Can't say enough good things about this company, our excursion, or Captain Chris; 10/10 recommend.read more

Today was the BIGGEST day of the trip! A charter fishing excursion for our birthday boy! Birthday…read morein June but had to wait for the trip! It was a day of surrounding storms. There was so much lightning that we almost didn't get a chance to go. Thank goodness that all the Fish Gods were on our side. Enjoyed a breathtaking sunrise. I could have had 1,000 more photos but there were fish to be caught! Taking off through the bays at what seemed like 100 miles an hour, we felt so confident in Captain Chris. He avoided all the rain and we fished to the last possible second. We hands down caught over 100 fish! That is not a fish tale! They just kept coming! Some bigger, some smaller...some micro sized! Cooper loved all of the fish, just one after another. It never stopped. Action on all of our poles the entire journey. Ethan, Norm and I had the time of our lives too! Fishing or should I say, catching all morning long! Croaker, white trout, speckled trout, don't quote me on that one, pigfish, catfish, spot, drum, a crab but just missed getting him in the boat. Even some oysters! We had a lot of shark bites on our bait. It so happens that I caught the biggest catch of the day. 25 pound Black Drum. It happened so quickly. Coop suggested where I could fish in the front by him. At least when I was bringing him up he sat me down, kept a watchful eye and even wanted to hold me in the seat! If I could have changed it, I would have had him land it! I have to say I'm quite proud of my PB though! Captain Chris, a deep mahogany tan that was earned from the sea. A fisherman through and through. I could see him as a brother to Quint, the Captain from Jaws for those of you not familiar. He had just the right amount of sass and sarcasm to keep you on your toes and eventually you could toss it back to him. He told be he would use me as shark bait but they probably would spit me out! I don't doubt that! Chris could have hung out with our friends and drank beers so we could hear his lifetime of stories. Maybe he would want to fish Lake Michigan some time?! We all loved asking about charters and personal best catches, hearing his stories and other trips that didn't go according to planned. He knew the waters, incredible boat handler, extremely helpful with the fish. Locations and getting them removed with a blink of an eye. He was everything you could want in a fishing Captain and more! We all had the absolute best experience and would book again with Fins and Family Fishing! They have the tours reeled in! Pun intended!

Not much luck fishing but great pier. It has a sign at the front which tells you what fish are…read morebiting daily. They updated it every hour or so. Pier has restrooms, hoses , cutting boards, bait shops, tackle shops. Ice cream bars and a restaurant. Although it is 10 dollars per fisherman and 3 dollars for sightseeing to enter the pier, it is worth it. There is also an15 dollar parking fee but it comes with a fishing pass for a day.

The Gulf State Park Pier has been seriously upgraded since my last visit. It had been damaged and…read morethey have done quite a lot of repairs and updates. I had no idea that they had started charging to go to the far end of the pier as that wasn't the case when I last visited. As a veteran I get free parking and also free entrance to the pier. I never saw any signage that indicated I had to pay to walk out to the pier but I did get yelled at for just walking out on the pier past the "commercial zone" and had to show my military veteran ID to proceed. I found it odd that I was somehow magically supposed to know that there was a fee or requirement to show my veteran ID when I never saw any sign to that effect. The lady that yelled at me came out of a door so she was inside where I couldn't have seen her so they should certainly add some signs that explain what they want more clearly to avoid weird situations like this. They also have a restaurant and bar here but I would suggest eating somewhere else. The pier does seem to be a decent place to fish and I saw several people bringing in some nice sized fish. Overall this seems like a good option if you want to fish off a pier or just enjoy the great view here. If I had to pay to just walk to the end of the pier I wouldn't have done that as you can get a good enough view from the "commercial zone" where the bar and restaurant are located. Overall this is an interesting spot to check out but I just heard they have raised the price of parking so that might make this area less attractive to visit.

Let me start off by saying "Captain Joe" is such a kind gentleman, he made the 2 hour kids fishing…read moretrip more than we ever expected, the greatest memories were made while catching fish & looking for Dolphins!! Success on both because this man does this everyday and you can tell it's genuinely from the heart. Thank you Cap Joe for making our trip even better

Matt was as good as gold. Although our trip got cut short due to a storm, I will book him again.read more

Always have a great time fishing with captain Marty. The hospitality is as great as the fishing!!read more

Marty the captain was amazing I had never done this before and he was so helpful will definitely be…read moreback it was AMAZING

Plein Air painting event at The Lodge, Gulf State Park…read more... Hoping this will be an annual event, as the art community convened a plein air event, bringing together artists with the inspiration of Gulf State Park's many habitats. The result was a large number of paintings which were for purchase at the closing reception at the end of the week. The weather was mild, the food and drink at The Lodge was yummy (I had the steak and eggs for brunch), and it was so cool to watch the artists paint live.

Absolutely phenomenal park!!! I am blown away! Gorgeous landscape, beautiful sunsets, the flora and…read morefauna have me in awe. 28 miles of trails for biking and walking. I've spotted alligators, blue heron, turtles, lizards.. very cool! All the campsite hosts are friendly and our check-in was very easy and we were also greeted with welcoming service. We chose campsite number 479 right next to Mission Lake and the pedestrian bridge that takes you to the ocean. This campground is so clean, beautiful, and offers multiple bathrooms with showers and restrooms. The bathrooms are clean and the showers have enough space to shower and change. Each campsite I've seen has a dump station and water, which has come in handy. There's also Wi-Fi! There's also a restaurant on the campgrounds and tomorrow night we are going to listen to live music and have a few drinks. I've truly loved my stay here and would highly recommend it to anyone! We were only going to stay for four nights but we extended it to a week because we are having such a great time.

Fairwater II is a great company! The lady on the phone is super sweet and very accommodating. Took…read morea mix of 2 families with teens and a 10 year old out to catch snappers. Caught a few trigger fish as well. Great time! Seas were rough that day but captain did a great job of keeping us safe. Gavin was the deckhand and was super helpful with everyone. Good people right here!

We had a great time with Captain Tom and first mate Nate. Boat to ourselves, and they put us on…read morelots of fish, both in quantity and variety. Couldn't have asked for a better outing with my two boys. Outstanding

We went by the Preserve to walk after Breakfast today and discovered they were decorating for their…read moreHaunted Forest. This looks like so much fun for the whole family! I can see teenagers having a blast with each other and siblings driving each other crazy. Support the Preserve and get your tickets on their page. Have fun!!!

Let be going there. Well maintained and plenty of safe trails to navigate…read more Archery, disc golf, fishing...

Another fabulous trip. Third trip and hopefully another one next year Great dolphin sighting and a…read morebeautiful sunset

Captain Jason was AMAZING! If you're looking for a fishing/dolphin excursion THIS IS IT! My kids…read morehad a blast and learned a lot. Experience of a lifetime for them