Dream On! Fishing the Double Down in Key West

“Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after,” wrote Henry David Thoreau. But if it’s fish you’re after, then get yourself aboard the Double Down out of charter boat row in Key West and go fishing with captain Brice Barr and first mate Shawn. You can tell them Your Survival Guy sent you, and you can thank me later. I promise.

Aboard the Double Down is exactly where you could find us in mid-March at what I refer to as Summer Camp in Key West for our second trip in two years. We caught sailfish and an assortment of pelagic on both trips. But let’s get right down to this latest excursion where the sailfish weren’t taking our live herring skimming the surface kite fishing from outriggers.

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We had eight live herring out—three on the port rigger, three on starboard, in long, middle, and short distances, and two from spinning rods directly off stern. Let me just put this out there; if there’s fish biting, captain Bryce will find them like nobody’s business. His helm station on the bridge gives him a bird’s eye view, but his ace in the hole is his network as he works the Coconut Telegraph with other captains. They’ve built years of trust, sharing the inside scoop on what’s biting. If they’re biting, captain Bryce knows where, when, and why.

At this point, the trip was on the quiet side—not to be confused with the constant work of setting baits and working lines—this is not a day at the beach. And in fact, you might be smart to do some leg squats before the trip because it’s an all-hands-on-deck affair. And then it happened.

Right about when Capt. was thinking about calling it a day, he noticed some birds working the surface and said to Shawn, “I’m seeing some spouting over there. Let’s bring in the baits.” Suddenly Capt. put the throttles down full, and cruised to the action. You could see the sailfish going crazy, moving through the water like bolts of electricity—the most beautiful blue coloring—like blue-spotted cheetahs zipping across the surface and pounding the baitfish.

We cast a live bait in front of them, waited for the strike, and then nothing. “They’re feasting on wahoo,” Bryce said. We were throwing herring. “It’s like if you’re eating a steak dinner, and you’re not ready for dessert yet. We’re throwing the dessert.” And then, just like that, as another dessert was served five feet in front of a darting sailfish, “Boom” fish on! The drag screamed like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and the dream was on.

Action Line: Are you getting the investment advice you deserve? Are you working with an advisor with a bird’s eye view like Capt. Bryce and Shawn? Do you have someone you can call to see what’s biting? Someone who works the Coconut Telegraph and calls you? If not, sign up for my monthly Survive and Thrive newsletter and let’s get to know each other. But only if you’re serious.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.