Hi everybody!  Here is your February fishing report and outlook for the activities I offer.  It is no secret winter is in full force where most of you come from!  That usually means I am going to be very busy.  Once you get to that breaking point it’s time to check out and spend some time thawing out in the Keys!  Luckily for you, it is never as bad here as most of the rest of the country.

Fishing has been the star of January.  We had plenty of windy days that kept me off of the water, but plenty of good to good enough days to offer us enough options to make for great trips.  What makes a great trip?  Well, it is different for everybody and each trip!  For me, I like to make sure you are comfortable.  I want to teach you some new tricks and arm you with the skills to catch something for dinner, catch something new or create a unique experience that will bring you back for more.  For you, I want you to be part of my team.  I want you to find your place and experience the reward of making the boat catch fish.  I really enjoy pulling people out of their everyday lives to work/play on the ocean and make something great happen.  It almost always does!

What we catch in February is similar to January.  Our conditions dictate where we can go and what we can do.  On the nice days I’m all over the reef deep to shallow patch reefs close to shore catching a dozen different species from snapper and grouper to jacks and mackerel.  On the really nice days I target the deep wrecks for bigger jacks and snapper or head offshore for blackfin tuna.

Those trips are a little more technical on skill sets and require tight teamwork from you.  I operate a TON of family trips and this can mean we may doing a little bit of everything where I believe you will have the best success and the most fun.  I try to prepare for everything and we roll through the trip organically and it always works out.  Fishing is the safest bet for having fun on the water in February.

In the water trips are going to be a gamble.  January was just awful.  There were 3-5 excellent days and the rest were dirty water days, unreasonable waves and even a few terrible jellyfish days if the wind was out of the South(which isn’t common).  Water temperatures are in the high 60’s to low 70’s.  It’s that time of year, a wetsuit is a mandatory requirement to stay comfortable.  I ask that you call me to discuss what in the water conditions may be like for your trip.  I will err on the side of caution.  It can go from pretty bad to pretty good and vise versa.  Any booking for a in the water trip(as the primary activity) may be substituted with a fishing trip or alternative activity because the conditions just have been too uncooperative to count on with any reasonable certainty.  I honestly don’t know how the dive/snorkel shops pay their bills for the few days a month they have been leaving the dock.  Be certain, I will tell you as it is.  If it is good, I’ll get you in the water!!  The first week of February, snorkeling has been good and getting better.

Good communication and good preparation goes a long way in February.  Things work a little differently on the water than on land.  How you prepare makes a big difference.  I do my best to prepare the boat for what we are doing and then some extra effort goes into filling in elements you may have forgotten to be comfortable.  Please fill out my “Notes” section and please bring what you need to be comfortable and have fun on my trip.  Don’t show up with literally nothing.  I make a number of critical rapid decisions based on what I know from experience before the boat leaves the dock.  It helps us to show up on time, prepared and invested in your trip.  It is all relative.

The spring break crowd is starting to contact me for their April plans.  Please do not let my February fishing report dive report scare you off.  I can’t wait to get my customers snorkeling, spearfishing, playing at the sandbar and swimming in mermaid tails again.  That is just around the corner and water conditions can change quickly.  Also, I have been actively searching out a second boat to offer smaller groups shallow water and remote access experiences for lobster trips and tarpon trips beginning in late April.  My business is always growing and I constantly look for a better way to give you the best of what I know how to do.  I hope by my next report or 2 I have a whole new option for your adventure on the water.

Please spend some time looking through my information on my website.  I try to lay out all the answers to your questions and make booking a charter as easy as possible.  Call me anytime, but I am best reached in the evenings.  I do not answer my phone when I am on a charter.

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