Sweet Jody

Had a wonderful time fishing on the Sweet Jody today. We caught over thirty vermilion snapper on a six hour trip. Captain and crew were amazing. We will be back.

My husband and I went on this fishing trip after taking a few others and we were totally pleased with the crew and the fishing we caught some red snapper. And the crew was incredible and they stayed extremely busy. We felt like the captain knew exactly where to
Fish. The ride to and from was long but beautiful. The crew helped in every way they could. And when the trip was over they cleaned the fish and then we took them to a restaurant that one of the crew recommended and it was cooked absolutely to perfection just like he suggested we could not thank them enough for the awesome memories.

August of 2014 My 6 year old son and husband went on an 8 hour tour. We have gone to Destin for 5 years and Sweet Jody was great. The crew really took my son under their wing. everyone was super nice. They caught a lot of fish; all and all great day.

I thought these guys did a great job. It was my six year olds first trip and both of the mates went way out of their way to make sure he caught fish and enjoyed the 8 hr trip. Keep in mind these guys are extremely busy keeping everyone catching fish, two mates — forty fishermen. Great job guys. We’ll be back to catch some snappers with you on the next visit. Great prices here as well.

The only thing positive about this boat was that they don’t charge per pound to filet your fish after you catch them. I believe most of the other party boats charge per pound. Needless to say I wish i would have saved our money and went on a private charter. This was my first time fishing on the ocean and wasn’t sure what to expect. When we first got on the boat we were told where to put are things and then advised that they will be going to fill the boat up with fuel. I would think you would be ready to go for the customers to arrive but unfortunately this was not the case. We had to waste about an hour to get to the dock and fill up with fuel. The captain assured us we would make up the time on the back end but I was still not happy about it. I chose the seats near the front of the boat which is apparently not a good choice. We had numerous tangles and all of the crew stayed at the back of the boat and pretty much ignored us. The ride out to where we were fishing took 2 hours as the boat is really slow. Which i never took into account but it was really boring! And the boat was so crowded it was hard to find a comfortable place to sit and to get around to your cooler.
The rods all seemed well taken care of and we were supplied with plenty of bait luckily since the crew didn’t ever come around to check us. A friend i was with spent a good 45 minutes trying to untangle a line that probably just needed cut and redone. We did catch a good amount of fish and saw a shark! But with the close quarters and unfriendly crew I would pass on doing this trip again. Also we left the normal time to head back to shore and the boat was way slower which took even longer to get back. I believe this is how the captain made up the time he lost on filling up with gas. Also I couldn’t stand the way the crew kept pushing the tips. They mentioned it numerous times and made me feel like you didn’t have a choice though I really felt like they didn’t earn it.

The crew was really unfriendly, which sucks, because otherwise our trip was fantastic. (And before thinking I’m just sensitive & looking to complain about something, let me assure you that this definitely is NOT the case!). We had great weather, no seasickness that I saw, good instructions for baiting & casting, good equipment & bait supplies, and most importantly. .. we caught LOTS of fish! In our group of 4, we caught 8 «keepers,» and 3 of them were mine (one triggerfish & two red snappers. BUT like I said, the crew’s attitude was TERRIBLE, right from the very beginning. The girl checking you in at their little office on the dock didn’t even look up at anybody as she sold/​processed the tickets (who cares, right?), but it got far worse. The ship «mates» («Chris» and «Drew») acted as if we were a huge inconvenience to them. They wouldn’t look at you when you asked a question, and would pause for a long time before answering — as if they were trying to decide whether to even answer you. The worst part was when my brother-​in-​law tried to buy a Snickers (they have a little «snack bar» where they sell crackers, Snickers, towels, and waters for 1.00 each), and the Chris guy just stared at his money for a second like he didn’t really want to bother with it, and then he finally handed the Snickers to him without looking at him (as if to say, here’s your damned candy bar). Then the same thing happened to my father-​in-​law, except this time «Chris» just stared at him for a second before taking his money. It was weird. It was as if he wanted to convey that he was «too good» to sell snacks. Then why even have them on the boat?!! Some other customers noticed & commented about this. And what is CRAZY about this is that these guys work for tips. (And KNOW this!!! Between several signs on the boat, the captain’s announcement, and then Chris holding a tip jar in our faces at the dock as we disembarked, they make VERY clear to you that you are expected to tip $ 15 to $ 20 per head for the crew.) And I’d have no problem with this, whatsoever, if the guys were friendly. In fact, the tip is considered to be mostly for their «free» service of cleaning your fish for you when you get back to the dock. But I feel like tips are for the hospitality industry & are EARNED, and these guys were NOT hospitable! In fact, they made me feel like an idiot who had tagged along on their boat without being invited. Anyway, like I said, besides the attitude of the crew, we had a GREAT day & caught lots of fish, so I give credit to the captain for finding the fish. I just wished the crew wouldn’t have tried to ruin our experience. Bottom line: Would I recommend this place? I wouldn’t NOT recommend it, but if I were to go sea fishing again, I’d try a different outfit solely because of the crew. And that’s too bad.