Tuna, Wahoo, Sails, Yellowtail, and Mahi Mahi (Dolphin Fish) Early Bird leaves out of Post Card Inn Marina in Islamorada - Ross Early ALWAYS does a great/excellent job, and is my ONLY choice as a 8 year local here when I send my friends looking for a ocean fishing charter. That's. It just some line...ask him. Despite having my own boat and gear, when friends want to come down and have the best chance of hooking up - we have used Early Bird several times, always with the best results on the water! We have twice gone out for a full day and come back early & maxed out on fish. Ross also let's you pick the type fish you want to catch (or tell him to go after what's best at that time of the season), and then puts you on it! He and his mates know the local tactics (and brings some SC knowledge too) to raise the fins and/or adapts to conditions to get you a variety of fish - and is always focused on getting you some dinner! If you want a Professional and Personal Charter Captain that treats you well - Take my advice and book Early Bird this time ...early (?). Lol. This is the offshore fishing capitol of the world & If there is fish to be caught, you want to be on the Early Bird for sure! read more

We had an extremely disappointing and concerning encounter with the vessel, Early Bird, while offshore fishing in the Keys yesterday. We were aboard a smaller center-console with an experienced local friend and were approaching a bait ball with birds actively working above it. We were considerably closer to the fish and already traveling on a straight, established course toward them when Early Bird, a much larger approximately 45-foot vessel, approached from ahead and to our port side. Our boat was on Early Bird's starboard side. Rather than giving way and allowing the boats to safely continue their approaches, Early Bird continued aggressively converging on our course. Our captain ultimately had to alter course and move away rather than risk a dangerous situation with a vessel significantly larger than ours. Early Bird then took the position at the bait ball, put its lines directly into the fish, effectively shutting us out of the opportunity we had been approaching first, and someone aboard proceeded to yell at our captain when he pointed out that we had been there first. Nobody owns a bait ball or a school of fish, and we certainly don't expect another boat to stay away simply because we spotted the fish first. Multiple boats can share an offshore fishing opportunity. But there is a tremendous difference between safely sharing an opportunity and using the size of your vessel and an aggressive approach to force a smaller boat to change course so you can take the position. We have fished all over the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and have never witnessed a Captain act this way. In fact, I can recall several excursions where all boats respectfully came up on a bait ball together and everyone had a great time getting fish. What was particularly concerning is that, in a crossing situation between two power-driven vessels, the vessel with the other boat on its starboard side is ordinarily the give-way vessel under the Navigation Rules. Regardless, every captain has an obligation to operate safely and avoid collision. Our captain chose to disengage rather than escalate an unnecessarily aggressive situation, which we greatly appreciated. We fish because we love the sport, and part of that is the sportsmanship and courtesy we have consistently experienced among professional captains and anglers. This encounter was the complete opposite. I cannot say who was operating Early Bird that day, so I am deliberately not attributing this behavior to any particular individual. I can only describe what we personally witnessed and experienced with the vessel. Based on that experience, I would not choose to fish with this operation. PS - we had our 12 year old daughter on the boat who kept saying, "is that boat playing chicken with us? He's being a bully!" Our 12yr old knew better. Do better. read more

EarlyBird Fishing Charters - Fishing Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

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Our captain Ron went out of his way to make sure us Californians know how fishing is done in the keys! What a great time! read more

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Went out on the Early Bird for my 50th bday. it was an amazing day on the water catching fish. Ross and his first mate Craiger were absolutely amazing. Their knowledge and love of the sport was very evident and there willingness to share made the trip a 5 star experience. Highly recommend. Derek read more

Great day fishing with Captain Ross and first mate Cooper. We were targeting tuna and Mahi. We land 2 tunas and had a beautiful Mahi that broke the line right at the boat Both Ross and Cooper busted their tails to help us find what we were looking for. The off shore bites were slow. We ended up kite fishing and over reck/reef fishing. We brought back 22+fish which Ross filleted for us so we can ship them home. Both Ross and Cooper did a fantastic job with our 8 year old Would definitely recommend The Early Bird. read more

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My boys and I had the best time! Captain Ross and his mate were total professionals. It was a rough day (wave reports were wrong again) very tough fishing conditions but through it all their experience kept us on fish all day. If your planning on going to the keys to fish this is your guy Thank you so much captain read more

If you plan to do a half day with this captain, expect disappointment. When the captain asked half or full to our group, when we answered half day, the mood and attitude changed immediately and he visibly cursed under his breathe. From there, he chastised the deckhand and became grumpy and non-communicative. After attempting a few spots with 8 live baits on the boat, the captain changed plans and we spent the rest of the charter catching yellowtail snapper on frozen bait inside of chum balls using just 1 rod for 4 guests. We didn't even catch a limit but we did catch the captain's attitude. He did jump down from the captain's chair a few times to correct the guests in how they reel in line for 20 ft depth and tiny yellowtail. Our group discussed the experience after the charter and we were generous in thinking maybe he is going through some personal issues as we still tipped 20%. Surprised Bud N' Mary's allows a captain like this to charter under their reputable name considering all the other great captains. We should have known when this boat didn't have a slip at Bud N' Mary's. They know, and this captain knows why his boat has to board customers, paying clients at the far end of an open dock. The best part of the charter was the hour he spent in the air conditioned salon on his cell phone while we drifted. Another nice move is he pulled up to the gas pump at the end of the charter and let us know what he spent in gas/diesel which he might have gone 3 or 4 miles, never getting past 50 ft depth on our charter (he was filling his tank for the next charter, made that clear too). Captain Jerk! Don't forget to tip 20%, he gets real interested when it comes time to pay up. This captain is a cattle herder, nothing more. read more

Just a overall waste of money plus forced tip didn't enjoy the trip, trip was for mahi and tuna it quickly turned into just measly yellow tail just to appease, conditions were right and tuna was in the water but for some reason we got out of there im assuming its because one in our party didnt get the fish to the surface before a shark ate it and from that point captain got frustrated and we left then states we can go for mahi but no one has caught any in the area and it wasn't really a option it was a hard " if you wanna do that we can but" You will spend your time catching bait before you actually start fishing even tho that should have been handled before clients step onto the boat and you will get to watch them catch ballyhoo during the last hours of your trip that you won't be fishing with for there next trip on your time with the we will try to catch a sailfish on the way back in they never even rigged up and put a line in the water. You will be required to tip 20% no matter what that's the most talkative and upbeat time the captain will be is during the paying process. The inside of the boat looks like a college kid lives inside, stuff thrown everywhere unorganized and dirty the small things to do such as simple cleaning apparently isnt a priority or has ever been. As a business owner myself i would never feel anytype of pride running a operation like what i witnessed and as a floridian who has fished my whole life i know there was much more that could have been done to catch the fish we Paid to do there are plenty of fish in the sea and plenty of charters and this isnt the one. read more

Took the family out fishing payed the extra $$ to go deep sea we anchored down and caught yellow tail snapper the first mate said his wife asked him to bring a lot of snapper home we barely tried to catch anything bigger I'm very disappointed! though we was gonna at least try for sailfish but no we was dooped then I tipped $100 and the captain said that's not enough we need $60 more to keep this review fair they was good with my kids read more