Every year, FishingBooker, the largest online platform for finding and booking fishing trips in the U.S., awards its best captains with the Angler’s Choice Award. Two of the winners operate locally out of Ruskin: Blue Collar Fishing Charters with captain Donald Harris and Reel Edge Charters with captain Dan Currey.
Harris is an army veteran as well as a veteran of the Tampa Bay waters. He fell in love with these waters when he started fishing in the area during the ’70s prior to his service. After 24 years of service, he retired and got back to fishing. He loves being a captain, especially making fishing possible for hard-working families and other veterans. Harris is licensed for state waters and has been with FishingBooker since 2018. He offers inshore trips ranging from four to eight hours as well as night trips.
Growing up in a small East Texas town, Currey developed his love of the outdoors and fishing. Along with his wife and two kids, he moved to Florida in 2003 and has been fishing and exploring the Tampa Bay waters for more than 18 years. The captain loves sharing his love, respect and knowledge of Florida’s great fishery and beautiful habitat with his guests. Currey is licensed for state waters and has been with FishingBooker since 2021. He offers inshore and offshore fishing trips ranging anywhere from two to eight hours.
With 7,800 charter operators on the platform and only 15 percent of captains receiving the distinction, Angler’s Choice Award captains are acknowledged for their incredible customer service, reliability and high-quality fishing trips. To be eligible for the award, the charter operators had to meet the following criteria: above 4.5 out of a possible five-star review rating from at least seven verified reviews, a low cancellation rate of below 30 percent and above 90 percent responsiveness to booking requests.
Vukan Simic, CEO of FishingBooker, said, “We’ve been awarding the Angler’s Choice Award since 2015. Over time, we made some improvements to the criteria, as we started partnering with more and more guides and the quality of service and customer experience went up. The award is a badge of honor for our most committed captains, and a surefire way for anglers to recognize a top guide on our platform.”
FishingBooker is the world’s largest platform for connecting anglers and fishing guides with over 34,000 fishing trips available in more than 1,900 destinations worldwide. Visit https://fishingbooker.com/.
