Welcome! Lots of info to go over. First, some updates to alert you to some changes. Grouper season has opened!! We have one more species to target!! My May is pretty booked up. Based on what I see, I do not want to offer any half day 4 hour AFTERNOON reef trips going forward. It can be done. It just will be hot and a fraction of what you would catch on a morning trip. My July lobster mini season dates are booked. I will not be operating any tarpon trips for May. My reef and offshore schedule is too busy.

I’m heading into May full force again. Tourism here has been healthy and strong. I had my shot a month ago. The boat is running strong. Everything is going as close to what normal used to be. I expect our Spring time winds to subside and calmer conditions becoming more common. May often brings a small gap between April winds and June rainy season. Because most of my May is booked, I will try to help with additional booking and preparation information for June trips.

Reef Fishing in May can be spectacular. May-June our yellowtail snapper spawn and we have access to numbers of the largest fish of the year when the conditions are present. These fish are big, smart and picky. The like to feed early and early starts are key to a successful trip. Grouper season is now open and on most trips we spend some time targeting the bullies of the bottom. Not a easy task lifting these fish from the bottom structure. Most battles are lost in a few seconds if you are not up on your game.

Offshore Fishing becomes more common in May-June. The calmer conditions allow for more far offshore opportunities for dolphin and tuna. As we move more into summer we see schools of dolphin move through our area on a regular basis. We target them by setting multiple lines and trolling lures through areas of floating weeds, debris, birds and bait. Having a good weather window and a solid crew, you, is the foundation for a successful offshore trip. These trips are exciting, boring, involve lots of traveling and require a significant physical investment. These trips can and do produce some amazing results. Luck certainly plays a role, but learning, working together and capitalizing on our opportunities is what puts fish in the boat. It is a full team effort in every way.

One additional option for offshore trips is electric deep dropping. This is a game I have been working on developing the past few years and am getting better at. It is highly conditional and requires calm seas and reasonable current. We are dropping cut bait 600-900 feet deep with up to 9lbs of lead and drifting through ledges and hills. Again, not for everybody. Some people find it boring watching a rod tip for a bite or pushing a button to reel up a fish. For me, catching a fish up to 40lbs that is exceptional eating quality from an alien world is challenging logistically. Executing the actions to produce fish is very rewarding.

Our windy day option continues to be fishing on the shallower bayside and protected bridge areas. It saved a ton of April trips when the wind was screaming and we had no other options. We are pretty much targeting mangrove snapper, but have shots at grouper and sharks too. Certainly challenging in technique and hard fighters, but this fishery offers a kinder fishing experience for those less experienced. Best part is they are excellent eating.

As we move into the heat of summer snorkeling becomes a regular trip for me. Either a combo fish/snorkel trip or a stand alone snorkel trip, beating the heat and enjoying the diversity of life below the water is a great way to spend quality time on the water, get some exercise and beat the daytime heat. Conditions usually determine where we go. I can supply all of the equipment needed or bring your own.

I am super lucky to do what I do and be as busy as I am following a pandemic. I understand you are here on vacation and looking to enjoy a somewhat care free experience with me on the water. That’s my goal too, but that’s not really how it works. You could never imagine how much goes into making each trip possible that I operate twice a day, all day, 3/4 days and doing that nearly every day despite anything. There isn’t realistically any leftover time outside of operating my business, so you are 95% of my life. The information I provide on here to help you prepare for your trip and your ability to act on that is honestly the difference between your trip being a difficult day at work for me or a valued guest that I would enjoy having on board again. May will likely be my last month that I can sustain my current pace. I will need all of my customers on board with full cooperation to make this month go smoothly. Please fill out your trip details in the notes section. Please check in with a phone call 48 hours before your trip. If you don’t care how your trip goes, I don’t need to put extra energy, time and consideration into setting up specifically for your trip that I know nothing about. ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU NEED IS ON THIS WEBSITE. Invest in your trip. My worst customer prepares for nothing and expects everything. I want you to have the best trip possible, but you dictate the ease/difficulty of the majority of your experience. Prepare Here

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