Reviews

Capt. Ross and the Early Bird!!

I would like to thank and commend Captain Ross Early and his mates Colby Mason and Davy Jones for an awesome experience this past weekend (May 24-26 2013) on the 43' Alex Willis Custom named the Early Bird! Having been off shore a few times...a great crew makes the trip. We were fishing in the Florida Keys Dolphin Championship...which included all Keys...from Largo to Key West. We finished 2nd in our district and 3rd overall for the weekend...missing a larger payday by 5ozs. You will not find a Capt. who will work any harder to please his customers. I would recommend this charter to anyone...be prepared to catch fish and have a great time. Never a dull moment on the Early Bird!!! Thanks again to Capt. Ross and mates....we are in the process on booking our next trip.

Scott Delk

Gamecock

Slammers and Schoolers

I would like to take a minute to thank Capt. Ross Early, Colby Mason and Davey Jones for this past weekend . I have grown up around alot of boats and fished many tournaments from the Carolinas to almost Cuba and I can honestly say that "The Early Bird" is the the most enthusiastic ready to go boat that I have been on . I have also been on boats that spout a lot of lip service. This boat is not like this! The Early Bird delivers! Never have I seen a Captain and crew run around a boat spotting fish, throwing lines, searching for birds and grass lines so that we could find that one trophy fish that could put us at the top of the scales for our weekend tournament . The last day burning all the fuel payed off. We got our fish and finished 3rd overall in the entire Florida Keys Tornament. I would highly recommend anyone wanting a superb fishing experience to feel comfortable chartering The Early Bird and her hard working Captain Ross Early and superbly capable crew! We fully intend to charter The Early Bird again in December or January for The Bill Fish Tournament. I believe with Captain Ross and Colby Mason and Davy Jones we really have a chance to place or possibly win this Tournament as well! P.S. Birds off the bow Captain!!!!!

Larry & Lisa Bare

Larry B

“Best Fishing experience in Islamorada. Thanks Ross !

Best offshore fishing experience in Islamorada. This was first class all the way ! Thanks Capt. Ross Early, Colby Mason and Davey Jones for the best fishing charter I have taken. I have taken fishing charters from SC to Hawaii and this really was the best fishing and best Captain I have ever had. "The Early Bird" is the the most fun and ready to go boat that I have been on. They deserve to have a 5 Star rating on Tripadvisor. I would highly recommend anyone wanting a superb fishing experience to feel comfortable chartering The Early Bird and her hard working Captain Ross Early and the awesome crew!

The Capt. filleted our fish for us and made reservations for us to eat at the best fish restaurant we've ever been to. He made the reservations while we were catching dinner! It was just so much fun! Thanks Again. If you are looking for a great fishing experience, look no further.

John F

8th Grade Gaduation

What a GREAT day with Capt Ross and his Crew, first mate Colby and Tom were both very knowledgeable, entire crew was friendly and Nice, no yelling at the guest or hard core instructions. we caught a bunch of Mahi and had a deep drop bite pull off after about 15 minutes of fighting, thinking sword fish but not sure however that is what we were targeting, We ended the day by taking some of our catch to Lazy days restaurant down the road best cooked fish I have ever had, I highly recommend EarlyBird and Lazy Days. Much thanks to Capt Ross Early.

Mark E

Early Bird Delivers - Off shore fishing experience - A+++

I have to say, I was a little skeptical of doing a "Charter Boat" on our family vacation - Captain Ross was amazing through my inquiry process to scheduling our trip and provided all pointers for us along the way to be prepared. What an AWESOME experience for us and we are looking to plan another visit real soon! Had no idea what to expect and was SO thrilled with him & the Crew (Colby & Tommy) - they spotted the fish, moved about the boat like they were on fire with such energy and precision. 2 Mahi Mahi Dolphins & 7 Tuna's - we sure got lucky thanks to their expertise indeed. They even cleaned and packaged for us to take to local restaurants - thanks again Ross for reserving our dinner reservations at Lazy Days Restaurant - WOW - yum!! We did 3/4 day charter and would highly recommend it - well worth it. Thanks for the experience guys - be back soon! You ROCK!

CaroleJKelly

Amazing captain, crew, and charter!!!

There really is no other way to put it, Captain Ross is the man. The boat is in perfect condition, with a large seating area inside the cabin, and a clean deck outside. Even in 3-5 foot chop, the boat cut right through it like it was nothing. Colby, the first mate, is a one of a kind. Ive never seen somebody work so quickly to set out, clear, and bring in lines to help you get as many fish as possible. Both Captain Ross and Colby were friendly and helpful in catching the fish. They handled a boat of only 4 people under the age of 20 like it was nothing, and made us feel welcome and comfortable. The fishing was fantastic too! We started out at the hump, fishing for blackfin tuna, and boy was that fun. Two and three rods going off at a time! After 10 tuna, we headed out looking for the dolphin and the birds. Even though the day was slow for the dolphin, we were able to land a nice 30 pound bull dolphin! As a testament to how good of a captain Ross is, he was able to hook us up to one of only a few dolphin caught by any boat that day, and it was surely one of, if not the largest. After this, the captain took us in to the reef to limit out on yellowtail which was quite an experience, seeing the "yellow brick road" of yellowtail behind the boat. At the dock, Captain Ross and Colby got pictures us with our catch, filleted all the fish for us. We will definitely be able to make a couple meals out of that! All in all, we had an extremely memorable day, with a great captain, crew, and boat. We will make sure to book Early Bird Charter next time we visit the keys!!

Peyton K

Great trip

I had a great time with Early Bird Fishing Charter. Captain Ross and first mate, Colby did a great job. They are truly some hard workers...we had the easiest part which was reeling the fish in. They also anchored the boat so everyone could jump in the water before headed back to the dock. Great day!!!!

The next time I'm in Florida I would definitely love to go fishing again with these guys!

Sepeck

Unexpected awesomeness!

Captain Ross took a bunch of us Colorado girls out for an awesome day on the water! The experience was amazing, memorable and we caught more Mahi than we could eat during our trip! You won't be disappointed if you set out with Captain Ross and his crew.

Jmo

Outstanding!

I've experienced many charters from Hawaii to Costa Rico and I can honestly say Captain Ross and crew are perhaps the BEST I've had the pleasure fishing with. The second I stepped onto the boat Captain Ross & Mike where courteous, enthusiastic, prepared, and ready to fish! He knows all the tricks of the trade bringing us onto black fin tuna right away. While looking for Mahi Mahi Captain Ross had a " gut" feeling & changed lures, less than 10 minutes I was hooked into a BLUE MARLIN! The professionalism these two showed while I was fighting the Marlin was inspiring. Yes, I landed the Marlin. We finished the trip by hooking into two different schools of Mahi Mahi. 10 Tuna, 8 Mahi, & a Blue Marlin...not a bad day fishing! Captain Ross & Mike...You two ROCK! I can't recommend them enough.

Patrick H

Fish On!!!

We had a trip last week that you usually hear about right after your captain says, "you shoulda been here last week when....". I thought it might go well when our bait stop took less than 10 minutes. 2 throws of the cast net by Colby and the bait well was loaded up and we were off to "the humps" for tuna on a half-day morning trip. Once we got there the first two lines in the water put 2 nice tuna in the box. There were times when we had 3 and even 4 fish on at the same time. There were a couple of other boats out there close enough to see what they had on, and I never saw more than one at a time. We lost 4-5 to the sharks, but overall put 14 in the box, including 3 over 20lbs. Definitely coming back.

TottenhamFan