A&B Charters is the comfortable, capable middle of the Naples deep sea fleet: a 40 foot Sea Hawk sportfisherman with a full cabin, a restroom, and a shaded deck, licensed to take a larger group than a six pack. Captain Jim Rinckey has fished the Naples grounds for decades, the boat is federally permitted for the offshore reef fish, and it carries one of the deepest review records in the port. For a family or a group that wants room and a settled, experienced operation, it is an easy call.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.1 A&B sits second in the Naples ranking, behind only Off Her Radar. It earns the place on a roomy, well kept cabin boat, a long tenured captain, posted rates, and a long record of satisfied groups. Where it gives a little back is the personal feel: a boat built for up to 10 or more is less intimate than a tight six pack like Off Her Radar or Offshore Naples. For the cheapest way out, the Pure Florida head boat sells shared seats, and Tom’s Deep Sea Fishing is the other small private. See the full Naples ranking.
The boat
The A&B is a 40 foot Sea Hawk sportfisherman, custom built to Coast Guard standards, with the deck space and the comfort for a group day: a full sized cabin, comfortable seating, bunks, a private restroom, and a shaded fishing cockpit. It is the comfort pick in the port. The flip side of a bigger boat is the crowd it can carry, so on a full charter you share the rail with more anglers than a six pack, which is the trade for the room and the lower per person cost.
The fishing and what you target
A&B is a reef and bottom boat, federally permitted to fish the offshore federal waters where the better grouper and snapper hold. It works 25 to 35 miles out for red grouper, mangrove snapper, amberjack, kingfish, permit, and goliath grouper, with red snapper on the longer summer trips. Red grouper is the year round Naples staple; red snapper opens June 1 to October 26, 2026 in federal waters, where the permit pays off. Amberjack is closed until September and triggerfish through July, so early summer leans on grouper and snapper.
Trips and prices
A&B posts its rates, which counts in its favor. A half day, morning or afternoon, is $1,250, and a full day $2,500, each for the boat and up to 6 anglers, with free cancellation 30 days out and larger groups taken by arrangement up to the boat’s licensed capacity. Bait, tackle, and licenses are included. Split across a group the per person cost is fair for a comfortable cabin boat. Our cost guide and the walk on versus private guide help you weigh it against a shared seat.
The crew
Captain Jim Rinckey has decades on the Naples grounds, and the review record backs it: across a large body of reviews on the booking platforms, anglers describe a captain who knows where the fish are and a mate who works the deck hard, with grouper and snapper hauls the common story. One reviewer called it the greatest grouper fishing of their life. The depth and consistency of that record is a real strength, the kind a newer boat cannot show.
Booking and what to know
Book through the website or the booking platform, ahead for summer, and confirm the group size, since the boat takes more than a six pack and the rate covers the first 6. Bring food, drinks, sunscreen, and a cooler; bait, tackle, and licenses are covered, and the mate cleans the catch. For room and comfort on a group day, this is the boat.
How we scored it
A&B scores 8.1 on a comfortable, federally permitted cabin boat, a long tenured captain, posted rates, and a deep, consistent review record, held just below the top by a slightly less personal feel than the port’s best six pack. Boat and equipment and track record are its strongest factors. See how we scored this boat and the Naples ranking for where it lands.