I live here in the beautiful Florida Keys for the long summers, mild winters and the abundance of fun outdoor activities available year round. That massive winter blast the country has experienced has finally made its way here. No doubt it is cold! This shakes up everything I do, so we have some things to talk about for February. Let’s dive into the details. This will be much shorter than normal and may have a mid month update to see how this plays out.
I have been watching the news and social media reports for most of my information. Nearly everybody has been stuck indoors, at the dock and off of the water per conditions. Before the front we had 70 degree water on average and today I have 54 degrees at the dock. That is not good and closes many of my normal offerings until conditions flip back to normal. This is bad in many ways, but it also offers contrast in opportunity. Somewhere out of the reef there is a radical divide of cold dirty water smashing against warmer deeper water. Everything that had the ability and sense to flee the shallow cold water is now happy in the warm water. This will create unusual concentrations of fish on structure and other areas will just have displaced fish coming and going. The normal rules are temporarily suspended and opportunities should be abundant in deeper water structure. Fish in a barrel.
a great cold water catch from the shallows
I am really slow right now because of some macro economy reasons. If you want to do something on the water, give me a text or call and leave a message. The telemarketers have taken over my phone number and I often wait for a voicemail. I would be happy to discuss the options best suited for your group. For now, anything in the water related is not an option. Looking forward, we have another cold snap February 6th and things look really nice. I expect the cold water to be with us for a good part of February, but air temperatures will be coming up. My boat is dry and has a large wind screen for when we are running from spot to spot. Cool temps can easily be managed by dressing in layers and putting extra thought and preparation into your personal comfort. The more we prepare the more we succeed.
looks good going forward
Business update is all is good, except for it being extremely slow. The website is being rebuilt this month, so it will have a fresh new look. I want to make things more simple and provide the easiest booking experience possible. I have been working on my social media to help get the word out about what my trips look like. Last night I have somebody comment about my lack of content during my trips. Easy answer is this. On all of my trips I’m working and setting up shots for the best pictures and constantly reminding my guests to take pictures and videos. What does NOT happen is everything stops to take a picture or video on my phone. Things are usually action packed high pace and me stopping is like turning off the engine when I’m winning a race. There is simply no time or opportunity. That is where my wonderful customers come in. Because after the trip I ask EVERY customer for some on the water shots, videos and a short review. I am pushing that more recently and getting a slightly better success rate, but I’m nearly twisting arms and still getting a low return. A few pictures, rarely a video and more rare is a review. That’s a hurdle that is tough to get over. Working on it.
A nice cobia released