Through the Guides
A Q&A with Conservation Captains
Photo courtesy of Showndre David
Captain Showndre David
Photo: Dr. Jake Brownscombe
Captain Rob Kramarz
Bimini, Bahamas
Key West, Florida
How long have you been a guide? I’ve been a guide since the age of 12. I started to take people out alone at 16. I bought my own boat and started my own business at the age of 17 and am currently 19. I first got into guiding under my father, Bonefish Ebbie. He wanted me to learn and improve upon his legacy, which I’m currently working on.
What makes the Florida Keys unique for flats fishing? To me, the Keys are such a vast and diverse biosphere that on any given day you have the opportunity to pursue multiple species in areas that can change within a 20-minute boat ride. You can start your day on the oceanside flats, then work your way out back and fish on grass flats or mangroves, then move to channel edges and then finally make it to the Gulf edge flats.
In what ways have you helped BTT with research? I have been a local guide for BTT for two spawning seasons, and am now showing them potential locations of aggregating bonefish. What is one thing you’ve learned about bonefish in your pre-spawning aggregation studies with BTT? One thing can’t cover all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained from the BTT team I’ve worked with. For example, I’ve learned that bonefish are fish of habit and will always return to the same spot in which they have aggregated in the past, even after being spooked. Also, the red abrasions on females mean they’ve already spawned. Aside from guiding, what activities do you do out on the water? After (almost) mastering bonefishing, I decided to learn everything I possibly could about the ocean since my passion for it is so strong. I’m an amateur spearo, a dedicated shark feeder, a scuba diver and I’m trying to get instructor certifications in both freediving and scuba diving. I’m also a boat captain. To see exactly what I do, you can check out my Instagram account: @privateers242. Do you often see pollution when on the water? Pollution is not up for debate. It’s everywhere. As a conservationist, I do my best to clean up as much of it as I can. I’m planning on combating the issue with my team in the near future to keep our Bahamas as beautiful as they should be. What is your favorite guiding story? Oh gosh, there are so many stories, but two particular ones stand out. One is when I took out a Nebraskan family. I thought I saw a permit and had one of the kids cast at it. The fish crushed the lure. The fight lasted 35 minutes on a tiny 2000 spinner with 10-pound braid. After landing the monster, it turned out to be a 25-pound jack crevalle, which aren’t local. I was happy for the kid—it was the biggest fish he had ever caught! Another good story was when Justin Lewis (BTT Bahamas Iniative Manager) lost half his rod to a big bonefish I put him on when I took him out fishing. The reason I guide isn’t for the money—it’s to give people an amazing experience and memories for a lifetime. 56
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What kind of work have you done with BTT? Most of the work that I have done with BTT deals with Project Permit. I had the honor back in 2014 of being involved with the first two permit to ever have been tagged with satellite tracking devices, which are used to assist in the science of understanding their movements. What is your favorite guiding story? Hands down my favorite guiding story would have to be a father and son team from Boston who booked three days of permit fishing in May 2014. Not really the best month to book for permit, but it was a nice break from the tarpon grind. The weather of the first two mornings was not even close to the forecast, and it was dismally raining, but conditions improved enough both days that we could get the afternoon in. Over these two afternoons, father and son each captured their first permit, and they had each hooked four permit with both getting three to the boat. Eight permit in eight hours of fishing! Unreal. Their last day had beautiful weather, but we were scaring every fish we encountered. I could sense the frustration in both, so as we made our way back to the ramp, they explained that they were perplexed as to why they were not catching on this perfect day. To ease or add to their confusion, my response was simple… “That’s permit fishing!” I also asked them to give me a call when they finally realized what they had accomplished in those three days. Well, that call only came in 2019, but now we get to continue the hunt together for permit twice a year! How do you try to be environmentally-friendly as a guide? There has definitely been an increase in plastic pollution since I’ve become a guide. I have started requesting that my clients not purchase single-use plastic for a day on the water. I also ask them to help out by pointing out and picking up any ocean debris, and we do our part to make the Keys as pristine as possible. Kick Plastic!
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