Top Knotch Fishing Charters is a strong private offshore pick in Madeira Beach, a fast 36 foot Contender run by Captain Trae Sorensen, a fourth-generation Tampa Bay captain with more than 25 years on the water. It posts its prices, fishes the Gulf reefs and wrecks for the full bottom spread, and runs everything from a half day to a 15 hour deep drop trip. The rating is spotless. It ranks in the upper half of the private field, with a review base that is clean but smaller than the leaders the main reason it sits where it does.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.5 Top Knotch is a strong choice and the fourth ranked operation in Madeira Beach, a dependable private pick for a group that wants a fast boat and an experienced local captain. It sits just behind Salty Confusion and ahead of Figured It Out. Book it for a grouper, hogfish, and snapper day, or a deep drop run. The honest limit is the depth of its public record: the rating is perfect, but on a smaller base than the busiest boats in the port, so the score rests on a clean rather than a huge sample. Compare the field on the Madeira Beach ranking.
The boat
The boat is a 36 foot Contender center console with triple 300 horsepower Suzuki outboards, a large livewell, and top electronics, fast enough to reach the offshore ground quickly and federally licensed to fish beyond 9 miles. It carries up to 6 anglers. It is a capable, modern offshore center console, a step up in power from the smaller boats in the port, though as an open boat a long deep drop day is an exposed one with less shelter than a cabin boat.
The fishing and what you target
Captain Trae fishes the Gulf reefs and wrecks for hogfish, red grouper, mangrove snapper, amberjack, and kingfish, with red snapper in season and tilefish on the 15 hour deep drop trips. Gag grouper is open only a short window in 2026 and amberjack is closed for the season, so red grouper, hogfish, and snapper carry most trips. The fourth-generation local knowledge is the draw: this is a captain who has fished these numbers his whole life.
Trips and prices
The rates are posted on FishingBooker: $1,200 for a 4 hour half day, $1,700 for a 6 hour three quarter day, $2,200 for a full day, $2,700 for a 10 hour day, $3,200 for 12 hours, and $3,700 for a 15 hour deep drop trip, for up to 6 anglers. The license and cleaning are included, with free cancellation up to 3 days out and a gratuity customary on top. That is in line with the other higher-end center consoles in the port. Our cost guide sets those numbers against a walk-on seat.
The crew
Captain Trae Sorensen is a fourth-generation Tampa Bay captain with over 25 years of experience, and the FishingBooker record, a perfect 5.0 across 58 reviews, is clean and consistent. Reviewers credit a captain whose experience shows, who puts people on fish, and who is good with families. The honest note is volume: 58 reviews is a solid base but smaller than the leaders carry, so track record is scored on a clean sample rather than a deep one. Nothing recurring counts against the crew in the reviews we read.
Booking and what to know
Book through FishingBooker or the operator’s site, with free cancellation up to 3 days out. Bring food and drinks and a cooler for your fillets, since it is an open boat. The license is covered and the captain cleans your catch for free. The deep drop trip is worth asking about for tilefish, and the red snapper trips are seasonal.
How we scored it
Top Knotch scores 7.5: a fourth-generation captain, a fast modern offshore boat, and posted prices on a spotless rating, marked down on track record only because its review base is smaller than the busiest boats in the port. Captain and crew is its strongest factor. See how we scored this boat and compare it with the rest of the Madeira Beach boats.