The Captain Michael is the budget party boat at Robbie’s of Islamorada, a 65 foot head boat that fishes the reef and sells seats by the person, with an afternoon trip from $75 and the only regular night trip in the port. It is the cheapest, most sociable way onto the water here, with the bait, tackle, rods, license, and cleaning all included. It earns a place in the ranked field as a low cost option, but lands at the bottom of it: the on the day experience is uneven, with crowding and crew complaints recurring in the reviews.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 6.2 the Captain Michael is in the mixed band and the sixth ranked boat in Islamorada, the budget choice with real trade-offs. The case for it is price and options: $75 to $100 a seat, three trips a day, and a night trip nothing else in the port runs, all with the gear and license covered. The case against it is consistency. Robbie’s is one of the busiest tourist stops in the Keys, with a tarpon feeding, shops, a bar, and a restaurant, and the party boat carries that crowd. Reviews split hard: some describe a friendly, hard working crew and a cooler full of snapper, while others report a packed rail, no real rotation of fishing spots, and a crew that fishes rather than focusing on the paying anglers. Book it for a cheap, social few hours or a night trip with low expectations; for a steadier full day, the Miss Islamorada is the other party boat in the port.
The boat
The Captain Michael is a 65 foot party boat with a cabin, restrooms, and a shaded area, set up to take a crowd of anglers out to the reef. It does the job of a head boat, which is to get a lot of people fishing cheaply, and it carries the gear and the crew to bait and unhook for the inexperienced. It is not a boat to judge on comfort or finish; the rail is the experience, and on a busy sailing that rail is full. That crowding, and a finish that is workmanlike rather than well kept, is why boat and equipment sits below the Miss Islamorada.
The fishing and what you target
This is reef fishing close to shore. The boat anchors on the reef for yellowtail, mutton, and mangrove snapper, with grouper, porgy, and mackerel in the mix, the same bottom fish the Miss Islamorada targets. The one thing it offers that no other party boat here does is the night trip: fishing the reef under lights from about 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., which can turn on for snapper and is a genuinely different trip. The reef holds snapper year round, and the Atlantic shallow-water grouper closure runs January 1 to April 30 in 2026, so a winter trip is a snapper box. Confirm the current rules with Florida FWC before you go.
Trips and prices
The Captain Michael is sold by the seat across three daily trips: a 5 hour morning trip from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at $100, a 4 hour afternoon trip from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at $75, and a 5 hour night trip from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at $100. Bait, tackle, rods, the fishing license, and fish cleaning are included, so the fare is close to the full cost, and the $75 afternoon is the cheapest scheduled trip in the port. That clear, all-in, low pricing is the boat’s best factor. Our party boat versus private charter guide explains the format, and the cost guide sets a party boat seat against a private day.
The crew
This is the boat’s weak point and the reason it sits at the bottom of the ranked field. The sentiment is genuinely mixed and the negative pattern is specific: reviewers repeatedly describe a captain promising a rotation of positions that does not happen, so the bow anglers catch far less than the stern, crowding that tangles lines, and a crew that on some trips fishes for itself rather than working for the paying anglers. There are real positive reviews too, naming a helpful, friendly crew and good snapper fishing, but the spread is wider and the lows are lower than on the Miss Islamorada, which is why captain and crew and track record both score below it.
Booking and what to know
Book through Robbie’s by phone or at the dock. The boat leaves from Robbie’s of Islamorada at 77522 Overseas Highway, mile marker 77.5 on the ocean side, the same complex as the tarpon feeding, so plan for the parking and the tourist crowd in season. Check in is 30 minutes before departure. Bring a soft cooler for the fillets and sun protection, and for the night trip, a layer for after dark. Arrive early for a stern spot, which is where the fish are.
How we scored it
The Captain Michael scores 6.2, the mixed band, on low all-inclusive pricing and the options of three daily trips and a night run, pulled down by an uneven crew, crowding at a busy tourist stop, and a track record that splits harder than the other party boat in the port. See how we scored this boat, and compare it across the Islamorada ranking.