Southern Renegade Charters

Southern Renegade Charters runs inshore fishing trips out of Freeport with Captain Shane Johnson at the helm, a captain who has fished Choctawhatchee Bay’s flats and bayous essentially his entire life and describes running the charter business less as a job than as living out something he always wanted to do. That long familiarity with the water shows up in how the charters are structured: rather than running offshore, Southern Renegade stays inshore, working the grass flats, bayous, and shoreline structure of Choctawhatchee Bay, where redfish and speckled trout are the main targets, with flounder, snapper, black drum, sheepshead, jack crevalle, bluefish, ladyfish, and the occasional shark rounding out what clients might pull up depending on the season.

The charter runs on a 22-foot Sportsman 227 Masters bay boat powered by a 150-horsepower Yamaha capable of about 35 knots, rigged with power poles, a live baitwell, a wireless trolling motor, and up-to-date fish-finding electronics, the kind of setup built specifically for shallow, technical inshore work rather than long runs offshore. The boat holds up to four guests plus the captain, which keeps trips personal rather than crowding more anglers onto the boat than rods can comfortably handle.

Southern Renegade offers a few different trip formats built around that four-guest limit. Half-day trips run either in the morning from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. or in the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the afternoon slot noted as the more popular of the two, and both run about $700. For families with younger kids or anyone easing into fishing, there is also a shorter two-hour kid-friendly charter, typically scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and priced at $400, built around simple, catch-and-release fishing that keeps young anglers engaged without the pressure of a full half-day trip. Captain Johnson has a reputation, borne out in charter reviews, for being especially patient with children and first-time anglers, which matters on a boat where the point is getting someone hooked on fishing rather than just running up a big catch count.

Pricing across trip types includes the fishing license, tackle, bait, and drinks, and the captain fillets and cleans the catch at the end of the trip, so clients can head straight to dinner with fish ready to cook rather than dealing with cleaning it themselves. Beyond straight fishing, the charter also builds in dolphin sightings and general eco-tour style time on the water for guests who want to see the bay’s wildlife alongside or instead of fishing, a flexible approach that suits mixed groups where not everyone wants a rod in hand the entire trip.

Because the boat departs from a residential address on West Bayou Forest Drive rather than a public marina, anyone booking should expect specific meeting instructions from the captain rather than a walk-up dock. Reviews on charter booking sites consistently mention the captain’s local knowledge of where fish are holding on a given tide and his relaxed approach with guests who have never fished the Panhandle’s grass flats before, which makes Southern Renegade a solid pick for visitors who want a genuine local guide rather than a high-volume charter operation. Given the four-guest cap, booking ahead during peak spring and summer months is worth doing early, since slots fill quickly once word gets around about a good bite on the flats.