My son just told me he wants to do a unique family fishing trip.
He's never been saltwater fishing before, so I want to schedule a saltwater fishing outing for the family.
Something big, like shark, bull reds, tarpon, etc.
Any suggestions on an outing that would be put him on the fish of a lifetime, be fun for a family of 4, and under $1000 would be appreciated.

C3

Padre Island National Seashore with Eric Ozlins, Ocean Epics Charters. You can go out for a day or overnight trip, I highly recommend the overnight, catch sharks, etc... You can read his articles to get a feel for the trip on Texas Saltwater Fishing magazine.

You can also fish for all three of those species with guides that specialize in that trip Aug-Oct, called the "ironman" trip by Mike Williams out of Galveston, but there are a number of guides that do these trips out of there, Port O'Connor (Patriot, Bill Cannan?, etc...), and probably other places.

Best of luck to you, that sounds like a great trip for your family!