Jim and Brody Fish are quite the pair. The Destin duo have a relationship that seems closer than most fathers and sons.
“We are more like brothers than father and son really,” Brody said. “We’ve been to concerts and restaurants and people always call us brothers.”
With nearly three decades of time together, Jim and Brody have built a strong bond over a love for classic cars.
“We have been to Barrett-Jackson, a huge car auction, twice," Jim said. "Until the past two years, we never missed a car show in Moultrie, Georgia; that was our thing, car shows. Brody likes the early ‘80s trucks and I’ve had seven first-generation Camaros."
Jim grew up on the Emerald Coast, having moved here in 1975 at the young age of five. He remembers biking to the Okaloosa Island Pier to fish before dawn, and remembers hearing all the hype when Jaws 2 was filmed in Destin in ’79.
“When I had my son, we named him Brody because Sheriff Brody was the character in the movie Jaws,” Jim said. “I was a police officer when Brody was born. It was a really scary movie back then.”
Jim joined the military straight out of high school, and as luck would have it got stationed at home at Eglin Air Force Base. In 1990, he got out of the military and began his second career with the Fort Walton Beach Police Department. After eight years, he left the force and began his life as an entrepreneur with multiple successful business ventures in the hospitality industry including two baby equipment rental businesses and a commercial laundry business. Now a realtor with Compass, Jim says his lifetime living here and the relationships he has built in the tourism industry have given him a niche with short-term rentals and investment properties.
“When I owned the baby crib rentals, I got into these multimillion-dollar homes and you get to see the taste of other people,” Jim said. “Now when people ask where the best place to invest is, I’ve already been there hundreds of times, I’ve been to every neighborhood there is from Panama City to Pensacola, so I know what people are looking for. I also own a condo so I not only sell condos, but I also live in one.”
With such a close father-son bond, you might think Brody would follow his father’s footsteps into the military or entrepreneur world, but with a last name like Fish, Brody couldn’t help but follow his own call to become a boat captain.
“A lot of people think that my name is fake when they hear my last name. They think it’s a stage name just to get customers, but it does help out with reviews,” Brody said. “People often post online that they are fishing with Captain Fish. It helps me stand out.”
Jim and Brody also have the same taste when it comes to their favorite fish to both eat and catch. When asked separately both father and son answered that their favorite fish to catch were red snapper and grouper. Both also answered that grouper and snapper were their favorite fish to eat, although Brody specified that his favorite snapper is Mangrove Snapper.
Now married with his own daughter, Caroline James, Brody says he is grateful for such a role model and friend he has in his father.
“He’s always dependable, not afraid to tell the honest truth that you need to hear. I really respect that about him,” Brody said. “So many people in the community know him, respect him and love him and it makes me proud of him.”
“We are more like brothers than father and son really,” Brody said.