Geoff's Journal..

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Written by: Geoff Colmes

Created: 23 August 2022

Mothership Expeditions Aboard Fishabout

In October 1996, Geoff Colmes began making plans to offer a service that he had wanted to provide for his customers for quite some time. During winter months, weather conditions in the backcountry of the Florida Keys often make fishing difficult. However, this unique, sheltered estuarine area of the Everglades boasts some of the finest fishing anywhere. This fishing takes place in one of the most beautiful yet inaccessible regions of the country – The Everglades National Park; Whitewater Bay to Lostmans River, home to tarpon, snook, redfish, largemouth bass and literally hundreds of species of birds. American Crocodiles, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, and River Otters also populate the area. Rich with local history, places with foreboding names like Hells Bay, Graveyard Creek, The Nightmare and Shark River were once home or visited by legendary individuals such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Edgar Watson, Guy Bradley, Zane Grey and 'the man of the Glades' Herman Lucerne. Legends and phenomena such as the Ghost Ship, the Skunk Ape and the seldom seen Water Devil still exist.

The 'Fishabout' Partnership

The difficulty with visiting this region was always the ease of access. There was not enough time in one day to reach some of the remote areas and get in a full day of fishing. Returning to the dock at Flamingo after nightfall was never and remains a bad decision. The obvious solution was to camp in the primitive sites that were originally built by the Calusa Indians who constructed large mounds out of local shells and dirt. Now maintained by the National Park Service, these primitive sites are found throughout the Everglades along the Wilderness Waterway. With Geoff's good friend, long time restaurateur and former fishing client Mike Burgreen, a partnership to provide this service was established named Fishabout. Geoff Colmes was responsible for the fishing and Mike Burgreen provided the outfitting side of the operation. The trips were marketed to Geoff's existing clients, who were primarily fly fishermen and regularly made trips to ‘out of the ordinary destinations.

Camping, Fishing, Dreaming, and Nightmares

Pricing was set to be competitive with the few comparable experiences they could find around the country. The key to the success of the operation was to make the fishing experience and the accommodations exceed that of other destinations. Practice trips were scheduled, including scouting of fishing areas and testing of tents and camping equipment. This was tough research and development but many friends volunteered to participate without any arm twisting. It was decided everyone should have his or her own individual tent for comfort and privacy, a screen room for meals and socializing and outstanding food notwithstanding the very primitive setting. Once up and running, Fishabout scheduled over fifty outfitted camping and fishing trips over a three year period. All were successful and memorable adventures despite El Nino, cold fronts with thirty-knot winds, frost, mosquitoes, no see-ums, torrential downpours, flooded tents, and defective air mattresses. Alligators, mischievous raccoons, rattlesnakes, and many unidentified critters were never far from the camp. Countless nights after all the work was done and the customers were presumably sleeping in their tents, Geoff and Mike would have late night discussions about an idea called a “mothership.” Multiple anglers and guides would experience the amenities and services of a four-star hotel complete with gourmet dining, private cabins, comfortable beds, hot showers, room service, satellite TV and clean water. The ship would have an estimated 1400 sq. ft. with central AC and heating units.

From Research to the Development of Outback Ventures

The decision was made to research the mothership idea and if viable, to build such a vessel. Geoff and Mike eventually found a company called Trident, in Tavares, FL., who manufactured vessels perfectly suited for this purpose. An LLC named Outback Ventures was formed with Geoff and Mike and two investors; Pete DeLisser and Geoff Colmes - Whitewater Bay MothershipMark Davy, with a five-year business plan. Trident produced custom built industrial vessels such as riverboats, water taxis, fast ferry's, dinner boats and other similar types of commercial vessels. After a year and a half of Geoff and Mike making a weekly 650 mile round trip from the Keys to Tavares supervising the building process, Their 'mothership' dream finally became a reality and moved to the next level, with Trident completing the vessel to Geoff and Mike's specifications. Some of the specs of the vessel which was named 'Fishabout' included:

• (2) 20-kW generators
• 1200 gallon a day RO water maker with (3) 30-gallon water heaters.
• (4) private staterooms with (2) private and (1) ensuite head all with full-size showers.
• Main salon with full bar and icemaker.
• Full galley and dining area.
• (3) private guides cabins, (1) full sized head and shower, lounge area with washer and dryer.
• (2) cabins behind the wheelhouse for Capt. and watch, with (1) ensuite head and shower.
• Auto Tracking satellite system, (4) Direct TV receivers for independent viewing, (9) TV's throughout the vessel

Main Deck

Upper Deck

Interior

On the Road and Rivers with Fishabout

The 70' Fishabout, functional but admittedly not the prettiest vessel on the planet, was then shipped thirty miles in two pieces aboard wide-load flatbed tractor-trailer rigs from Tridents factory destined to be launched at Holly Bluff Marina on the St. Johns River near Deland, Fl. Not without unexpected delays and after a week or so of deadlines, malfunctions, headaches, hangovers, troubleshooting, dealing with ornery intoxicated carpenters and mechanics and eating too many catfish, hush puppies and coleslaw lunches and dinners at the nearby Shady Oaks, the new Fishabout finally departed. Piloted by Mike Burgreen and accompanied by the inexperienced, non-road tested Trident crew, they motored 120 miles north up the St. Johns River to Jacksonville then 450 miles all the way south down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to her new home in Islamorada ending a long five day maiden voyage plagued with bad weather, high wind and mechanical issues.

