saw dolphins playing in front of us and fascinating to see parts of the surrounding area we had never seen before. I want to commend the two young men that ran this boat. I wish I remembered their names. One was very attentive to our getting on and off securely and in enjoying our trip. A special shout out to the young man who drove the boat and was our guide. He was knowledgeable, interesting, a good public speaker with a clear voice friendly and quite impressive for a young man of his age. He has a future! Some of our kids said they were bored, but I just think it's kids not being used to turning off all the electronics and just taking in the beauty of the world around us. Underneath their resistance to embrace nature and quiet, I think they really liked it. We returned back to shore without a hitch and it felt like a nice full hour with a lot of cool information shared with us. Once again, the staff was very helpful in getting us off the boat and onto land. Mark and Amy topped off the afternoon with treating each of us to whatever we wanted at Flavas across the street. Who am I to refuse a waffle cone with coffee ice cream and sprinkles? I would highly recommend anyone in the Southport Oak Island area to take this cruise with Southport Boat Rentals. Seeing everything from the water will give you a brand new perspective of your magnificent surroundings and how blessed we are that we can enjoy such wonderful gifts of nature and the beauty of the water in NC. Enjoy!

We arrived in Southport too late for a beach day, so we decided to explore the market and booked a…read more6 pm cruise. Such a great decision - overcast weather and beautiful scenery. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us all types of insider tid bits, not just the run of the mill tour info and history. It lasted about an hour, and again, our amazing guide was accommodating and chased a few dolphins so the kids on board could see them. Another plus- you're allowed to bring drinks on board and there's a few bars nearby to grab and board. Overall, pricing is great and hospitality is even better. Definitely treat yourself on a slow day in Southport or post-dinner cruise.

Had a great day out on the open water with Captain Rob. Caught some dinner and made some new…read morefriends. Highly recommend!

Very unprofessional, unreliable, and untrustworthy. Do not…read morerecommend. Scheduled a charter through their mom and dad's restaurant, Rusty Hooks, for their Hook and Cook dining experience. The restaurant couldn't guarantee that we would have a seat to actually eat. Very poor execution. Charter cancelled our booking when I expressed my concern. What a disappointment.

This place is not very big but they have the most amazing selection of fishing gear you will ever…read morefind. They have so many rods, for example, they are literally covering even the ceiling! Any type of hook or weight is going to be here. Their selection of rods and reels, both low and high-end, are unmatched. If you want it, they have it. The people are friendly and will help you out with their vast knowledge. Oh, we also got our frozen fish for shark bait here.

Very helpful people and fair prices. They have bait and a nice lure selection…read more We caught redfish and flounder on the artificial shrimp she recommended!

Captain Cane was very knowledgeable about the area on and offshore! He and Bella were quick to…read morefind the baitfish for the trip and knew exactly where and how to fish the bait. Even though we didn't set any records or catch a boat load we had a great time and definitely recommend this charter.

How do you define a great fishing trip? I think you'd get a lot of different answers depending on…read morewho you ask. Some people would focus on success, as in what you caught, how many you caught, etc. and others would just be happy to have a day out on the ocean with friends and/or family. Others probably a mix of both, and some other smaller factors. I'm happy to say our 4-hour off-shore fishing trip with captain Cane and his first mate Bella (his daughter) was a success by all measures. We caught a lot, had some great fish fights, enjoyed each other's company, and learned a lot about ocean fishing as well as the captain. If there was a downside, we didn't catch any edible fish, but to me... this is minor when all five people in the boat get to fight some sharks, including hammerheads, black tips, and spinners! I was the only person in our group that had ever fought a shark before, and it was nowhere near the five foot hammerhead I tussled with on this trip. We can now all say we've angled a good size shark, not something many people can say. All sharks, for the record, were reeled into the side of the boat, admired for a moment, and released as quickly as possible. The captain had a special tool for removing the hooks in their mouths, and he said if unable to remove, he would cut the line and the hook would rust away in 3 days time. Captain Cane was very knowledgeable and also really good about keeping the conversations going while we waited on our fish to bite. It was also cool to learn he's a 6th generation fisherman in these waters, and to watch him pass his knowledge on to his daughter. Some things to know before going out: 1) No bathroom on board, at least for the shorter trips. Make sure you clear things out beforehand! 2) Ensure your party is up to the physical challenge of open ocean fishing. Even on calm days, the boat will bob and weave, and the fish are likely to put up a good fight. 3) Bring non-spray sunscreen, cold beverages in a cooler (preferably large enough to sit on) and snacks if you think you might get hungry. 4) Make sure you get a secure grip for your cell phone or camera, if the ocean claims it, you're S.O.L!