Hurricane Irma was a frightening and anxiety ridden and we were staring right down the barrel of a Catagory 5 storm, the largest and most dangerous storm in recorded history. Not only did we have to worry about our own lives but we had our boats, marina, other people’s boats and our animals!
Capt. Bill on clean-up
Just before it got to Florida it decided to go up through the middle of our peninsula via the Florida Keys. The Keys took the brunt and by the time it got to us it had downgraded to a Category 2. Not so scary. The fact it stayed on land and didn’t beat the coast was more of an advantage for Florida as the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico would have kept it a much stronger storm. Florida Crackers are a pretty resilient group. I’m not talking about transplants (although there a good few), I’m talking about true third, forth and fifth generation Floridian whom were nicknamed Crackers after the Florida Cowboys and the bullwhips they’d wield in the Florida Palmetto scrub. Many Crackers ended up in the fishing industry like my grandfather.
My mother was in quite a few Hurricans (as they call them) before they even named them. Every time time the people would build it bigger and better than before.
With Irma we were fortunate. The storm looked big but it’s swath was much narrower than people expected. The coast of Lee County got the least damage with mostly non-native vegetation taking the largest toll.
Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, Captiva Island, Cayo Costa and Useppa are totally up and running!
This week we’ve had some great catches. Redfish and Snook are continuing with a strong bite and we are even seeing Tarpon up the river in droves.
Capt. John doing a little post-hurricane scouting
Our charter boats and captains are ready and eager to get you out in the water to do some fishing. This would also be a great time for some shelling on Cayo Costa as the shells have mounded up from the storms. We are lucky to not have lost any beaches or structures on our beautiful barrier islands.
Please feel free to give us a call or book online 24/7. We are ready to get you out on the water for your next adventure!
Capt. Bill
Reservations (239) 691-1966