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The Best Destin, FL Fishing Charters

One-of-a-kind fishing charter experiences with Destin's best captains.

Take Friends & Family on a fishing charter to remember

Enjoy a fantastic fishing charter adventure with the best team in town. Our experienced captains have years of fishing charter and fishing excursion experience. Perfect for parties of up to 10. Choose from two different boats available for fishing charters throughout the year.

You Fish. We Handle The Details.

Equipment Provided

Rods, bait, tackle, and everything else needed for a successful fishing charter trip included and ready to go when you arrive at the dock.

Experience Optional

We welcome all fisherman from highly experienced to complete beginners. You'll have a great time on our fishing charters regardless.

Catch Clean & Prep

We gut, clean, fillet and bag every fish you catch at no additional charge. We'll have your fish ready to cook shortly after return to the dock.

Safety Prioritized

We keep all our boats updated, maintained, and triple-checked to provide you with a safe and rewarding fishing charter experince.

Ready for a fishing experience of a lifetime?

Book Your Trip

Ready for a fishing charter experience of a lifetime?

Book Your Trip

A Word From Our Awesome Guests

We would 100% recommend Southern Country Charters and Captain Payton. Our trip on July 10th with him was excellent! He is a knowledgeable guide and got us on fish fast for our inshore trip. The process from booking to receiving our cleaned, read to cook catch was a breeze. Payton is friendly and conversive. I would recommend him for both experienced and novice fishing. We caught a lot of fish, learned new things, and had a blast. We will absolutely book with Captain Payton and Southern Country Charters the next time we are in Destin!

My girlfriend and I booked a 6hr charter and we had an awesome time with Payton and Herbie! They are very friendly, accommodating, and work very hard to help you catch fish. No doubt in my mind I would fish with this company again.

We had such a great day with Captain Herbie! He was fun, helpful, knowledgeable, and played some great tunes during our trip! My 12yr old had a awesome time and did not want to leave. Captain Herbie is great with kids as well as adults. You won’t regret this adventure.💕 Highly recommend it. Will be back next year!

We spent a half day with Captain Payton and his mate Herbie. Both were extremely pleasant and easy to deal with. The boat was in great shape and easy to fish from. Any time the fish weren’t biting, Captain Payton was quick to try different strategies and locations to catch fish. He was also observant of all of his guests and when a couple got a bit seasick he suggested different strategies to feel better. Both the Captain and Herbie were eager to try to get us as many fish as possible, and they were quick in cleaning them at the end for us to take home. I would definitely recommend them and would use them again if we are back in Destin.

We had a great day With Captain Peyton!!! Thanks for a great experience and teaching us how to fish in a different environment than what we get in SD!! Enjoy your adventures and go for the experiences!!!

10/10 recommend. Captain Peyton was very knowledgeable, personable and a great business man. Captain Peyton made catching fish really easy and very enjoyable. He cut up all the fish we caught and sent us home with a good amount of fish and some great ideas for how to prepare the fish. Will definitely be back.

100% recommend Captain Bill.. We had rain all day and were worried we wouldn’t be able to go out. Captain Bill didn’t call it and we had a perfect night. He explained the sails and what everything does, which is interesting. We saw turtles, dolphins and fireworks. Extremely relaxing and calm waters! Everything was absolutely perfect!

Captain Peyton was great, carried on conversations well! Helped us out when needed. The water was very choppy but did a great job helping us catch some keepers anyway! I would definitely take a trip again, but hopefully on a calmer day and when more fish are in season!

10/10 recommend. Payton is awesome. Great business guy and will definitely be back for future trips. He even rescheduled us at our convenience when we had to reschedule. Wouldn’t go anywhere else

Highly recommend!!! Captain Bill was great!!! I cldnt have asked for a better, more romantic evening!! My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on a sunset cruise with Captain Bill and his catamaran! Captain Bill even got me flowers to go along with my new wedding ring my husband got me!! What a night to remember for sure!!!

Payton was GREAT! He took us duck hunting as well as snapper fishing all in the same day. If you’re looking for a professional, friendly, and amazing guide then look no further. His knowledge of the area and wildlife was a huge plus too!! When we got back he taught us how to properly filet a fish while we kicked back and enjoyed some cold ones I wouldn’t recommend anyone else! Competitive pricing, and treats you just like family.

Payton made our Memorial Day weekend one to remember! Would highly recommend using this charter company next time you’re in the Destin/Panama City Beach area. You won’t regret it!

No matter how many times my kids, wife, or I needed more bait, Cpt Payton eagerly helped us rebait with a smile. He was phenomenal with my kids, even when one curled up and went to sleep. We caught lots of fish and have some great stories to tell about the gigantic ones that got away! We will definitely be calling Southern Country Charters again! Great job and thanks for the experience.

