Holey Mackerel we are blasting into January! I began December by doing the scariest thing possible. I took a week off, trailered my boat 600 miles through the worst drivers in South Florida and had a brand new set of 2021 300hp motors and some technology upgrades installed. I returned and the next day I ran 40 great trips to close out December. January is still in high gear and continues to be so looking forward. This is heck of an operation and it requires all of us working together to make each trip special and live up to the full potential.

December was challenging. Way too much of reoccurring themes of issues that can easily be prevented. I’m not going to go too far into this because I believe most that this applies to do not read this helpful information. Basically, I know how to do these trips to near perfection. I prepare for you and your trip way more than you can imagine. You and everybody in your group ABSOLUTELY need to prepare for your trip and success with me. Each person and circumstance I have to make countermeasures for outside of normal things changes the recipe for the best trip I can give you. For example, 14 trips in a row my guests are puking in nice calm conditions. Nearly every person that had trouble did not take their precautionary meds or didn’t follow the instructions. Sure, it happens. It can’t happen on every trip though. That’s rediclious. It takes a toll on me and the plan for your trip changes to accommodate the sick person. Please, just prepare for your trip. Also important, bring an extra layer because it is January. Bring some drinks, snacks and towels. Treat your trip like a picnic and bring some things to make yourself comfortable. Prepare for being on a boat in the ocean. It makes a huge difference in the flow and ease of your trip. One final word. I see people getting more comfortable with the covid thing. I’m seeing a recent trend in sick kids coming aboard. Nope! Don’t do it. Don’t come on board if anybody in your group is sick. I’m noticing after I leave the dock and managing it. I’m not doing that anymore. Don’t put me in that position.

On a happier note, fishing has been awesome. Every trip has yeilded excellent results. On the daily my customers are catching their first, biggest and most of something. It really is special to be a part of that so often. I try not to take this for granted. Most of my trips have been on the reef or bay side of the islands.

I have not any offshore trips in quite some time due to miltiple prolonged wind events. With that as a constant consideration, any offshore trip will be turned into a reef or other trip if the conditions do not allow up to make it offshore in reasonable conditions. Offshore trips I need 15mph winds or less to get where we need to go.

With conditions being the same challenge for in the water trips, I have not operated any in a few weeks. Our water has been dirty and rough with limited visibility and temperatures hovering a few degrees on either side of 70 degrees on average. That’s pretty chilly and you are going to want a wetsuit to be comfortable. Captain hooks can rent you wetsuits for about $10 or so each to make your experience more enjoyable. If you book a snorkel and fishing trip, we will skip snorkeling and fish more if the conditions are poor for being in the water.

Everything else has been good. The boat’s new upgrades are providing a better ride and experience. I’m really happy about that!

Be vigilant and invest in your trip. Watch local wind and weather reports and prepare accordingly. If you elect to book a last minute trip, please spend 5 minutes looking at the forecast (windfinder.com) before you reserve something I will have to cancel when I return home from a long day on the water. If you need to get in contact with me, please leave a voicemail. I will return your call as soon as I get in, usually around 7pm if I have a full day or double. Please be patient and respectful and I will work it out when I can. My website is designed to answer your questions, so spend some time looking around and I bet you will find what information you are looking for.

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