Fish Ami
4.5
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Welcome to Anna Maria Island's Premier Fishing Headquarters! Explore the waters surrounding the beautiful Anna Maria Island. Fish AMI offers fishing trips for beginners, avid anglers and deep sea adventurers!
Bradenton Beach, Florida
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
104 reviews
Excellent
92
Very good
1
Average
2
Poor
4
Terrible
5
Patrick J
2 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
Wanted to do a quick fishing trip while on Anna Maria Island with our families for vacation. Booked with Fish AMI very last minute and they were super fast to confirm our trip and take care of us for the fishing charter. We ended up with 2 less family members coming than expected and they were fantastic about updating our booking and giving us some $ back on the cost of our charter. Very friendly service with all the people involved in the booking process.
Day of our trip, they were prompt and accommodating to our needs. We were booked with Captain Chris who was a phenomenal guide, giving us really great tips for our charter and afterwards. He showed up early and was prepared with bait for our trip and his knowledge of the area was very apparent as he had us hooking up fish within 30 minutes of meeting him. He was willing to show us how to catch several different species of fish in the bay area around Bradenton Pier while also showing us several landmarks, explaining the local waterways, and pointing out dolphins/manatees all while keeping our lines baited and taking fish off our hook as fast as we could get them in the boat. Couldn't recommend Captain Chris and Fish AMI enough if you are looking for a quick trip and to hook up with some fish.
Day of our trip, they were prompt and accommodating to our needs. We were booked with Captain Chris who was a phenomenal guide, giving us really great tips for our charter and afterwards. He showed up early and was prepared with bait for our trip and his knowledge of the area was very apparent as he had us hooking up fish within 30 minutes of meeting him. He was willing to show us how to catch several different species of fish in the bay area around Bradenton Pier while also showing us several landmarks, explaining the local waterways, and pointing out dolphins/manatees all while keeping our lines baited and taking fish off our hook as fast as we could get them in the boat. Couldn't recommend Captain Chris and Fish AMI enough if you are looking for a quick trip and to hook up with some fish.
Written May 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jocelyn
1 contribution
Aug 2020
It was such a great experience!! Our captain, Michael, was amazing. IK took my 10 year old son for his first time and Michael was amazing with him. Teaching him about the different fish he caught, what he has been catching, and allowing pictures of the catches that day. It was relaxing and we caught a ton of fish. Michael was very knowledgable and we will request him next time we go. Would recommend for sure!
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Keith K
1 contribution
Oct 2020
We really had a great time on our recent Fish AMI trip. My wife, my daughter and her boyfriend and I enjoyed a 6 hour In Shore / Near Shore fishing excursion a couple days ago. Captain Mike was terrific and worked to find us great fishing locations. We caught Mackerel, Black Sea Bass, Trout, Whiting, and a variety of other fish. We kept some to ship home and caught and released several. We didn't know what to expect, but we were thrilled with the results. We'd highly recommend Fish AMI if you're interested in doing some fishing in Bradenton Beach and we'd really recommend Captain Mike - he was the best..
Written October 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ashley
1 contribution
Mar 2021
We caught some fish and made the best of it however the trip was not worth the price. We paid for the 6 hour trip. We went out at 8, stopped fishing at 12:30 to watch Another boat of people catch a shark, and started heading back in to shore before or right at 1:00. So we did not get 6 hours of fishing. We also had to ask if we could cast our poles out to fish while our captain was up front fishing for himself. He threw out some bait on a hook that we caught and reeled in a big fish on his own all to then ask US to take his picture with it. He was too busy talking and yelling to other boats while we were baiting our own hooks and taking the fish off. He was not prepared with extra supplies or bait. He made several comments about his boat not having much gas left and that his buddycould pull us in at the end if needed. We also thought we would get a little bit of inshore fishing AND nearshore fishing and we didnt. Other boats around us were catching fish left and right and were maxing out. Again, other captains around us were just way more prepared and it showed, big time.
