I’m not sure how we smoked through July so fast, but it literally was a flash. August is right here and there a few things I want you to know to have a safe, comfortable and successful trip with me or whomever you choose to spend a day on the water with. As with anything in life, the more you know and the more you prepare, generally speaking, the better the outcome will be.
We beat the heat with early starts. Its better to me a little tired to start than really crabby when it’s too hot to enjoy yourself.
August and September can be the most challenging months to operate charters. Yes, it is summer. Yes, we all know what summer heat is like. I need all of my guests to take preparing for the daytime heat very seriously. However you are exposed to heat in the ways you are familiar with, your experience with me may be different. Our humidity is extreme. Our UV index is extreme. A beautiful day on the water is sometimes like being on a mirror. There is a good amount of shade on my boat, but a flat ocean is a mirror and it’s not the same as sitting in the shade under a tree. Just finished a few lobster charters for mini season and despite my customers bringing their own cooler with drinks, we emptied both coolers essentially using way more drinks than either of us calculated for. It is that hot and this is how we have to treat most days going forward. Covering up your skin is mandatory. I believe me, you and most of the world will get sunburn in 30 minutes or so this time of year. If collectively, you fail to prepare for all of these different elements I can tell you that I will be focusing on your discomfort instead of doing what we are actually there to do. One more thing to consider. We are in rainy season. It starts in June and runs through most of summer. Typically it rains before sunrise and after lunch. That pattern has not emerged at all. The water is hot. The and is hotter. There has been no cooling affect or breaks from the heat. There is a significant imbalance. Either we are going to get tons of rain or our water will see some significant quality issues if we keep cooking at our current pace. That will affect nearly everything I do.
Mini season went well. Lot’s of controlled chaos
So, starting with current events, we just finished lobster mini season. I have stayed away from it for safety reasons, but ran it this year with a different strategy. All went well and the consensus was there were plenty of lobsters to go around. It didn’t seem as crazy as previous years, but there were still a ton of people here. Regular season opens August 6th and I will be operating my trips as I always have. There are a few trips where my guests are unprepared and do well, but how much you invest in your trip pays off for lobster trips more than anything else I offer. Over the phone people like to compare the ability to swim and diving down to catch lobsters and they are not even close to the same thing. All of my minimum requirements and lengthy descriptions are in place to make sure you are a good match for the activity. I am the voice of reason to filter out the scenario where we are lobstering and nobody can get to the bottom or do what we need to do to catch lobster. I don’t want to take you out for an expensive snorkeling trip and have you leaving with not good feelings for what is out of my control. Another thing to consider, each trip presents different conditions and challenges. Part of lobstering is getting over that. When I have the right group and the right conditions, it goes pretty well. I want to finish with this. I do carry insurance to protect my guests in the water. I’m proud of that. Other than a professional dive operator, I am not aware of any private boats that carries this specific coverage. Each lobster trip I am reminded how important safety and strict protocols need to be in place to prevent an accident. Being hyper-aware of all the moving parts is a skill set not everybody has. My trips are not cheap. You can find somebody else to take you out to catch lobster for a lower price point. It seems fun and easy on the surface to run these trips as a charter captain. It is the complete opposite. Just be careful who you pick to operate a boat while your kids are in the water. Ok,
smaller catches of smaller fish are common for the hot time of year. The later we leave the dock, the less we generally catch
Fishing continues to be really good. This is what is working specifically for August. 4 hour morning reef trip for mangrove snapper 7am departure. That will taper off mid month and things will slow down on the reef. A 6 hour offshore trip for mahi and tuna. 7 am departure. We can fish longer, but it’s pretty hot out there. I can operate a 4 hour night reef trip with advanced warning. It would be 8pm to midnight. Do not book it without speaking with me. Very weather dependent.
Plenty of July trips we smashed it out of the park. This pattern will be over by mid August
Snorkeling has been good. We are seeing less blue water days and more green water. The past few days I have seen the beginning of the moon jellyfish showing up. Long sleeve rash guards are a great idea. Water temps are 86 degrees and climbing. I have seen 91 degrees nearshore. This time of year the biology of our water is temperature related. Hot is bad.
Thanks everybody! Stay cool!!
it’s nice to cool off at a sandbar after fishing or explore the shallows for sand dollars and shells