Most enjoyable trip with capt anderson. Capt will put you on fish, but remember it’s your job to catch them. If you want to have a good day fishing, book a trip with Capt Anderson. Thanks capt, I’ll be booking another trip with you, in the future. Happy hunter trip, hope you bag a good one. Again thanks.

Awesome time with Capt Herbie. We have a great morning with lots of bites. He’s very knowledgeable and we didn’t have any issues reeling in some great catch

We had an amazing time with Captain Payton and Herby. They were very knowledgeable and took the time to explain what we needed to do and all the species we were catching. We caught several while trolling then it was nonstop action when we stopped to deep drop. Highly recommend and will definitely book with him again.

What an awesome trip Grand daughters and grand parents caught Plenty of red snapper to take home and enjoy Thank you captain Anderson for helping us Make memories We will come back Byron Hendrick

Had a great trip! The captain was professional and friendly. He had knowledge of the water and knew the hotspots to hit! Thanks again

It was my families first time deep sea fishing and it was unbelievable! Great Captain, great music. In less than 1 min of dropping our first line a red snapper was brought aboard. Thank you for the great experience and is coming highly recommended. We will be charting again with Captain Payton.

Had an absolute blast. Was our first time doing anything like this and are already planning on coming back.

Fun times out there. Southern Country def made it a trip to remember. Can’t wait to come back to Florida to go back on the water again with you guys!

We had a excellent time with Captain Payton and Herbie. We caught a lot of fish and they made the experience much more enjoyable. They definitely knew what they were doing and were a big help to my family and I who were new to sea fishing. Would highly recommend.

Captain Payton had a great plan considering the recent weather! Ripped in a handful of good sized snapper in some pretty choppy water then trolled to pull in a king mackerel. Well worth it! Our only regret is not booking a full day trip!

Catered our trip to what we wanted. Had a great time catching fish and telling stories. Very professional, knowledgeable, and great with our kids. Our entire family had an amazing time! Caught a lot of Mahi Mahi which is our favorite. We will definitely go back out with Captain Peyton and Herbie.

The water conditions were less than ideal due to the weather but Capt. Payton still made sure we got some fish. He was careful when it came to our safety. It was wonderful regardless of the water/weather conditions.

We had such an amazing time and we’re super grateful for Captain Payton going above and beyond to make sure we had a wonderful time and incredible experience! Highly recommend going out and fishing with him!

My family of 4 plus 1 other adult went out for a 5 hour trip this afternoon. Captain Payton was great! I highly recommend him for family trips as he was great with my sons. He put us on the fish, just wish we had went with him during red snapper season because we would’ve really racked up!

Great day on the water with Capt. Payton and crew. Caught our limit on Mingo Snapper, also trigger fish and tunies. Highly recommend and will definitely be back fishing with Capt. Payton on all my future trips!

1st time on a professional charter, great experience!! It took the whole team to catch the Goliath Grouper, and released safely!! I highly recommend Captain Payton and Harvey.

Captain Peyton was more than willing to work with us to have the best fishing experience possible. Adjusted out trip times and methods to ensure an enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.

While we did not catch our target fish we caught a bunch of fish and had a blast!! Herbie was even calling other Captains to find where the better biting was - it was just a slow day for the larger species.

Captain Payton was great. Made my son and I very comfortable. Definitely a great trip and will be back in the spring for red snapper with the singing captain

We had a great experience on a 4-hour AM trip with Capt. Payton. The Capt. was very knowledgeable and provided everything we needed to have a great time. We caught several fish and had a blast jamming to some tunes and good company while doing it! Thanks for everything, Capt. Payton! Until next time!

Our Story

Captain Payton, the owner of Southern Country Charters, has been fishing and hunting since childhood! After over 20 years of experience boating, Payton decided to open Southern Country Charters to share his passion for fishing and living on the water with others through fishing charter experiences.

While Payton no longer captains all of our fishing charters, he personally trains and manages all of Southern Country Charter’s captains, to ensure the best possible experience for every guest while out on the water.

In addition to Payton’s training, our captains are some of the most experienced on the Emerald Coast, with countless years of combined boating and fishing charter experience. Whether you take a fishing trip with Captain Herbie, or a sailing adventure with Captain Bill, you’re in for an exciting, safe, and fun-filled experience!

The Best Destin, FL Fishing Charters

One-of-a-kind fishing charter experiences with Destin's best captains.

Take Friends & Family on a fishing charter to remember

You Fish. We Handle The Details.

Equipment Provided

Experience Optional

Catch Clean & Prep

Safety Prioritized

Ready for a fishing experience of a lifetime?

Ready for a fishing charter experience of a lifetime?

A Word From Our Awesome Guests

Most Common Catches

Red Snapper

Triggerfish

Mahi Mahi

King Mackerel

Grouper

Vermilion Snapper

Amberjack

Tuna

Wahoo

Our Story

Fishing Charter Gallery

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