Plenty of good news for October visitors. It’s cooled off here nicely and change is clearly in the air. The only sad part is this is one of the best months of the year to be on the water, yet there is nearly nobody here to enjoy the peace and quiet. We are getting near the end of our traditional hurricane season and the weather windows of perfect days widen out to give us more options. Just a reminder, October is the last month that I offer lobster trips. Lobster season will continue to be open, but I end my trips when the water temperature dips below 80 degrees. We seem to be slightly ahead of schedule and sit at 81-82 degrees.
I’m going to keep this shorter than normal because this is pretty basic information. So, as we cool off above and below the water life is returning to our area again. Fishing on all avenues will just get better and better as winter species begin to trickle in to fill the places of species that left to escape the summer heat. Reef fishing will see bigger yellowtail snapper returning with an increase of jacks and mackerels. Offshore, the fall tuna bite is a classic pattern we rely on and catches of mahi will diminish as our summer conditions fade away. Life will be returning to the wrecks soon. My past few trips we sampled that fishery and were mostly confronted with losses to sharks. That can be a day to day thing and is always a challenge, but the fishery is improving. October is the transition month and depending on our first few real cold fronts, that is when things really change. Usually mid November.
a lot of work and a lot of fun to accomplish as a team
In the water trips have been good. I was fortunate to run an almost average amount of lobster trips so far this season. A good chunk of them were just outside of an incredible push of larger than normal lobster……..on the ocean side. The general theme is shallower, shallower, can we please go shallower. Yes we can! But let me say this and this always applies no matter what else is a factor. I set very specific requirements for my lobster trips that can’t be cheated to make replicated success. I have a systematic way of dialing in a positive result on a lobster trip. If we start out on the easy shallow side of my posted requirements and we can’t get out of the shallow stuff…that means we are stuck in the shallows. This is a teamwork activity. It’s ok if you are just starting out and are not up to the upper level of skill sets required. If others can do what needs to be done, as a team, we need to support those people and help them to work less based on their strengths. If we can do what what I have as being required, great. The more we can do….the more we can do. We can do it however you want.
a pretty good lobster trip
Snorkeling and sandbar trips we probably have another month or more before we get into wetsuit conversations. Water has been mostly clean and clear. We have had rain/wind events to break clear water streaks, along with a king tide, but it has been all good on conditions and clarity for my trips.
I will finish with a thank you to all of my customers and guests. I’m really looking forward to being busier than I am now. I have a new booking site that I am still learning and there are some knowledge gaps I need to learn that will only come really from more bookings and learning the new system. I never want a surprise charter I am not aware of. I have system of redundancies that prevent this from ever happening. Here is the easiest rule I have to never break. I do not set up for your trip unless you and I have had a phone conversation about all the details of your trip so there is no doubt that we are on the same page for the plan. There is no trip or plan until that happens. The more you invest in your trip the more you get out of it. I am not a buy it and show up experience like a movie.