A&B Charters

A&B Charters has been running fishing trips out of Naples City Dock since 1977, which makes it one of the longer-standing charter operations on a waterfront that has seen plenty of turnover over the decades. The boat ties up at the public marina at the foot of 12th Avenue South, the same historic dock area that has anchored Naples’ commercial and recreational fishing fleet since the city’s early days as a fishing outpost.

The operation runs a 40-foot sportfishing boat built to carry up to 14 passengers, which puts it on the larger end of the charter boats working out of the dock. That size supports both split-party bookings, where individual anglers or small groups share a boat with strangers to split the cost, and private full-boat charters for families or groups who want the vessel to themselves. The boat carries a private restroom and a shaded deck, two details that matter more than they sound on a Southwest Florida afternoon when the sun is direct and a full-day trip can run six hours or longer.

Captain and crew handle the fishing tackle, bait, ice and licensing as part of the charter price, and the crew cleans and bags the catch at the end of the trip, a standard practice among Naples City Dock operators that saves customers from handling that part of the process themselves. Trips run as half-day or full-day charters, targeting the grouper, snapper, snook and other species that inhabit the nearshore and offshore waters off Naples and Marco Island. Because the boat departs directly from the city dock, there’s no need to trailer a boat or drive to a separate marina; anglers walk down to the slip, load up, and head out through Gordon Pass toward the Gulf.

The city dock itself sits within walking distance of Naples’ Third Street South and Fifth Avenue South shopping and dining districts, so a family or group can pair a morning or afternoon charter with a stroll through downtown Naples afterward. A&B Charters’ longevity at the same location, now approaching five decades, reflects how the dock has functioned as a stable home base for a handful of family-run fishing operations even as the city around it has grown from a sleepy winter town into a year-round destination. The business is locally owned and operated, with day-to-day communication handled directly by the captain and crew rather than through a corporate booking desk.