November Good News

I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to the many friends, guests and customers that have been a part of many great adventures this year.  We have reached a pivotal point in the calendar year that we have somehow gracefully passed out of hurricane season unscathed.  Not even a close call this year.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the residents of Jamaica.  They will fall out of the news soon and the hope, the need and the financial resources will fade quickly before they have any chance of recovery.  Having been through 40 years of hurricanes in the Keys, I know the reality.  I ask you to help them with a small donation if your life is good and secure and you have good health and a job.  There is need everywhere, but they are absolutely screwed.

Again, I have this opportunity to count my blessings.  It is a hard push to make it to this point of the year and it is a reasonable point to reflect on what worked, what didn’t and what can be adjusted on.  It looks like I have been running private custom charters for 17 years now.  It has been a challenging journey of learning and making a living on the ocean.  We all can see the recent changes in the economy and somewhere I have to make an adjustment to continue to operate.  Raising my rates essentially is not an option.  I know I am at the correct price point and am a good value compared to other operators.  Something has to be cut.  For years I have asked and encouraged my customers to leave reviews and participate with sharing their experiences through social media.  Never happened.  That is the easiest way to spread my brand and really help my business, but I’ll figure it out.  I do not cut corners on my maintenance, so I can assure you my reliability will remain nearly perfect.  I believe it has been over 8 years since I lost a charter to a mechanical issue with the boat.  Been so long I really don’t remember.  Brand new 2025 engines, so we are good for a long while.

As we cool off here lots of good changes happening.  My lobster season has officially come to a close.  Lobster season is still open, so you are welcome to go do it with another operator.  I operate my trips in warm, clear waters when most of the lobster are here.  Snorkeling has been really good.  As we get deeper into the fall season we will see the passage of cold fronts that will have significant impacts on our visibility.  As always, we plan on what we want to do and do what looks best.  Water temperatures are in the high 70’s and wetsuits are going to come in to play as we drop a few more degrees.  These can be rented from Captain Hooks Marina for a minimum cost.

Fishing on the reef has been getting better with more and larger fish returning to our waters.  Similar to the past few years, the summer heat chases fish out of here and once we cool off they start trickling in again.  All the signs are present and the last week of October produced some excellent catches of yellowtail snapper with some large mutton snappers showing up every other trip and mackerels mixed in.  This will continue to trend better through the end of the year.

I have not operated any offshore trips in quite some time.  We are past our run of Mahi, but there are still some opportunities out there if the right situation presents itself.  Further offshore tuna fishing remains strong for blackfin and skipjack tuna.  This is an exciting fast paced fishery with lots of moving parts.  We need a nice weather window to get out there and this is not a trip well suited for new anglers.  You are my crew and I am driving the boat and helping where and when I can.

That’s about all I can think of.  I hope to see you soon out on the water!