Reel Deal Sportfishing is a private, owner run charter out of the Clearwater Beach Municipal Marina, and in 2025 it was named best charter boat by both the Tampa Bay Times and Creative Loafing. Captain Steve Hunsucker has run it with his wife Heather for more than 10 years, fishing two 34 foot sportfishers for grouper, snapper, and the rest of the Gulf bottom. It is the kind of small boat operation anglers come back to, where the person who answers the phone is the captain who runs your trip.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.0 Reel Deal is a strong choice and one of the best private picks in the port, just behind Stella Fishing Co. among the sportfishers. The draw is a hands on, award winning captain and a clean, well kept boat. The limits are simple: it is a six pack, so it books up well ahead in season, and a 34 foot boat is better suited to the reefs and the nearer offshore than to multi day long range trips, where the Double Eagle head boat or Stella reach further. For seats by the person rather than a whole boat, the Queen Fleet is the value pick; for a faster small boat, Fisheye Sportfishing; for a large group, Gulfstream Fishing Charters. Compare them all on the Clearwater ranking.
The boat
Reel Deal runs two 34 foot diesel sportfishers, the Reel Deal and the Reel Deal II, each licensed for up to 6 anglers and rigged with GPS, a bottom sounder, radar, outriggers, and fighting chairs. Reviewers describe a clean, roomy deck with shade to get out of the sun, which matters on a full day. As a cabin sportfisher it rides drier and more comfortably than a center console, though it is smaller than the boats at Stella, so the longest offshore trips are not its strength.
The fishing and what you target
The boat fishes the Clearwater bottom for red grouper year round, mangrove and other snapper, amberjack, cobia, hogfish, king and Spanish mackerel, and the occasional shark or mahi mahi, with extended offshore trips during red snapper season. Captain Steve fishes the boat himself, so the local knowledge is first hand rather than handed down a roster. As everywhere on this coast, gag grouper is closed for most of 2026 and red grouper carries the reefs.
Trips and prices
Reel Deal runs half, three quarter, all day, and extended offshore charters. A private half day starts around $950 for the boat, up to 6 anglers, all tackle, bait, and licenses included, and the captain fillets your catch at the dock. In the slower months it offers a shared rate of about $225 per person for a group of four, a way onto a private style boat without booking the whole thing. Marina parking is $6 for a half day and $12 for a full day, and a 15% to 20% tip for the crew is customary. The cost guide and the party boat versus private charter guide set those numbers against a head boat seat.
The crew
The crew is the strength and the reason for the awards. Reviewers consistently describe Captain Steve as patient, generous with first timers, and willing to keep moving until the box fills, and the operation as responsive and easy to deal with from the first call. The sentiment is strong across Google and the booking platforms, with the rare unhappy report that comes with any boat, usually tied to a weathered or slow day rather than the crew. Because it is owner run, the experience is consistent in a way a rotating roster is not.
Booking and what to know
Book direct by phone or online, or through a marketplace listing, and book early for summer and red snapper season, since one captain and two boats fill fast. Confirm the trip length and the target with Captain Steve when you book, so the plan matches the season. Bring food, drinks, and a cooler; the boat covers the fishing gear and the license.
How we scored it
Reel Deal scores 8.0: an award winning, owner run private boat with an excellent captain and a clean, well equipped sportfisher, held a step below the top by the natural limits of a single six pack operation and a 34 foot boat on the longest runs. Captain and crew is its strongest factor. See how we scored this boat and the Clearwater ranking for the field.