InXS Deep Sea Fishing (Capt. Steven Lamp)

Captain Steven Lamp has been guiding fishing charters out of Key West since 1994, running his operation today under two connected names, InXS Deep Sea Fishing and Fishing Key West, both tied to the same captain and the same 47-foot Viking Convertible sportfishing boat. The boat is docked at the marina on Stock Island now operating as the Hilton Key West Resort and Marina, formerly known as Ocean’s Edge Resort and Marina, a short drive from downtown Key West.

Three decades of guiding gives Captain Lamp and his crew, including first mate Captain Garrett, a working knowledge of the full range of fishing styles available around Key West. The operation covers flats fishing for species like bonefish and tarpon in the shallow water inshore, reef and wreck fishing on the patch reefs closer to the island, deep sea and offshore trolling further out, and backcountry fishing through the mangrove-lined channels on the Gulf side of the Keys, along with trips out toward Dry Tortugas for anglers looking for a longer excursion.

Trip formats include private charters as well as shared split charters in four, six, eight, and ten-hour packages, giving individual anglers a way to book a seat without chartering the whole boat. As with many established Key West fishing operations, the boat includes filleting and bagging the catch at no additional cost, and the crew emphasizes a straightforward, no-frills booking approach, taking reservations by phone rather than routing everything through a third-party booking platform with added fees.

Being based at Stock Island rather than directly downtown puts the boat slightly closer to the Atlantic side channels and reef approaches favored for offshore work, while still being close enough to Key West proper that guests staying anywhere on the island can reach the dock without much trouble. For anglers weighing options among Key West’s dense cluster of charter captains, three decades of continuous operation under the same captain, spanning both inshore and offshore fishing styles, gives this operation a breadth of experience that newer single-specialty charters have not yet had time to build.

Because the boat runs such a wide range of trip styles, from calm backcountry flats water to open Gulf Stream trolling, first-time callers are generally encouraged to describe what kind of fishing experience they want so the crew can recommend the right trip length and target species for that day’s conditions. Split charters in particular suit solo travelers or couples who want to fish without chartering an entire boat by themselves. As with most Key West sportfishing operations, the exact species available shifts by season, and a captain with three decades of local experience is generally well positioned to know what is realistically biting on any given week of the year.