Welcome to my December update that provides you with current helpful information to make your reservation, prepare for your trip and kinda what to expect this month. December is a radical month where I transition from a trickle of weekly charters to working dark to dark 2 trips a day for weeks starting Christmas week. With your cooperation it is a totally manageable situation if you invest in your trip and follow along my system of sharing relevant information.

I work on the water. Often my hands are wet and/or I’m out with charter guests. I do not stop what I’m doing to answer the phone, so it’s best to reach me after 6pm. If you make a reservation with me, your check in call will be best after 6pm. Every question you have can be answered by reading through my website. The past 13 years I have built in the answers to every question I have been asked by potential charter guests. Please spend a few minutes reading through my information to see exactly what I do.

For new guests looking for an adventure on the water, my 4 hour reef trip is the most popular choice. Morning trips are best. It can be scaled up or down for interest level, skill and conditions. A 4 hour trip can be and looks like a lot of different things. Ultimately it’s a trip based on matching up the conditions to your group. Please fill out in the “Notes” section of your reservation and we will cover the specific details during your check in call 48 hours before your trip. Super easy. Fishing has been good and getting better as our waters cool. Generally, we catch enough each trip for a nice meal and land up to a dozen different species if we bounce around from deep to shallow. Other options include wreck and offshore trips that require more skill, participation and general knowledge. Sometimes the weather does not support deeper water trips further out. In those cases, we discuss and plan a scaled back version to have an enjoyable trip with consideration to all the variables. For every trip you book, you are my crew and we are making the experience together. Please choose a trip that suits your guests.

I have had lots of interest and questions about lobstering. I am not offering lobster trips until August 2024. Yes, lobster season is open. No, my recreational season is over for your best interest.

As we enter December we are also entering our windy season that runs from late November to May. In the water activities are less reliable than summer and fall. I use windfinder Marathon Airport to see what’s going on out there. Anything under 15mph or less allows us to generally do what we plan. Activities like snorkeling require more thought and consideration since you will be in the water. Sea conditions dictate what we can do. I set a high bar for quality trips and I will not put you in the water in crappy conditions. If you want to fish and snorkel on the same trip, we will do what we can do within reason. If you book just a private snorkeling trip, we will operate the trip if visibility is restricted. It just might evolve into a sandbar trip, a shallow water exploring trip, an abbreviated fishing trip or something else fun that suits your group. If it is rainy or windy the trip will be cancelled and your deposit will be refunded. December snorkeling prep is much more about being prepared for cooler water temperatures. Wetsuits are recommended and can be rented from Captain Hooks Marina where I am docked. This requires more time and you will need to arrive extra early to allow time to make your fitting. Please consider everything will take more time when you are here for Christmas week.

I appreciate you having interest in my charter business. I do realize you have many options. I know my price point is at or below other operators that offer similar stuff. My priority is safety, fun, simplicity, quality and success. My value is my experience in managing a million variables that all add up to make the experience worth repeating. The reason why my business is named “Florida Keys Reel Adventures” is you are my crew and together we are making success through action and technique. You can hire a boat with a mate and you will learn what that is like. Your participation will be minimal beyond being present at a much higher price point. Anybody can do what I am teaching on my trips. I offer an immersive entry level learning experience. I can teach a 6 year old kid with no experience how to do my program in 10 minutes without issue. For December, please help my trip with you go smoothly. Please don’t make me narrate every step of what you have to do to work with me to make the 3 basic steps of catching a fish possible. It’s all designed to be very easy so we can all have fun together. My christmas week goal is to keep my voice. I have lost it every year for many years now. Open the bail. Point your rod tip down towards the water. Let the line out to the fish. I think we can figure this out without having to lose my voice. My methods are very easy, so let’s have a fun easy December out on the water! Oh, Covid is coming back around. No sick people in your group can come on board. If somebody in your group is visibly coughing, sneezing and stuff is leaking from their nose, please remove them from your fishing trip with me so I can be healthy for all of my customers. Thank you for understanding!

Boat is currently going through off season updates and service before the rush. I have a ton of pride for how I operate my business and the level of attention to service that keeps me on the water trip to trip without issue. I have not raised my rates despite everything going up. I have not had a trip cancel to mechanical issues far beyond what I can remember. Well over 7 years. Nobody complains when a trip goes well, but these days few care to support my business online or share pictures from charter trips on social media that go generally great. I’m not stopping in the middle of the action to take pictures to promote what is happening on my trips, but I’m taking the time for you to take well composed pictures of your catch. Can you send those to me? Maybe post or tag the picture to my business so other people can see it too? That would be incredibly helpful to my business. Looking at my social media pages today I clearly see hundreds of table pics of great trips, but little to no pictures of how happy my guests are with the moment I set up for you to remember what we did together. When it’s all done and you’re looking back on the highlights of your trip, please remember me. Send me a pic and I’ll do the rest.

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