THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST

ABOUT THE TRIP

We are fortunate in the Tampa area to have MacDill Airforce Base as a member of our community.  Niche offers discounts on charters to current and former military personnel as a tangible way of saying, “thank you for your service”.  Consequently, we work a lot of trips with military personnel on board.  One day one of the active duty guys fishing with us volunteered that he would love to be the first mate on the Niche Too if I ever had a need for one in the absence of our regular crew.  The first chance I got, I took him up on his offer and he mated for us off-and-on for the next year or so.  He turned out to be a great hand with a great attitude and with an uncommon ability to develop a friendly rapport with our clients.

He retired last year and made plans to move his family back home to the Midwest.  He had a well-deserved retirement party (weekend) and invited some of his friends to go fishing as part of the celebration.  It was a fun trip and we caught keeper grouper and snapper before heading in.  Just after clearing the pass, we were stopped and boarded by the FWC.  They were very professional, polite and friendly and asked where we had been fishing (20 miles offshore) and then checked our catch.  Then they asked for licenses and permits.  Not by accident, we had current USCG documentation, a Florida Charter Boat License, a Highly Migratory Species Permit, a Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Permit and a Gulf of Mexico Pelagic Species Permit (the latter two cost us in excess of $20,000 when we purchased them and allow us to legally charter in Federal waters more than 9 miles offshore) for their review.  Smiles all around.

LESSONS LEARNED

When our catch was checked that day, some of the fish were not the size we thought they were when we measured them offshore.  All I can figure is that putting a fish on ice can cause it to shrink so we now require that all of the fish we keep be a little longer than the legal minimum to account for shrinkage on the way home.

ON THE HORIZON

Repeat clients are special to us.  Not only are they familiar with the nuances of fishing on the Niche Too, they tend to build on the success of their previous trips.  During trips with returning clients we touch on what happened on earlier trips, but we focus on the day at hand.  Every trip is different on the Gulf and addressing the current conditions is an important part of a successful trip.  So it is that time of year when anglers make their annual trips to the warm air and sun that is such a contrast to the reality of their every day lives in the winter.  We are looking forward to renewing friendships and making new memories with some of the best anglers in the world again this spring.  Come on down, the water is fine.