Allan Bridges and friends from Tampa know how to do Lobster Season right.  No dragging a bunch of SCUBA tanks in the back of a 21 foot Aqua-squirt with tickle sticks and nets flopping all over US-1 as you drive bumper to bumper down the one lane Highway to the Florida Keys along with 80 thousand other families, no sir.

Call ahead, charter a 46 foot Bertram with all the amenities of home (A/C, Toilets, Full Galley, Sun Deck, Capability to suck up 3 to 5 foot waves and not spill your Cappuccino) bring your Hookah rig for unlimited air, and the vast experience to know how to catch lobsters the easy way

We don’t go Lobstering very often, we usually stick just to fishing, but when we do go Lobstering, we do it right!

Due to the hot weather and the slower Dolphin fishing, we decided to go for the guaranteed catching and hit the 240 wreck.  Every drop bends the rod over and eventually, our struggling angler brings a 25 to 50 pound Jack to the surface after a 20 minute struggle.  Fish being too big is always a good problem

Ollie Soininen and son, Uhule, came all the way from Finland to fish aboard the “Mr. Z” and weren’t disappointed.  We released several Jacks right off the bat and then trolled Bonita, Barracuda, Macheral, and Kings…

David Rude, of Cincinnati, brought the crew down and chartered both the “Mr. Z” and its sistership, the “Triple Time” owned and operated by Captain Joe Mercurio for a day’s wreck fishing.

We decided to catch the bait the old-fashioned way…  we bought it!  And it definitely saved us time that was better spent catching fish…

Stewart Krug, from Cinci, brought his family to Key West for a reunion that they will never forget.  They chartered the “Mr. Z” for a half day of fishing just hoping to get enough fish to have lunch at one of our great dining establishments.

We ran to the reef first and pulled some snappers, both yellowtail and mutton, as well as a few Barracudas to get dinner and of course, get the skunk out of the boat (catch something).

As we trolled out into the blue water, it was Harry Krugs turn in the fighting chair to celebrate his 85th birthday…  Yep, I said, “85th” Birthday!  And we immediately hooked two Sailfish!  The first Sailfish hit the downrigger and after a couple of jumps that we all witnessed, he jumped off.

The second Sailfish stayed glued to the shotgun rod (my rod up top and we got the release for Harry’s brag book.  He told us out of his 85 years of fishing, this was the most exciting fish he had ever caught.  We sent him away with a huge smile and a stack of “Mr. Z ” business cards to give out at his rod and gun club in Boca Raton.  That’s our secret to business…  Repeat Clientelle!

Thanks Stewart and Harry!

Capt. Craig (left) and Capt. Steve (right) on their way to work.