The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has released a study quantifying the socio-economic impacts of harmful algal blooms (HAB) in Southwest Florida in 2018. Read more “Studying the Economic Impacts of Algae Blooms in SWFL”
Thanks to our year-round boating season, Southwest Florida vessels spend more time in the water than most. Our temperate waters produce ideal conditions for marine growth, so it’s important to protect your boat’s hull and performance from Read more “Pro Tips: Bottom Paint”
Summer months are my favorite months to go fishing as fishing in SW Florida is about as good as it gets in regards to both inshore and offshore adventures. August is a month to target a number of species to complete one’s bucket list. Reef and Pelagic species are abundant in our waters. Read more “CAPTAIN TERRY’S SUMMER FISHING TIPS”
The Florida Keys are strategically located for SW Floridian anglers. This summer my 2nd Mate, our chocolate lab named Moby ‘Dick,’ is accompanying 1st Mate Vicki and I to Marathon for two full weeks of fishing for Dolphin, Yellowtail Snapper and Tuna. We have leased a house on Key Colony (Marathon) from August 14-28. Weather permitting, we have a few clients that have expressed an interest to joining us on an offshore charter or two during that period and we looking forward to accommodating them. We plan on making this a yearly event, so keep us in mind for your charter.
Putting a boat gadget under the tree may feel like a cruel joke in the rest of the country, but here in Southwest Florida they make great gifts! Retailers are recommending you get a head start on your holiday shopping this year, so we’re putting out our 2020 boater’s wish list a little early! Our gift guide includes great ideas for all the captains (and Floridians) on your list.
Read more “2020 Holiday Gift Guide”
Of course most boating guidelines focus on safety, and rightly so, but so much of the fun boating brings comes from the camaraderie we build as a community. Each time you take your boat out, you have a chance to make that particular day on the water more enjoyable for yourself as well as other boaters around you. Here are some obvious and not-so-obvious things to remember on your next outing.
Read more “5 GOOD HABITS FOR EVERY SWFL BOATER”
So far 2020 has been a rollercoaster, especially in our region famous for its tourism and hospitality. So how are things going on our coast as reopening progresses? We reached out to members of the local Marine Industries Association to get the inside scoop on how businesses are responding and rebounding. Here’s what they have to say in their own words…
Read more “SILVER LININGS FOR LOCAL MARINE BUSINESSES”
I love ‘Summer-Time’ fishing in our estuaries with the high summer tides and southerly winds. The waters have been very clean and clear this month, especially in the northern half of Pine Island Sound and Matlacha pass. The passes are always beautiful on the incoming tide which forces the fresh rainwater back up the creeks and rivers for 3 to 4 hours, twice a day. Our waters are unique in as much as we have Diurnal Tide Flows, allowing two high tides and two low tides a day. Every 12 hours the tide rises and falls providing opportunity to fish shallow haunts on the 2 incoming tides as well as providing plenty of oxygen on the outgoing 2 tides to fish the passes and flats.
Read more “The Revival of the Original St. Petersburg – Habana Race”
Old Florida isn’t always a thing of the past. Part of it is just off Channel Marker 60.
One of the great joys of Southwest Florida boating is discovering all the hideaways and hidden gems scattered along the coast and its inland waterways. Every once in a while, you find the mother lode. In our case, it was Tarpon Lodge and Restaurant and nearby Cabbage Key.
The underlying purpose of our trip was a planning meeting/retreat with an important client—incidentally, one of the largest boat manufacturers in the world. We wanted to get away from the distractions of our respective offices and, since boating is our business, why not find a classic boating destination that would help us relax our minds and get re-grounded in the process.
 |
 |
 |
Tarpon Lodge was a perfect choice since it is secluded and quiet, yet kept the outside world comfortably accessible—little conveniences like WiFi can not be undervalued. The waterfront hotel was built from a vintage lodge originally used as vacation home for a couple from Philadelphia in 1926. The lodge and stilt building are home to relaxing, airy rooms with its four-star, upscale restaurant below serving lunch and dinner daily.
As there is no dedicated meeting facility, the lodge’s resourceful staff created one for us—blocking off part of the restaurant’s patio breezeway where we set up shop for our two days of brainstorming. When the urge to fish overtook us, a quick stroll to the adjacent docks—where our boat was tied up—provided a welcome diversion.
 |
 |
Having limited luck wetting a line, mouthwatering sustenance was just a short hop away at famed Cabbage Key in the form of the quintessential Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was here tropical storyteller and songwriter Jimmy Buffett was inspired to write the song of the same name decades ago. And not much has changed. If anything, the count of dollar bills blanketing the entire ceiling and walls of the restaurant (estimated at $100K) has increased, but little else—a fitting homage to the “If it ain’t broken…” adage.
The path between Cabbage Key and Tarpon Lodge is home to another piece of living history—a group of stilt fish cabins in Pine island Sound. Built some 80 years ago, the fish cabins — many of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places — are a legacy to the area’s past (pre-World War II) when fishermen netted fish by hand and stored their catch in the fish cabins (then fish-company-owned ice houses), where boats later picked up the harvest and carried it to nearby Punta Gorda. They are now owned by various groups and used primarily as getaways for local recreational anglers.
So if life takes you anywhere near channel marker 60 in the Pine Island Sound Intercoastal Waterway, consider yourself lucky. It is home to a cluster of historical gems not commonly found.
The above installment was an account of a meeting retreat between pearl brands and their client, Bayliner Boats. To learn more about pearl brands, visit pearlbrands.com.