A year and a half ago or so my Daughter (11/12 at the time) decided for some reason she wanted to get a gator. Last year we found a guide and long story short, it was not a good experience, I don't totally blame the guide and they did refund all our money (which I don't figure they have to do) so I won't give them grief. But she still wanted one.
Prior to Covid, I found Castaway Lodge, I really don't remember how, could have been on here. I reached out to Capt. Kris and told him about our previous experience and that my daughter still wanted a gator. He was confident that he could get us one this year, so we booked with him. The first thing I really appreciated was that he sent me a price list for the gator, stay, extras, etc; there were (and did not end up being) no surprise charges. Everything was on the up and up from the get go.
3 weeks ago, as luck and this year would have it, out of no where my appendix burst and I had to have it removed. I emailed Kris and said that I wasn't sure what my recovery would be, but we would be there, I might not be able to help with the hunt though. He said don't worry about it, rest get healthy and they would take care of everything. Luckily, I recovered in plenty of time so that didn't become an issue, but I appreciated his response anyways.
We arrived Friday night, after dinner (which I wish I hadn't missed). Capt. Kris met us and got us all checked. They had a personalized itinerary with our name on it, which my daughter and i thought was a nice touch. The room we had was very spacious. It had two large bunk beds, table, dressers, large gun rack, bathrooms, etc; it was not only clean, it looked brand new and very much kept up.
The next morning, we met for breakfast, goodness, it was a LOT. Eggs, sausage, fruit, small cinnamon roll, hashbrowns, juice, coffee; milk; all served in a very nice dinner hail.
Then it was off to the hunt, the guide picked us up and he apologized that they had set some lines, but not as many as they had wanted (long story) but he said if we didn't get one Saturday morning, they would get us out at Sunday morning. They had 4 lines in. The first line was a 7 plus foot gator and the one we kept, it was a fun fight and a fun time. There was some fun misadventures and crazy things that happened, but I wont bore you with those details, like hitting a monster gar with the boat prop (we pulled it in and it was almost as big as her gator!) They took care of the harvest including getting all the taxidermy/tanning work done (again all priced out before I got there so you can decide to go with their folks or your own).
Back to home base, we decided to head down to a beach for the afternoon. We came back before dinner, got cleaned up and headed to dinner. Good grief, they feed us well. Calamari for appetizer, followed by a huge fried fish fillet, baked potato, butterflied shrimp, slaw, and a slab of red velvet cake.
There is a room with TVs, games, etc; so we decided to go there after dinner and play some games and watch TV. Although we did not use them, they also have horse shoe pits, outdoor pavilions, firepits, fireplaces, etc. It is a well planned out place.
The next morning we had some breakfast (french toast, bacon, small cinnamon roll, fruit, juice, milk, coffee) and then we packed up and headed home.
In between everything, we ran into Kris and chatted here and there, really great guy and fun guy to talk too. He even gave us some homemade salsa (haven't tried yet) and homemade picked king fish (this is absolutely fantastic!) We are looking forward to going back next year but next time, I think we will go with a fishing trip.
All in all, we had a great time and would definitely recommend this place. This time of year, I would suggest bringing Off, which we did as the mosquitos were thick, only complaint I would have.
I tried to attach a photo of her and her gator and a video of her pulling it in, not sure if they worked, about to see (guess the video didnt work)
thats awesome, I've been wanting a tx gator for along time. What is she wanting to get done to the hide?
She is having the skull mounted (the green mount, not Euro) and then she is having the hide tanned with the horned back so she can hang it on her wall.
Very nice Gator. Congrats young lady. Yes they have some great facilities indoor and out and feed you very well. Fished with them about 3 years ago and our guide was horrible and I'll just leave it at that.
My dad and I have been using Castaway for over 20yrs...Kris has been and always will be very attentive to his customers. Even after a couple years of not booking any hunts or fishing trips with him, he would still send a message checking on us, or I would bump into him down there and he always asked how we were doing.
If I need to book an outfitter for some reason in that area, I always go with him. He is as upfront and honest as they get!
He has come a long ways from where he started and created a great full service experience now!
Very nice Gator. Congrats young lady. Yes they have some great facilities indoor and out and feed you very well. Fished with them about 3 years ago and our guide was horrible and I'll just leave it at that.
Why leave it at that? What's the story? I have hunted/fished with them quite a lot...had trips where we hammered the fish/duck and trips where it was slower, but overall experience has always been top notch. I have only been with Kris or James in all of the years we have gone with them. I have run into one of their younger guides several times around town and on the water, never had an issue with him.
