My daughter and I used Brian Carper's fishing guide service which provided us with Eric as our guide. This review will compare Eric's service to Captain Dennis out of Zeke's Marina in Gulf Shores as I have used them both. The price for Captain Dennis and Brian Carper's service are about the same based on the last time we were in Gulf Shores, so I feel this is a fair comparison.
On the plus side for Eric, our first scheduled trip happened on a very cold day with a light freezing rain. After launching his boat, picking us up and heading out he suggested we reschedule. We were VERY grateful. The following trip was on a beautiful day.
Eric has excellent knowledge of the lake and after a couple of spots we found fish! While in transit from spot to spot he answered all of my questions about the fish finder which he didn't have to do as Brian Carper offers an electronics trip that specifically teaches how to read a fish finder.
On the down side, when I scheduled the trip I asked if the guide would do the casting for my daughter and asked Eric to do this on the dock before leaving. Eric casted for her at the first couple of spots, however by the end of the trip I was casting for her. With Captain Dennis, who we've used four times I have never touch my daughter's rod. On the perfect day Eric launched the boat a few minutes late and had us back to the dock 25 minutes early. He explained he had an appointment to get to. With Captain Dennis you actually fish for four hours not three and a half. The locker with the knife to clean the fish was locked so I took them home and cleaned them myself. Not a big deal for me, but if you don't know how to clean fish you might be throwing everything back.
Overall we had a great day. If everyone fishing in your party is able to cast for themselves, I wholeheartedly recommend fishing with Eric! If you have to cast for another person, you can't clean your own fish, or not fishing for a full four hours is a problem for you then you have a decision to make. Eric is a high quality person who knows Percy Priest Lake very well and my daughter rated the trip as GREAT! read more