Welcome Back! You are well aware that Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys with just about all she could muster on the 10th of September. As a resident of Big Pine Key, this experience became very personal to all our livelihoods and way of life. In past hurricanes (George and Wilma) our homes and businesses survived with merely a scratch compared to the devastation that occurred with Irma.
Recalling the destruction that Katrina caused on the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast while visiting friends soon after the Storm, I was once again made aware of the forces that “Mother Nature” can bring. It is something that you never get used to.
What has been amazing is witnessing the American spirit rise here at home; on Big Pine and throughout our Florida Keys. The outpouring of support by strangers for their fellow citizens in times like these have strengthened us all. I have witnessed people from all walks of life, from every part of the country arrive in the Florida Keys and work from sun up to sun down helping those effected by the storm. Whether it is the Samaritan’s purse, the Mormons, the Baptist, National Guard, FEMA or just a random guy from Kansas cooking for people in front of our Winn Dixie; the concern for their fellow human beings is extremely humbling; and I/we are thankful.
The other inspirational aspect of the aftermath is the resilience of the Florida Keys resident. It would be extremely easy to throw up your hands and say I quit and move on to another part of the country. To find that one place; if it existed, where you can say I have no worries here. Well that’s not the Key’s way. There is a reason that we live here; it is our own slice of paradise to share and care for. We want the rest of the world to experience that paradise too.
I posted on our Facebook page soon after the storm and said it was time to pray for our families, friends and neighbors… and there would be a time to talk about fishing again soon. Well; that the time is now. Fishing is part of the life blood of the Florida Keys. It doesn’t get much better than right here. If you love fishing, and have ever fished here you already know that. So get on back here! Our local guides are ready to put you on the fish, our dive masters are geared up to show you a world that you didn’t know existed, and of course our bartenders are stocked and ready to serve you the drinks that make the best of fishing stories yet to be told.
Our Florida Keys are back and we need you now more than ever. Don’t change your plans because you’re concerned that it won’t be same; chances are it may not. But know this; now is the time to either rebuild or start the memories again. The new and improved businesses all over the Florida Keys are inspired and want you to love the Keys as much as they do, even when she has been dealt a storm of historical magnitude. I am willing to bet your favorite establishments, friends and businesses will be right down the road ready to serve you again. Your guides have been working on their boats since the day after the storm to make sure he or she is ready to go when you return.
As far as the fishing, just read the reports, look at the pictures from our November edition and you will see the fishing is better than ever. Reality is a couple of months of relief on the fishing grounds has done wonders, but you need to see it for yourself. So I invite you to come back to the Florida Keys and re-experience the best fishing in the world or if it’s your first time, start those memories of a lifetime in our slice of Paradise we call the Florida Keys.
Captain Cliff Lumpkin