Don’t Panic Sport Fishing is the deep sea name in Pompano Beach with the deepest run of strong reviews behind it, a comfortable cabin sportfisher that Captain Ron Comerford runs out of the Hillsboro Inlet area. It is the rare boat in a port full of open center consoles that gives you an air conditioned salon, a galley, and a private head, and the record across more than 150 reviews praises a captain who works to put people on fish. It sits at the top of the port on that consistency and comfort, with one quibble, a hull that is listed at different lengths and is older under the polish.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.2 Don’t Panic is a strong choice and the first ranked boat in Pompano Beach. It earns the spot on captain and crew and a long, steady record: an owner-operator captain who fishes the same close-in Gulf Stream day after day, a comfortable boat, and the deepest positive review trail in the port. The quibble is the boat detail, not the fishing. The listings disagree on its size, a 42 foot Post on the booking page against a 47 foot Buddy Davis in the marketing, and either way it is an older hull kept up well rather than a new one. Book it for a comfortable private day on the Gulf Stream with a captain who knows the water. You can weigh it against the field on the Pompano Beach ranking.
The boat
Don’t Panic is a 40 something foot cabin sportfisher, and the comfort is the point. It has an air conditioned salon with couches, a full galley with a refrigerator and microwave, a private head with fresh water, and coolers with ice, which is more shelter than the open boats that make up much of the Pompano fleet offer. The listings carry a length conflict, a 42 foot Post on the FishingBooker page and a 47 foot Buddy Davis in the operator’s own marketing, that the operation has not cleared up, and the hull dates to the 1980s, so it is a well kept older boat rather than a new one. It carries up to 6 anglers, the Coast Guard limit on a six pack boat.
The fishing and what you target
The draw off Pompano is how fast the bottom drops: the Gulf Stream and the deep reef sit close to Hillsboro Inlet, so Don’t Panic is fishing within minutes of leaving the dock. It trolls and live baits the Gold Coast spread, with sailfish the winter prize, mahi mahi from spring into fall, blackfin tuna and king mackerel through the year, and wahoo in the cooler months, and it bottom fishes the reef for snapper and grouper. The captain matches the trip to the season rather than promising the same catch year round. Confirm the current limits and the Atlantic grouper closure with Florida FWC before a season specific trip, since the rules shift year to year.
Trips and prices
Don’t Panic sells by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers, private only, and posts its rates on its own site: $850 for a 4 hour half day, $1,250 for a 6 hour three quarter day, and $1,600 for an 8 hour full day. The fishing license, catch cleaning and filleting, and a complimentary drink for adults are included. That posted pricing is a strength against the boats that route you to a phone call. The one booking wrinkle is that its FishingBooker listing is not currently taking reservations, so book direct. Our cost guide sets those private boat numbers against a shared drift boat seat, which in this port means the Fish City Pride.
The crew
This is the heart of the score. Captain Ron Comerford owns and runs the operation, with Captain Lucas and mates the reviews name, Damian and Angel among them, and the record across FishingBooker, Google, and TripAdvisor runs near the top of the port, a 4.9 rating across more than 150 reviews. The recurring themes are a captain who goes out of his way to find fish and a crew that teaches first timers rather than leaving them to it. Little recurring negative sentiment surfaces against the crew, though as with any deep review base the odd slow, weathered day shows up; read the recent reviews before you book.
Booking and what to know
Book direct by phone or through the operator’s site, since the FishingBooker listing is paused. The boat leaves from the Hillsboro Inlet area of Pompano Beach, near Sands Harbor, so allow time to park and check in. Bring your own food beyond the drinks aboard and a soft cooler for your fillets. No license is needed, since the boat covers it, and the crew cleans your catch at the dock.
How we scored it
Don’t Panic scores 8.2: the most consistent captain and crew and the deepest track record in Pompano Beach, on a comfortable if older cabin sportfisher, with posted pricing, marked down only slightly on service for the paused booking listing and on the boat for the length that varies by listing. Captain and crew and track record are its strongest factors. See how we scored this boat, and compare it against the rest of the Pompano Beach boats.