Mothership based Fishing Trips - Living the Dream

In the years following Fishabout's long and eventful maiden voyage, the unflappable Capt. Mike Burgreen miraculously and seamlessly performed his duties as the Captain and head chef. Aside from the many trips where the weather and fishing conditions were postcard perfect and everything went as smooth as silk, Mike also spent countless sleepless nights. He dealt with mechanical issues, microbursts, waterspouts and tropical storms in the Marquesas. Wind, rain, lightning strikes and cold fronts in the Everglades, as well as customers, guides, and crew with high culinary expectations, were added stresses. Geoff Colmes handled the less stressful marketing and fishing side of the operation. With the help of the outstanding crew, Capt. Andy Putetti and Frank and Liz Steele, Fishabout was able to accommodate groups of four to six anglers in comfort and privacy along with the guides and crew, making it possible to keep the price competitive with other fishing, kayaking, photography and eco experiences anywhere in the world. The operation lasted over four years averaging close to fifteen, four to six-day expeditions a season in the Everglades and the Marquesas. Satisfied clients returned every season for the camaraderie, great fishing and the unspoiled beauty and magic that the Everglades and Marquesas have to offer in a way that few others get to experience.

The Shakedown - Everglades National Park

Unfortunately, during the last year of the five year business plan, a few Everglades National Park administrators and one Park Ranger decided that they were going to shut down what they believed to be a 'rogue operation' within parks boundaries. After all the skiffs with guides and anglers had returned one evening to a secluded bay named “Cardiac," everyone was surprised as two vessels full of Park Rangers boarded Fishabout. The anglers, guides, and crew were separated and questioned. After two hours the rangers departed, and no citations were issued as the Rangers realized the captain and crew ran a tight ship. However, the citations would come a few weeks later. Fishabout's Captain and fishing guides all had permits to take customers fishing in the Everglades National Park and were compliant withl US Coast Guard rules and regulations but the NPS insisted that the vessel have a proprietary permit known then as an Independent Business Permit. When requesting the application, Outback Ventures LLC was officially informed that there was no such application available for the 'permit' they were required to have. After four and a half years of operating successfully, Fishabout ceased taking trips because the business could not run profitably without the revenue from the Everglades trips and it would have been too costly to argue with the United States Dept. of the Interior in a court of law in the final year of their business plan. The decision was then made by Geoff, Mike and partners to sell the business.

Fishing, Friends and Novels

Fishabout was eventually sold; and she is now being used as a floating office at The Lorelei Cabana Bar, Marina and Restaurant in Islamorada, Fl, coincidentally out of where Capt. Geoff Colmes currently operates. Since Mike and Geoff's camping and Fishabout trips, few have successfully had similar full-time operations in the area; it’s easy to understand why. Operating a business that specializes in fishing trips aboard a mothership is a complex undertaking with multiple components such as marketing, scheduling crew and guides, engineering, maintenance, provisions, food, and beverage service, housekeeping and handling whatever surprises Mother Nature has up her sleeve. Stories have been written and told about the camping and mothership trips; every trip was a different chapter and memorable adventure with some yet to be told or published. In 2007 Geoff's friend and award-winning author James W Hall came aboard the vessel on a four-day trip to research what is now one of his novels ‘Hells Bay.’ Hall dedicated the novel to Geoff Colmes and described the idea of the novel: "The idea for the book came from Geoff who created a houseboat as a mothership to live on while fishing deep in the Everglades."Mike Burgreen now owns and operates a very successful restaurant in Islamorada, FL called MA’s Fish Camp. Capt. Geoff Colmes is still a full-time fishing guide and professional musician living in Islamorada. The National Park Ranger that was instrumental in shutting down the business was eventually promoted. Thanks to all our loyal customers who believed in us and joined us on the trips and credit go out to the following individuals who worked hard to make the operation successful and a heck of a lot of fun: Eliza Colmes, Capt. Andy Putetti, Capt. John Turcott, Capt. Jeff Becker, Ivy Carpenter, Tom Maddi, Pete Delisser, Mark Davy, James W Hall, Mark Waslick and the incomparable Frank and Liz Steele. The fishing guides - Capt. Tad Burke, Capt. Tom Reddon, Capt. Steve Friedman, Capt. Tim Klein, Capt. Matt Pribyl, Capt. Greg Poland, Capt. Steve Thomas and Capt. Kris Bacen. Learn more about fishing in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park by visiting Geoff's website floridakeysflyfish.com.