Written March 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Darrin L
United States1 contribution
Jun 2020 • Family
Way overpriced to fish around the docks and bridges in the bay. Basically $700.00 and spent a little over 40 minutes in the gulf. You catch fish but it was comparable to fishing in a lake. It would be a better value to buy your license and fish off the piers or in the surf. Not what we expected for the money!
Written June 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Inshore fishing here in Florida is done along docks and mangrove shorelines. That’s where almost all of our fish live. Tarpon, snook, trout, redfish, flounder, snapper, sheepshead and more. They rely on the structure to hide from predators and get a good meal. Yes, we do offer 4, 6 and 8 hour offshore trips that would get you out in the gulf. Here, farther out doesn't always mean bigger fish, (see our photo gallery). But in general in Florida, if you’re inshore and want to catch fish you’ll be along mangrove shorelines and docks. Hopefully this response was educational and may help you reevaluate your review. Thanks
Written August 25, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Joseph P
2 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
Paid $500 for a inshore keep your fish, fishing trip. Spent three hours out of the four driving around. The one hour that we actually did get to fish we fished by docks. Only one spot we went you would actually require a boat to fish. If anybody is thinking about booking a inshore fishing trip with AMI I would highly recommend taking the $500 and buying fishing poles,bait, and a license and fish off the docks. All you’re going to do is fish off docks anyways.
Written July 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew D
1 contribution
Jun 2021 • Friends
The experience overall was nothing special, but was enjoyable. We did around 2 and a half hours of fishing with 30 minutes allocated for driving around. We caught a hammerhead and a few other types of fish which got the adrenaline rushing and my family really enjoyed that. The captain was relatively good all around. He put the bait on my family and our friends hooks and replaced them when they broke off. I thought that the trip would be more informational and I did try to ask questions, but the captain either did not know or was not interested in telling me since it seemed to just be brushed off, so I stopped asking any questions. Everything went pretty well up until right at the end of the trip. We had gotten off the boat and the trip had come to an end and we had tipped the captain $50 dollars for a 3 hour trip with 4 people on the boat. We have never been on a charter and quite frankly we were tipping based off the experience we had which was just generally average. As we were walking away, Chris ran up to us and said that the tip was usually $20 dollars per person and basically implied that we did not give him enough money. This really caught us off guard as we felt that we were sort of forced to put even more money out when we were not expecting it. I wouldn’t call it a shakedown, but it got really awkward pretty quickly and I ended up having to shell out an extra 30 dollars, even though the trip itself was around $450 dollars already. We really appreciated everything that captain Chris did, but that really soured the trip and for that reason we will not be returning. So to put it in perspective, if you plan to do a trip through AMI, just know that along with the general cost of the trip, you will be tipping around 20 dollars per person, which for a 3 hour trip that wasn’t very informational and overall average at best is not worth it for us.
Written July 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erica D
Waynesburg, PA21 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
$600 to fish at docks and bridges??? We did catch catfish, and snapper. Kids had more fun on the boat ride ....could have just rented a boat and went ourselves!!! Capt kyle was fun but not worth the money paid!!
Written July 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Inshore fishing here in Florida is done along docks and mangrove shorelines. That’s where almost all of our fish live. Tarpon, snook, trout, redfish, flounder, snapper, sheepshead and more. They rely on the structure to hide from predators and get a good meal. Yes, we do offer 4, 6 and 8 hour offshore trips that would get you out in the gulf. Here, farther out doesn't always mean bigger fish, (see our photo gallery). But in general in Florida, if you’re inshore and want to catch fish you’ll be along mangrove shorelines and docks. Hopefully this response was educational and may help you reevaluate your review. Thanks
Written August 25, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Colorado Lu
20 contributions
Apr 2021 • Solo
On the plus side our guide was friendly, timely and tried to take us to a few different spots because we weren’t having much success. Took us to a bunch of boat docks for in-shore fishing but if I wanted to do that I would’ve just finished off the dock myself. I understand it’s called fishing and not catching but I had hoped that we would do a little bit better. He did take us out for some extra time but considering the first couple spots were a complete bust we can call it even.
