Like Forrest’s Mother always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”  Well, it applies to fishing just as well as life.  In fact, I think going fishing is a good comparison to life.  It teaches patience, acceptance, and sportmanship.  You learn as you go…  there’s no “fishing school” to go to, it all comes down to experience and most importantly of all, it teaches teamwork and that learned early in life will make life easier in the long run.  Of course, this is all just my opinion, but I’ve had thousands of hours to watch baits and think about it

Anyway, the Sailfish have been plentiful lately.  Even when we really didn’t want to catch them!  For example, Wells Richards brought “Team Richards” down to fish the annual Gator Dolphin Tournament where the prizes go to the largest Dolphin (Mahi Mahi) caught.   Well, both days we caught Sailfish and then Dolphin too.  We had several Dolphin in the 20 pound range and one close to thirty.  We didn’t win any prizes, but we weighed fish every day and were always in position to make a move to the top of the leader board with a little bit of luck!

Thanks Wells, and we hope to see you again next year!!

Figuring that we put about 1,200 hours a year on the boat, engines, and generator, it comes as no surprise that occasionally, we have to replace something very big and expensive.  This week, it was the generator or as we call it (for some reason nautical) the genset.  The generator is a diesel powered motor that runs the entire trip at a constant RPM and turns a big wire winding that creates electricity.  It basically powers everything from lights to stoves, micro-wave, bilge pumps, live-well pumps and, the big one…  Air Conditioning!

A lot of our trips are booked because the charter expects A/C.  Now, certainly A/C doesn’t affect whether the fish bite or not, but it definitely makes a fishing charter in June more “civilized.”  There’s nothing like standing on the back deck of the “Mr. Z” waiting for a strike feeling more like a bug under a magnifying glass, then being able to duck into the cabin for just a moment and inhale some of that 70 degree air that pumps out steadily from the 3, count ‘em, 3 Cruise-Aire made air-conditioners

I don’t quite get the advantage since the majority of my time is spent up on the bridge (albeit with some breeze coming over the bow) but on a slow fishing day, having the crew be able to relax in the cabin on the 6 person couch with the A/C on will certainly make my job a bit less stressful. 

I had the unpleasant experience of informing a couple of our charters last week that the gen-set was down and that the A/C wouldn’t be working for their charter and surprisingly, I got very little grief for it!  Most people (especially ones that have owned boats before) will relate to something not working as planned and that we do the best we can to adapt.  Besides, it’s a fishing trip where part of the fun is enjoying the great out of doors.  At least that was a big part of my sales pitch!

So, within 3 days, Capt. Steve had ordered a new generator ($10K in case you are interested) removed the old one (480 lbs. in case you were interested) and had the new one installed and blowing cold air for our customers. There were some heated moments along the way and nothing ever seems to go as planned, but we do plan on keeping this one for as long  as possible and making a lot of people comfortable while waiting for the big one to strike.

 A huge “Thank You” goes out from me to Capt. Steve for getting it done and in a timely fashion (not the norm in Key West)  I couldn’t have done it without him!

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And you just thought he caught fish! 

John Cox is a born and raised Conch.  A Conch is comeone from Key West.  Not a lot of them to be found.  Unless you work for the Auqeduct Authority, a Fireman, or sit on the city commission, you  don’t find many Conchs!

Last weekend, he brought his family out for some Mahi-Mahi fishing and we ended up with one of only two Billfish caught that day.  And what a show it put on!  When you’re young, you just never know where you will end up!

We don’t all grow up to do what our fathers do, but my son, Zachary (Lil’ Zach Nasty) has made a fairly early decision to take up the guitar and Daddy made a very busy snap decision to buy him a Prism PRS electric guitar.  Probably one of the nicest guitars ever made.  He figured that since I got to spend several thousand dollars on a new generator for the boat, then he and his new mommy, Lisa, could shop for a beautiful axe to entertain the masses at mass for graduation!

Tim Donlevy and friends certainly defined patience for two days aboard the Mr. Z.  First, our generator broke and left us without Air Conditioning.  Don’t worry, we have a brand new one on the way and will be back up and chilly in a few days.  But, Tim put in the time to capture a couple of really nice Mahi.  A Big thanks to Tim, Dad, and Mike for making us look like heros at the dock!