ABOUT US: HOW I GOT HERE

I have always loved the water as I grew up in Biloxi, Ms. and Ft Walton Beach, Florida. I started fishing with my brother n law when I was 6 years old. We started out on a pier then advanced to offshore on our own boat.

I have been visiting the Florida Keys since I was a teenager and it quickly became my favorite place. About 15 years ago I decided I wanted to try something new. LOBSTERING.  I began looking at YOUTUBE videos and I knew I had to try this so I booked a trip. I had my boat, my GPS, my net, and my tickle stick and my first mate Kevin. NOW, WHAT? Many locals gave us advice such as “go about 3 miles out and you can’t miss them” or “pull Kevin behind the boat with a ski rope while snorkeling, you will find them” So I pulled Kevin behind the boat at 3 knots for HOURS and HOURS for 5 days straight. We didn’t find them. On the 6th day, we found our first hole. We named it Rex Hole (after my dog) we caught a few lobsters there and even speared a grouper.

I soon began planning my next trip

Kevin and I stayed on a small rocky Island known as Pretty Joe Rock. I snorkeled around and around the island trying to catch lobster. I caught a few. We finally decided to take a charter and that was the game changer. Suddenly we were looking at holes full of lobster and also learned how to find the spots ourselves.

The next trip was a fantastic month, we caught lots of lobster. Since then we have acquired 3000 GPS locations for fish and lobster.

Loving to lobster so much, I wanted to share the experience with whoever would join us. I just love it when a friend or relative would surface with a huge smile catching their first lobster. I decided I wanted to do this even more so I got my captains license and masters and opened Island Girl Charters LLC.