Today we kick of hurricane/rainy season with an inbound sample of reality. Something we can never escape from entirely, but planning makes a better outcome. June is an important weather month and how we plan for trips of any kind on the water affects the outcomes and likely hood of greater success. Fortunately, the good days make up for the rainy days and June is an excellent month for adventures on the water!

My most popular trip is a 4 hour reef fishing trip. This trip this time of year should only be for the morning due to how the fish feed on a schedule and the summer daytime heat. Yes, our fish are on a schedule and I can tell you most of the time withing 30 minutes of when they are done eating. A morning reef trip is ideal for all groups and experience levels. It’s a short ride from the dock and usually produces plenty of fish for a dinner or two. What is great about this trip is when the reef bite fades, we still have choices. We can target other fisheries deeper or do a little snorkeling to take advantage of the high angle of sun later in the morning. That is the best option in my opinion because it offers you the most diversity in the shortest amount of time. Of course, weather and conditions play a major role and dictate what is our best option on each trip.

Offshore fishing for dolphin and tuna are heating up this time of year. The past several weeks have been on the slow side with inconsistent catches from waaaaay out(over 30 miles) from other boats fishing offshore. Hopefully this tropical weather should move fish, bait and debris around that hold the fish and make them easier to find. Offshore trips are not the right fit for every group. General knowledge of the use of fishing equipment, tackle, setting lines, baiting hooks and the flow of operation is critical to our success. The appeal of my business is you are my crew. You are actively working and participating in your success or failure. I am the ring leader of the circus and you are the performers. These trips are operated on many levels relative to the guests I have on board, but the outcomes and experiences are generally pretty good.

Snorkeling has been awesome the past month and is very popular going into the summer family travel season. Water temps are in the low 80’s and we have had 70 foot visibility days leading into our current tropical weather. Usually our rainy season turns our shallower water green from algae blooms. While gatorade blue is preferred, clear green is a small trade off to experience some of the finest snorkeling in the continental United States.

Lobster season is coming up. Operating lobster trips are a ton of extra work and require you, the customer, to perform and manage underwater tasks successfully. It also requires very nice in the water conditions and a healthy lobster population. All things outside my control or what can be counted on. Not many charters offer lobster trips for many more reasons than I’ve mentioned. However, they can be fun and productive trips. It’s heck of an adventure and you are going to see some cool stuff along the way. If your skill sets are in par with my basic entry level requirements we will catch lobster. I suggest trips beyond Mid August. Most of the lobster get wiped out for weeks leading into the season opener. It takes some time and bad weather to move them around again in reasonable numbers. Please make this reasonably painless for me. I’ve been threatening to no longer offer these trips anymore. So far, it has been a nightmare and this might be my last year doing this. Booking lobster trips are 400% more nonsense than I ever wish upon myself. Get it together people and follow the simple instructions and information I provide. I am not interested in describing every element of lobstering for you to convince yourself you can do it when you can’t. I don’t sell these trips. I offer them to qualified participants.

I want to close in talking about preparing for your trip. It makes or breaks your trip. There is no way I know how to convey this message more than I do. 13 years doing this nearly every day I see my guests mostly doing it wrong. This link, Trip Tips is how to do it right. I want this to be easy for us. You are stepping into my world for 4 hours or more. You need to be prepared. Within 5 minutes of meeting you at the dock I have an idea how your trip is going to go. It’s similar to fishing. Humans are easier to figure out in our context. Not being prepared makes you your own worst enemy and you work against my plan. It’s all just basic stuff, nothing complicated. We don’t have much time together. With a little planning, we can make it awesome A-Z and hopefully you will have every reason to come back and do it again.

The boat is in great shape and better than ever. It is constantly upgraded and modified to serve you better. The money you give me in the form of tips/gratuity is reinvested to make sure my boat is safe and well equipped better than your last trip with me. I am excited to finally have new shirts in design. Many customers have asked for souvenir shirts and the process has been time consuming and frustrating. I have found a first class artist and a printing company with the highest level of quality dry fit shirts so I will have a product I will be proud of and will last for years. I bought a shirt from this company that I had for 6 years or more with hard use. I had an artist friend add a temp design idea with a permanent sharpie black marker……and it washed out after several washes untreated. It wasn’t intended or expected to wash out, but it did! That’s impressive and part of why I chose to do business with this company. I can’t wait for the final product. If it turns out as well as I expect, I plan to make a series of designs for each activity I offer for a custom shirt from your charter experience. They will be for sale online in time.

One final thing, pictures, social media and reviews. I get it. I go out of town infrequently, which puts me in unfamiliar places where I choose where I eat and spend money based on reviews. I haven’t checked my business reviews in a while. I know I have not had a customer send me any pics from the trip in quite a long time. I spend extra time creating your shots and photo opportunities properly while the action continues. I don’t stop everything to get a picture for myself to share on here to show what my business does. What we catch, what we do, what it looks like is all on your cameras. As hard as I work for you, please take a minute to send me a few trip pictures. I have a million dead fish dock pictures that show how successful your trip was. I would love some pictures of your smiling face holding a beautiful fish in the moment. That is worth so much more to me. Maybe while I’m cleaning your catch you could send me a few pics of your time on the boat or write a short review. I would appreciate that so much!

Kevin

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