Greetings:

Thanks for coming to our web site. I am Captain Rick Featherstone. I have been fishing and guiding local waters for 20 years. I love to take kids of all ages out to catch fish they have never caught or even seen before. Helping a angler to a personal best, or biggest fish they have ever caught is a great thrill for me. As I head west into the gulf of Mexico each morning I still get the same thrill as I did the first time. There is something special about being out there. Guiding is a job, but it isn't. Its a special gift to be able to share with others the nature & beauty this area has to offer. There is room for beginners or experts aboard my boat. We offer light tackle sport fishing charters using, conventional, spin, plug, or fly equipment. I am a fishing nut and fishing is my passion. I dont fish for the money even though it pays the bills. I just love fishing. I'm the easiest guy to get along with and I will go the extra mile for you. No matter what we are after be it wiggly ones for the kids, or that special fish of a lifetime, its always a good time for me.

Family's & first timers are great fun to take out. I have not gotten far from my roots so when they see the sights and sounds for the first time I get to experience that feeling again myself. I love toss the cast net for Live Bait, add in a hundred shrimp or so and we have the have the recipe for a fun filled day. Maybe is just a camera and some sunset pictures of birds, or maybe its drifting the calm backwater or working offshore over a wreck. What ever your desire, we can taylor the trip to you. I have two daughters and a grand son "Dylan" that love to fish, and love lots of "bites" so I know how to do that well.

Permit

I love to go with experienced anglers to try our luck at light tackle or fly fishing for big, elusive Tarpon, Permit, Snook, Cobia, Tuna, or King Mackerel. Live Baiting over a wreck, working a Tarpon pod along the beach, or roll casting to a school of 200 Permit is my idea of a good time! If you want to learn about the tides, migrations, weather & how it all fits together with our fishing, I am happy to share my knowledge with you.

My enthusiasm for the outdoors and love of fishing will make YOUR day on the water special with Magic Hook Charters. Whether its tossing my cast net for a live well full of pilchards for a day of family fun, or tossing a hand tied fly at permit, tarpon or cuda, I am sure you will have and exciting and enjoyable day on the water with me. I have fished from Costa Rica to Alaska including Hawaii along the way, but nothing holds the variety and year long fishing season as South West Florida.

If you want more hands-on experience, if you want to set your own hooks, if you want to be more involved in your day of fishing, then this is the charter for you.

My boat, in my never to be humble opinion is the perfect rig for fishing our area. Its a sleek, Fast, 23 Mako center console. NEW 2002 Merc 225 Opti Max Engine, T-Top (shade), leaning post, out riggers and all the fishing features you can pack into it, plus a few! Modern electronics include Differential GPS Map, Radar, VHF ship to shore radio, graphing bottom machine (fish finder), EPIRB, & cell phone. These electronics are more than convience and aids in fishing. They add a great amount of safety to our charters. She holds 120 gallons of gas so our imagination is our only limit. Her live well is 40 gallons. The hull is the perfect combination of soft ride and stable at anchor or drifting that Mako's are famous for. Plenty of seating room and shade. This is the only boat I have ever ran that feels and fishes bigger than it really is when its gets a bit sloppy offshore. Her draft is still shallow enough so that we can work the canals, beaches, passes, and some of the backwater areas if we want to.

I own all top of the line equipment from Fin Nor, Penn, Shimano, Diawa & Loomis. It is always maintained in excellent condition. When you hook your trophy fish, you will know you are using the best equipment rigged with the best line, leader, & hooks money can buy! I go to great lengths to have the best bait possible. We use lots of Live Bait, but also troll, drift, sight cast, or anchor depending on conditions.

Our fishing area covers from Sanibel island south to Naples including all the waters around Fort Myers Beach. My specialty is offshore fishing. This can be from the beach out to where ever the action is. Backwater fishing in Estero Bay or Pine Island Sound is always fun. Depending on season I love to target giant tarpon average weight one hundred pounds and reaching two hundred. Kingfish, Permit, Barracudas, Cobia, & Sharks make for pictures that last a lifetime. Family's love the non stop reef & wreck fishing for grouper & snapper. Inshore trout, ladyfish, or pompano can make for and action filled day. Your charter will include fishing license, bait, tackle, a cooler full of ice, & fish cleaning, and bagging. Local tradition requires that you bring your lunch & beverage. I will provide the maximum effort to make your day fun and successful. I encourage catch and release fishing.

Items to bring: Polaroid sunglasses, sun block spf 30, hat, clothing to cover up with in summer, a jacket or sweatshirt in winter. A camera, WHITE soled shoes PLEASE! I take much pride in my boat, she always gets us home, and I want to do my best to pick you up with her sparkling. The right shoes will help me do that. I carry a couple of extra rain jackets at all times, but its a good idea for parties of three or more to bring a poncho or light rain jacket. (They make great wind breakers)

WHAT DOES A GUIDED FISHING TRIP COST?

I will put my guided fishing trip up against anyone in terms of quality of trip, or length of trip Vs cost. You will fish with top quality gear in excellent condition, on a top quality boat. Fishing with 110% effort to give you the best possible chance of to hook the fish of your dreams. I am a United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain.

Parties of up to three are recommended but four is ok if its couples or family's. Family's with children that number over four, give me a call and we can discuss size and weight, I can take up to five or six. I have no set schedule, we may leave early, or stay late, but the following is a guideline of my charter fee's. If the bite is late we may fish till dark. On the other hand if you catch a world beater of a fish in the morning we may spend the afternoon toasting with a chocolate milk, and celebrating and bragging to anyone who will listen!

James Heil proudly shows off his first cuda

Captain Ricks specialty is offshore reef & wreck fishing for Permit, Cuda, False Albacore, Cobia, etc.. Tarpon / Permit fishing is his passion! Capt. Rick is running a brand new SeaVee 29 with twin engines. The boat is rigged for Offshore Light tackle live bait fishing. This will not be an ordinary charter.

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