Triple B Fishing runs private charters out of Capt. Anderson’s Marina on Grand Lagoon, and it has built one of the strongest review records in Panama City Beach. Captain Harris Scruggs is a Panama City native with about 15 years on this water, and he runs the boat himself with first mate Cody, fishing a clean 40 foot sportfisher for grouper, snapper, and the rest of the Gulf bottom. It is the kind of small boat operation anglers come back to, where the person who answers the phone is the captain who runs your trip.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.9 Triple B is a strong choice and the better of the two six packs in the port, ahead of Hook’em Up Charters and just behind the larger Kelley Girl Charters and Blue Water Connection among the private boats. The draw is a hands on, well reviewed captain and a clean, well kept boat that fishes hard. The limits are simple. It is a six pack, so it caps your group at six and books up well ahead in season, and the review pool, while almost faultless, is smaller than the big operations draw, so the record is strong rather than deep. For a large group, Kelley Girl or Charter Boat Freedom carry more anglers; for seats by the person, the Capt. Anderson’s head boats are far cheaper. Compare them all on the Panama City Beach ranking.
The boat
The Triple B is a 40 foot Infiniti sportfishing convertible, an older hull built in 1970 and fully restored in 2021, running twin 420 horsepower Caterpillar diesels. The restoration is what matters: reviewers describe a clean boat with a cold, air conditioned cabin, which is no small thing on a Gulf summer day, and a deck rigged for serious bottom fishing. As a cabin boat it rides drier and more comfortably than an open center console, with a head aboard for the long trips. The honest note is the size. At 40 feet it is a true six pack, comfortable for a small group and not built to carry the crowd a head boat or a larger sportfisher takes.
The fishing and what you target
The boat fishes the Panama City Beach bottom for red grouper year round, mangrove and vermilion snapper, amberjack and triggerfish in their open windows, and king mackerel, with red snapper the summer headliner. The federal reef fish permit is the practical edge: it lets Triple B run from just outside the pass out to about 100 miles, so the longer trips reach structure the inshore boats do not. Captain Harris fishes the boat himself, so the local knowledge is first hand rather than handed down a roster. Gag grouper is closed for most of 2026, so red grouper carries the reefs, and the long summer days are the ones that reach red snapper and the better ground.
Trips and prices
Triple B runs 6, 8, 10, and 12 hour bottom fishing charters, all whole boat for up to 6 anglers: $1,800 for the 6 hour, $2,500 for the 8, $3,000 for the 10, and $3,500 for the 12, with free cancellation up to 3 days out. Rods, reels, lures, and licenses are included and the captain fillets your catch at the dock; live bait is an option and a 10 to 20 percent tip for the crew is customary. For a group of six the per person cost sits below a larger private charter and well above a head boat seat, which is the trade for a private boat and a named captain. Our cost guide and the party boat versus private charter guide set those numbers side by side.
The crew
The crew is the strength and the reason for the score. Across its reviews, Captain Harris and first mate Cody draw steady praise as knowledgeable, hard working, and good at keeping the whole group fishing, with many trips ending in a full box and several reviewers noting the captain makes everyone comfortable whether they are seasoned or new to it. The sentiment is strong and almost uniformly positive; what holds the track record score short of the leaders is volume, not direction, since a single six pack simply books fewer trips than a head boat or a three boat operation.
Booking and what to know
Book direct or through FishingBooker, and book early for summer and red snapper season, since one boat and one captain fill fast. Confirm the trip length and the target with Captain Harris so the plan matches the season and the permit is used well. Keep the group to six, and bring food, drinks, sunscreen, and a cooler; the boat covers the rods, tackle, and license.
How we scored it
Triple B scores 7.9: an owner run six pack with a standout local captain, a clean restored boat, and a federal permit that reaches the far ground, held below the larger private boats by its size and a thinner, though excellent, review pool. Captain and crew is its strongest factor by a clear margin. See how we scored this boat and the Panama City Beach ranking for the field.