Champion Offshore Outfitting and Charters

My name is Capt. Matthew Champion. I’ve been fishing in the Destin, Florida area since 1987. Since I was a wee little scamp, I’ve always had a passion for deep sea fishing. My first jobs were on party boats out of Destin. Soon after I finished high school, I spent the next few years commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

When I turned 21 I made the decision to start a trade, and I received my 100 ton USCG Captains license. Upon receiving my license, I began operating a 65’ party boat out of Destin, Florida. I operated the party boat for a little over a year but decided that was not the route I wanted to take. I went back to commercial fishing and remained in the commercial fishing industry for about 10 years.

Starting in 2011 and until recently in 2017, I was given the opportunity to captain a private sport-fishing operation, where I excelled in the art of catching billfish, and deeper water bottom fishing.

It was during this period that I decided to create some of the art that I still create to this day, which largely was inspired by the brilliant colors of pelagic fish species.