Lock It Up Charters is the value pick in Key Largo, a small, new center console run by owner Captain Jason Calhoun that carries the largest, cleanest review record of any private boat in the port, a perfect rating across more than 300 trips. It runs the widest range of trips in the field, from a 2 hour reef run to a full day offshore troll, and the short reef trips are among the cheapest private fishing in the Upper Keys. It ranks in the strong tier of our Key Largo field on that record and value, held back honestly by the one thing it cannot change: a 24 foot open boat is right for the reef and a stretch for the long bluewater run.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.3 Lock It Up is a strong choice and the value end of the Key Largo field, the pick when you want a private boat and a hands on captain without the sportfisher price. The strength is the captain and the value: a near perfect record over a huge number of trips, and the cheapest private trips in the port. What holds it back is the boat and the trips it can realistically run. A 24 foot center console is the smallest hull we rank here, with no cabin or head, so the long offshore day that the 40 foot boats handle in comfort is a stretch on this one. Book it for a reef half day or a first trip, and step up to a bigger boat such as Reel Deal, its neighbor at mile marker 104, if the long offshore run is the point. The Key Largo ranking sets the field side by side.
The boat
The boat is a 24 foot Sea Born center console, new in 2022, powered by a single 300 horsepower Suzuki. It is the smallest hull we rank in Key Largo, an open boat with no cabin, no head, and a wetter ride than the sportfishers, which is the honest ceiling on what it can do. What it is, it does well: a quick, capable boat for the patch reefs, the wrecks, and the nearshore water, and being new it is clean and well kept. It carries up to 6 anglers, the Coast Guard limit on a six pack boat, though six anglers on a 24 foot deck is a full load, and several reviewers suggest four is the comfortable number.
The fishing and what you target
Lock It Up is a reef and wreck boat first. It works the patch reefs and wrecks off Key Largo for yellowtail and other snapper, grouper, barracuda, African pompano, and cobia, the bread and butter of the Upper Keys reef, and trolls for mahi mahi and tuna on the longer 6 and 8 hour trips and the night run. It does not reach for the long range offshore fishing that the bigger boats build their full days around, and the listing is honest about that, leaning on the reef and the nearshore action where a 24 foot boat is in its element.
Trips and prices
Lock It Up sells by the whole boat, private only, and runs the widest tier of trips in the port. The short trips are $375 for 2 hours and $500 for a 3 hour reef trip, a 4 hour half day is $750 and a 6 hour trip is $900, and the full days run $1,200, with a 6 hour mahi trolling trip at $1,200, an 8 hour troll at $1,450, and a seasonal night trip at $1,350. The gear, fishing license, and catch cleaning are included. The short reef trips are some of the cheapest private fishing in Key Largo, which is the clearest part of the value case. Our cost guide shows where that sits against a shared seat and the larger sportfishers.
The crew
Captain Jason Calhoun runs the boat himself, and the record behind him is the strongest single argument for booking it: a perfect rating across more than 300 reviews, with the recurring themes a friendly, patient captain who is good with families and first timers and puts people on steady reef action. The honest qualifier is the same one that applies to any near perfect booking platform record: it collects feedback only from completed trips, so it is lightly tested against the open review sites, and a flawless profile over that many trips is worth reading rather than taking at face value. What is there reads very well.
Booking and what to know
Book through the operator’s site or its FishingBooker listing. The boat leaves from mile marker 104, the same stretch as Reel Deal. No fishing license is needed, the boat covers it, and the crew cleans your catch. Because it is a small open boat, dress for sun and spray, keep the group to a comfortable number, and take motion sickness medication if you are unsure of your stomach, especially on the longer trolling trips.
How we scored it
Lock It Up scores 7.3: the cheapest private trips in Key Largo and the largest, cleanest review record of any boat in the port, held back honestly by a 24 foot open hull that limits it to the reef and the nearshore water rather than the long offshore day. Captain and crew, value, and service are its strongest factors; boat and equipment and trips and access are where the small boat costs it. See how we scored this boat, and weigh it against the rest of the Key Largo fleet.