Some people seem to always catch fish. Call it luck, good timing or maybe it’s just “Fishing Karma”. It seems that I have certain customers that come back year after year and always seem to have a good day. Now, part of it is their timing. I can’t tell you how many times I have a customer come year after year and tell me this year he or she wants to catch something “different”.
Fishing does change during the year. We get different fish as the conditions change with the seasons. It’s not etched in stone, but in general. If you come to Key West at the same time of year, you will probably see the same types of fish being caught. So the people that come when the Sailfish are biting,(April or May), have a much better chance of catching one than the people that come when they are not, (like now).
I have had great catches of Dolphin in February, but if that is the fish you want to target, don’t come in the winter and expect it. If we catch a bunch of Dolphin in the winter, it is an anomaly. Come in the spring or early summer, May or June and maybe early July. That is when we expect to target and catch Dolphin.
We get a lot of people that come every winter to escape the cold. You really can’t blame them, I did that almost 40 yrs ago,(I just stayed). But if you come in January, expect to catch Bonito, Barracuda, Kingfish, and Mackerel. Those are the fish that are around that time of year. You are going to catch some of them. Yes, we will have some Tuna, Wahoo, and Sailfish too and maybe even a dolphin if the conditions are right, but you have to expect to catch some of the fish that are normally here.
OK, so that being said, there are those customers that seem to always catch fish and not only catch fish, but they catch the fish they want even in the “wrong” time of year. It is NOT because I like them better. My repeat business is fantastic and I am thrilled to have it. I have said many times, I enjoy going out with my repeat customer because I’m fishing with friends. I really like them all, but some of them just seem to attract good fish. Part of it may be that some people are better anglers than others. That is only natural. Not all anglers are created equal. I am not talking about the male customers Vs. the female customers. Some of my best anglers are the ladies and they are a blast to have on board.
I guess I just have to chalk it up to “Fishing Karma”. Some people have it and some don’t. Those that don’t still catch good fish on the Southbound or they would not come back. But some people can get a calm day between 2 weeks of bad weather. With some people, I have to work weed line after weed line, (like this year), hoping to find the sargassum weed that has fish. With others, we leave the dock, put a line in and start catching fish immediately and keep catching. I am doing the same thing on all the trips, fishing in the same areas, using the same bait. But on some days, for some people, it works great and for some, it can be a tough day. I guess that is fishing. I guess it is also “fishing Karma”