Galveston Offshore is the private charter with the deepest, most consistent customer record in the port, and that record is what puts it at the top of our ranking. Captain Shannon LaBauve runs the trips himself on Half Time, a 31 foot Oceanmaster out of the Galveston Yacht Basin, working the jetties, the nearshore beachfront, and the offshore reefs 30 to 60 miles out for red snapper, kingfish, and ling. Behind it sits one of the largest banks of five star reviews of any of the Galveston charters on the Texas coast, the kind of record a single good season cannot fake.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.3 Galveston Offshore is a strong choice and the top ranked boat in Galveston, a clear, well earned first place. What carries it is consistency. A near five star average holds far more weight over more than a thousand reviews than over a few dozen, and that volume, built by an owner operator who runs every trip himself, is the difference between this boat and the strong but thinner records on the private fleet behind it. The honest limit is the boat. At 31 feet it is the smallest of the serious offshore boats here, so the long run to the federal snapper grounds is wetter and tighter than it would be on the 36 foot Nautilus Charters or the larger cabin boats at Wave Dancer Charters, and the top end offshore day is not cheap. For the cheapest way onto the same water, the head boats Williams Party Boats and Galveston Party Boats sell seats by the person. The full field is on the Galveston ranking.
The boat
Half Time is a 31 foot Oceanmaster center console, rerigged in 2023 with new twin Suzuki 300 outboards, new electronics, and new wiring. It carries the gear you want on the Gulf: dual GPS, radar, a bottom machine to read structure, an automatic EPIRB, tournament outriggers for the troll, a livewell, an onboard restroom, and a 300 gallon fuel capacity that gives it the legs to reach the offshore reefs and run back. It is a well kept, well found boat for up to 6 anglers. The honest caveat is the same one every center console carries. There is no enclosed cabin to escape the sun or a building chop, so a full offshore day in August runs hotter and wetter than it would on a larger sportfisher with a cabin, and six anglers plus the captain is a full deck on a 31 foot hull.
The fishing and what you target
Galveston sits a long way from true blue water, so the offshore day here is built around the reefs and the federal snapper grounds rather than a quick run to the canyon. Half Time fishes three distances. The jetty trip works the rocks and the nearshore for bull redfish, sharks, and trout. The nearshore beachfront run reaches kingfish, ling, and sharks. The offshore day, 30 to 60 miles out, is the one built for red snapper, with amberjack, grouper, kingfish, and the odd mahi mahi or wahoo on the troll out and back. Red snapper is the headliner, open in Texas state waters year round at a 4 fish daily bag and on the longer federal window in summer. Confirm the current dates and limits with Texas Parks and Wildlife and NOAA Fisheries before you book a snapper trip, since the federal for-hire season is set year to year.
Trips and prices
The pricing is whole boat, all inclusive, and clearly posted, which is rare enough to count for something. The jetty half day runs $495 for 2 anglers with each extra angler added, the nearshore beach full day is $1,200 for up to 6, and the offshore run is $2,500 for up to 6. Fuel, rods, reels, tackle, ice, and bait are covered, and the crew cleans and bags your catch at the dock, so a Texas saltwater license is the only thing you add. The offshore day is the priciest single boat day in our Galveston field, and it is fair for the boat, the captain, and the all inclusive terms, but it only works out per person when you fill the deck with your own group of up to six. For how that whole boat math compares with a per person head boat seat, our cost guide and the party boat versus private charter guide set them side by side.
The crew
The captain is the whole story here. Shannon LaBauve has been licensed since 1995 and runs every trip himself, and the sentiment across more than a thousand reviews is strikingly uniform: reviewers describe a captain who puts in the run time to find fish, stays patient with kids and first timers, and works the deck rather than leaving anglers to sort out a tangle alone. Recent reports from the 2025 season carry the same note, limits of red snapper with a few larger fish each trip, so the record is current, not a memory of a good year. The volume is what separates this boat. A near five star average over a thousand trips is a far stronger signal than the same average over a handful, and it is the single biggest reason Galveston Offshore ranks first.
Booking and what to know
Book direct or through FishingBooker, and book early for the summer snapper weeks, since a single boat with a deep reputation fills fast. The boat departs the Galveston Yacht Basin off Holiday Drive, a short drive from the seawall and the Strand. Confirm the trip length and the snapper window for your dates, and bring food, drinks, sunscreen, a hat, and a soft cooler with ice for your fillets. The boat covers the rods, tackle, bait, and ice, so sun protection and your own food are the main things to pack, and sun protection matters more on an open center console than it would on a cabin boat.
How we scored it
Galveston Offshore scores 8.3: the deepest and most consistent review record in the port, a clean, well equipped boat refit in 2023, transparent all inclusive pricing, and an owner operator who runs every trip, held just short of the top band by the comfort and space limits of a 31 foot open boat on a long day and a top end offshore price. Captain and crew and track record are its strongest factors, each carried by the sheer weight of consistent sentiment. See how we scored this boat for the full rubric, and the Galveston ranking for the field.