Kelley Girl Charters has been a Panama City Beach family business for generations, running a large, comfortable sportfisher out of Grand Lagoon for grouper, snapper, and the rest of the Gulf bottom. Captain Mark Kelley has more than 35 years on this water and Captain Carson Kelley more than 14, and the operation has built one of the steadiest review records in the port. For a big family or a group that wants one boat to itself without paying six pack rates per head, the Kelley Girl is among the easier recommendations on the beach.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.1 Kelley Girl is a strong choice and the best large group private boat in Panama City Beach, just behind Blue Water Connection among the private operations. The draw is a roomy boat, decades of local knowledge, and a review record that holds up across the seasons. Where it sits a step back is range and focus: this is a bottom and reef program more than a big game one, so for a marlin or tuna troll the Viking at Blue Water Connection is the better tool, and for a smaller, faster private trip Triple B Fishing and Hook’em Up Charters are the six pack picks, and Charter Boat Freedom is the other mid sized group boat. For seats by the person rather than a whole boat, the Capt. Anderson’s head boats are far cheaper. The full field is on the Panama City Beach ranking.
The boat
The headline boat is the Kelley Girl, a Gillman sportfisher the operator lists at 52 feet and FishingBooker at 55, licensed for up to 20 anglers, with twin 700 horsepower diesels, air conditioning, restrooms, a flybridge, and outriggers. That size is the point: it is a stable, comfortable platform with room to move, which suits families, mixed groups, and anyone who does not want to fish shoulder to shoulder on a head boat rail or perched on an open console. A second boat, the Lady Kelley, extends the operation. The boat is built for comfortable group fishing rather than chasing pelagics at speed, so set expectations toward a steady day on the reefs and the wrecks.
The fishing and what you target
Kelley Girl fishes the Gulf bottom that Panama City Beach is known for: red grouper year round, mangrove and vermilion snapper, amberjack and triggerfish when their seasons are open, and king and Spanish mackerel on the troll. The longer trips reach better structure for red snapper in season and pick up mahi mahi and the odd pelagic on the way. Trips run from 4 hours close to home out to 12, 14, and even two day runs, plus dedicated shark trips, so you can match the length to the target and the season. As everywhere on this coast in 2026, gag grouper is closed for most of the year and red grouper carries the bottom fishing.
Trips and prices
Rates are whole boat for up to 6 anglers, with each extra person added and the price moving by season. A 4 hour trip starts at $1,000, a 6 hour runs $1,500 to $1,650, an 8 hour full day $2,000 to $2,200, and a 12 hour offshore day $3,000 to $3,300, with 14 hour and two day trips above that. Rods, reels, tackle, and licenses are included and the crew cleans your catch; live bait is the main extra. Because the boat holds up to 20, the per person math improves sharply with a full group, which is the case for booking it over a head boat seat. Our cost guide and the party boat versus private charter guide lay out that comparison.
The crew
The crew is the strength. Across a deep set of reviews the recurring themes are captains who consistently put groups on fish, mates who work hard and stay patient with children and first timers, and a professional, family friendly trip from the dock out. Reviewers single out Captain Mark and Captain Carson and first mate Nate by name and describe steady catches across full and half day trips. Because the business is owner run and has been for decades, the experience is consistent in a way a rotating roster is not, which is much of why the track record score sits where it does.
Booking and what to know
Book direct by phone or text, or through a marketplace listing, and book ahead for summer and red snapper season, since the best dates fill first. Confirm the trip length and the target when you book so the plan matches the season, and be clear about your group size, since the rate is built around the first six anglers. Bring food, drinks, sunscreen, and a soft cooler; rods, tackle, and licenses are covered.
How we scored it
Kelley Girl scores 8.1: a long established, family run boat with experienced captains, a comfortable large platform, and a deep, consistent track record, held a step below the top by a bottom focused range rather than the full big game program above it. Captain and crew and track record are its strongest factors. See how we scored this boat for the rubric, and the Panama City Beach ranking for where it lands.