This was my first visit to The Bahamas and my 12 yr old son’s first time out on the water. I always find it challenging to choose a charter in a destination that I’ve yet to visit especially in tourist trap towns such as Nassau. I researched many charters and my heart kept bringing me back to Hook Um Charters. I remember reading a review that read this was a family owned and operated charter and because I wanted to bond with my son it felt like the right choice. I went into the charter with tempered expectations. I only booked 4 hours because I anticipated my son would be tired by the end. The Captain and his Uncle/Mate Mitch were both very personable, knowledgeable, and encouraging to my son. Mitch will tell you he’s an elder statesman of these waters and he has a wealth of knowledge. In my experience booking half day charters, the first two hours are the best indicator of the type of day you’ll have. In our first hour we trolled and didn’t get a bite. We managed to pull up a baby barracuda which was so small we didn’t even realize it was on the line. There were sharks around and that was scaring away all the fish. Mitch changed the bait and rigs up multiple times. We were discussing whether or not we should sail towards the shore and do some bottom fishing but I wanted to stay the course a bit longer. As we got into our second hour we saw birds circling. We headed in that direction and within minutes we had fish on. We were getting fish on faster than my son and I could reel them in. My son caught his very first fish which was the reason for booking the charter. A shark nearly took it from him but he still managed to reel it in. Excluding the Barracuda, we caught 6 fish: Bonito and Skipjack. We lost 2-3 on the line. For a first time visit to Nassau and my son’s first experience on the water, I couldn’t have asked for a better day of fishing. When we returned Mitch filet and clean half the fish for me and I was able to take it to Margaritaville to have it cooked and served for lunch. The other half I left with Mitch because I had no place to store it at my resort. I plan to return to The Bahamas with my fishing buddies and when I do I will definitely book with Hook Um charters again.

This was my first visit to The Bahamas and my 12 yr old son’s first time out on the water. I always find it challenging to choose...