The bad, the boat wasn’t too clean, was cluttered, my wife was a bit disgusted with his chewing tobacco and spitting. Our guide was more concerned about fixing his broken tackle then keeping us baited and ready to fish. Spent half the day baiting my wife’s hook. We have done many fishing guides in Florida but considering the $500 and there were only two of us it wasn’t like he was busy helping others. I thought considering there was just two of us and they do the discount the route we would’ve got a lot better service.
If you enjoy doing all of your own stuff and the stuff above is you cup of tea then it’s probably a pretty better fit, just wasn’t for anyone who needs help.
Let’s just say 3 stars is being generous....was told this was one of their better guides.
The bad, the boat wasn’t too clean, was cluttered, my wife was a bit disgusted with his chewing tobacco and spitting. Our guide was more concerned about fixing his broken tackle then keeping us baited and ready to fish. Spent half the day baiting my wife’s hook. We have done many fishing guides in Florida but considering the $500 and there were only two of us it wasn’t like he was busy helping others. I thought considering there was just two of us and they do the discount the route we would’ve got a lot better service.
If you enjoy doing all of your own stuff and the stuff above is you cup of tea then it’s probably a pretty better fit, just wasn’t for anyone who needs help.
Let’s just say 3 stars is being generous....was told this was one of their better guides.
Written April 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris B
1 contribution
May 2021 • Friends
We were very excited for this charter as the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. This was a 6 person, 6 hour offshore charter. We have personally been on multiple charters and this was by far the worst experience we have had.
First, the boat had 2 lounge chairs, a bean bag chair, and coolers to sit on. There was no restroom as advertised, other than a 5 gallon bucket (that did not go over well with the wives).
As we started with trolling in what appeared to be in a haphazard fashion (driving with one foot with his other on the throttle all the while on his phone), he stated that the GPS did not point to where the wreckage sites were. We trolled with subpar gear with a “new pole” that the captain bought with a lure you could by at Walmart. No action on any of the lines so we started bottom fishing for fish to eat.
We were successful in bringing in Grunt, a few red grouper (non-keepers), and a few bait fish. We did this for ~4 hours and after hour 2 were bored. The captain was more concerned with catching his own Grouper than ours.
Finally, we started trolling again and the captain found a wreckage site that we did land a 3ft barracuda. While reeling that in, we also had a Spanish mackerel jump on our other line to avoid getting eaten by another barracuda. The captain did not mark the the site of the wreckage and again we started haphazardly trolling with no other action and had to come in.
We did catch fish but not what we were going after. Trolling with the equipment he had was a joke. The trip was no where close to previous experiences, due to limited tackle and apparently lack of knowledge from the captain. We will never use AMI charters again. Take my advice and save the $900 by not using AMI ️
First, the boat had 2 lounge chairs, a bean bag chair, and coolers to sit on. There was no restroom as advertised, other than a 5 gallon bucket (that did not go over well with the wives).
As we started with trolling in what appeared to be in a haphazard fashion (driving with one foot with his other on the throttle all the while on his phone), he stated that the GPS did not point to where the wreckage sites were. We trolled with subpar gear with a “new pole” that the captain bought with a lure you could by at Walmart. No action on any of the lines so we started bottom fishing for fish to eat.
We were successful in bringing in Grunt, a few red grouper (non-keepers), and a few bait fish. We did this for ~4 hours and after hour 2 were bored. The captain was more concerned with catching his own Grouper than ours.
Finally, we started trolling again and the captain found a wreckage site that we did land a 3ft barracuda. While reeling that in, we also had a Spanish mackerel jump on our other line to avoid getting eaten by another barracuda. The captain did not mark the the site of the wreckage and again we started haphazardly trolling with no other action and had to come in.
We did catch fish but not what we were going after. Trolling with the equipment he had was a joke. The trip was no where close to previous experiences, due to limited tackle and apparently lack of knowledge from the captain. We will never use AMI charters again. Take my advice and save the $900 by not using AMI ️
Written May 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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