After a decade of guiding anglers on the flats of Key West, I found myself blessed with a great core of repeat customers. Every year I could count on at least three dozen regulars to book me for the four month bulk of tarpon season and beyond. Some of these guys (and girls) had great success with me. Others were skunked continuously but enjoyed the experience enough to come back for more. Most anglers fell somewhere in between. Leaving Key West (and my anglers) for Vieques meant leaving a guaranteed income behind that had taken years to build.
My last season in South Florida was full of saying thanks to all of my regulars and handing them off to a couple of guide friends for their future trips to Key West. Every one of them expressed an interest in coming down to Vieques to fish with me in the future, and I was happy to let them know that my boat would be waiting. I wasn’t sure what to expect when Amanda and I moved here, but I was thrilled when my new website went up and the e-mailbox began filling with some familiar names.
So far this year I’ve welcomed over half a dozen anglers to Vieques who have fished with me before in Key West. Molly and Richard from Washington, Big Al from Manhattan, Charley and Chris from Ohio, and several others all made the trip down here after listening to me talk up the island during my last season in the Keys. None of them had been fishing in Puerto Rico before and they all left with a real affection for Vieques and it’s people that I’m sure will bring them back again and again.
These anglers all come from different backgrounds, from North Pacific school teachers to New York City executives, but in my book they all have one thing in common, they’re my fishing buddies. As a guide, a first time angler is a paycheck. When they come back year after year, they become friends. And getting paid to go fishing with your friends is the greatest job anyone can have.
Just this past week I welcomed two of my favorite fishing buddies on their first trip to Puerto Rico, Jerry Buscemi and Jerry Mallaber, along with their wives Lois and Mary Anne, from Rochester, New York. The Jerrys, as I call them, were hooked on flats fishing from the word go and I’ve had some of my best days on the water in Key West with them, landing some of the biggest barracuda I’ve ever seen. Fishing with Jerry and Jerry was just as good on the slow days, as they seemed to appreciate being out on the shallows more than any other anglers I’ve had as charters.
Their first trip down here to Vieques didn’t rewrite the record book from our Florida times, but after three days the guys managed to go home with a couple nice bonefish under their belts along with a handful of other great hook-ups. We put a few tarpon in the air, had some good shots at permit, and landed several beautiful mutton snapper. This is a rare flats species that has almost been fished out of the shallows off Key West, but is still abundant on the Puerto Rican flats.
More important than anything, I believe the guys and their wives had a fantastic time in Vieques. They enjoyed the food, scenery, and great people of this unique island, on top of the new fishing grounds I managed to show them. This group is the exact type of tourist I hope Vieques will embrace. They spent their money in the usual places but never isolated themselves from the lifelong residents. We dined at Bravos Beach Hotel and had beers at La Nasa and Al’s in the same week and enjoyed them all equally.
The Jerrys came to Vieques after half a dozen great years in Key West and I‘m more than grateful for this. They were counting on me to help land them a few fish in some new waters, which I did. Although I’ve done better in the past, they’re trip didn’t disappoint me at all. Vieques stepped up to the plate and made their vacation a success just by being what it is.
The gang from Rochester will be back and this is definitely a win-win situation for everybody. The island will see the return of four of the most easy-going tourists anywhere, the Jerrys will have a second crack at the tarpon of Vieques, and I’ll get to spend some more time on the water with two of my favorite fishing buddies. What more could we all ask for?
Capt. Gregg McKee, WildFly Charters
My last season in South Florida was full of saying thanks to all of my regulars and handing them off to a couple of guide friends for their future trips to Key West. Every one of them expressed an interest in coming down to Vieques to fish with me in the future, and I was happy to let them know that my boat would be waiting. I wasn’t sure what to expect when Amanda and I moved here, but I was thrilled when my new website went up and the e-mailbox began filling with some familiar names.
So far this year I’ve welcomed over half a dozen anglers to Vieques who have fished with me before in Key West. Molly and Richard from Washington, Big Al from Manhattan, Charley and Chris from Ohio, and several others all made the trip down here after listening to me talk up the island during my last season in the Keys. None of them had been fishing in Puerto Rico before and they all left with a real affection for Vieques and it’s people that I’m sure will bring them back again and again.
These anglers all come from different backgrounds, from North Pacific school teachers to New York City executives, but in my book they all have one thing in common, they’re my fishing buddies. As a guide, a first time angler is a paycheck. When they come back year after year, they become friends. And getting paid to go fishing with your friends is the greatest job anyone can have.
Just this past week I welcomed two of my favorite fishing buddies on their first trip to Puerto Rico, Jerry Buscemi and Jerry Mallaber, along with their wives Lois and Mary Anne, from Rochester, New York. The Jerrys, as I call them, were hooked on flats fishing from the word go and I’ve had some of my best days on the water in Key West with them, landing some of the biggest barracuda I’ve ever seen. Fishing with Jerry and Jerry was just as good on the slow days, as they seemed to appreciate being out on the shallows more than any other anglers I’ve had as charters.
Their first trip down here to Vieques didn’t rewrite the record book from our Florida times, but after three days the guys managed to go home with a couple nice bonefish under their belts along with a handful of other great hook-ups. We put a few tarpon in the air, had some good shots at permit, and landed several beautiful mutton snapper. This is a rare flats species that has almost been fished out of the shallows off Key West, but is still abundant on the Puerto Rican flats.
More important than anything, I believe the guys and their wives had a fantastic time in Vieques. They enjoyed the food, scenery, and great people of this unique island, on top of the new fishing grounds I managed to show them. This group is the exact type of tourist I hope Vieques will embrace. They spent their money in the usual places but never isolated themselves from the lifelong residents. We dined at Bravos Beach Hotel and had beers at La Nasa and Al’s in the same week and enjoyed them all equally.
The Jerrys came to Vieques after half a dozen great years in Key West and I‘m more than grateful for this. They were counting on me to help land them a few fish in some new waters, which I did. Although I’ve done better in the past, they’re trip didn’t disappoint me at all. Vieques stepped up to the plate and made their vacation a success just by being what it is.
The gang from Rochester will be back and this is definitely a win-win situation for everybody. The island will see the return of four of the most easy-going tourists anywhere, the Jerrys will have a second crack at the tarpon of Vieques, and I’ll get to spend some more time on the water with two of my favorite fishing buddies. What more could we all ask for?
Capt. Gregg McKee, WildFly Charters
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