Ever had to watch the tides, weather, currents? Know where the rock piles are, or determine the proper bait? I’ve been doing this for many years, I’m Florida born and raised, and while I won’t pretend that it’s the Deadliest Catch out here, instead of beanies we wear bikinis, I will say it gives me knowledge of the area.
I mean, did you know that crab love grouper just as much as the rest of us, or even that seahorses are attracted to trap lines. They love to wrap their tails around so they can just relax for a bit. How about that octopi love golf balls? I can’t count the amount of times I’ve pulled up a trap that has an octopus that decided this was his new apartment, hoarding shells and other miscellaneous things.
The other thing about crabbing is, it never starts with dropping the traps, just like it never ends with pulling them. We use fish heads, amongst other things, and get a lot of our bait from the local fish restaurants and charters (maybe you’ve even helped provide some of that bait). One could say that crabbers are the start and the end of the circle of life in the area. We experience everything our Precious Waters have to offer. Not only the waters but the locale too.
I’ve been on the water my whole life. Operating out of Cortez, one of the oldest still working fishing villages in Florida, so I know the waters, I know the locals, I know the fish. That’s the benefit of this career. I get to see every aspect of our beautiful Gulf, day in and day out. When you do something like this, you get to see where the fish are, where the dolphins like to play, and where the sharks like to hunt. I’ve held onto all this knowledge for long enough; and now I feel it’s time to share it with the world.
So give us a call, have a drink deck side, and enjoy our mesmerizing Anna Maria sunsets; catch a shark, see a dolphin, go snorkeling, join the Cortez family, and most importantly… HAVE FUN! Your adventure awaits.
Signed,
Captain Charlotte
Don’t forget to pick up next month’s issue and stay tuned for our monthly updates. Maybe see how the start of stone crab season turned out!