Hello, my name is Captain Eric Budd as a USCG licensed captain, a licensed Florida charter captain and one of only seventy guides permitted to operate in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge my goal is to provide a safe, fun and memorable day on the water at an affordable price but for me there’s so much more to it. I want to share my love for the water and the outdoors with whomever will listen. Fishing has been always been a part of my life from spending my summers fishing Tampa Bay with my dad pouring through any copy of Florida Sportsman I could find dreaming of owning my own skiff. It was along the Texas Coast where my love for red fishing grew. Where for seventeen years I fished every major bay system in tournaments and for fun also it is where I earned my charter captain’s licenses.
My family and I moved to Key West to pursue a Tarpon fishing dream. While life in the Keys is good living is hard and my wife doing part time work in Daytona Beach first put the Mosquito Lagoon on our radar. Soon after I was hired to drive a boat from Daytona down to Key West and as I drove down the intracoastal waterway through the lagoon for the first time I was amazed by all the sights. There was bait everywhere fish showering them in the air, I watched two guys in a skiff land a big bull red, saw my first rocket launch, dolphins and manatee everywhere and beautiful undeveloped scenery all in about ten miles. I’m still in awe of it everyday. That’s what I want to share with you. I think there’s more to a Mosquito Lagoon fishing trip than a “box of fish” and while I’ll try my hardest to put you on fish I’ll also show an amazing place where you truly do see something you’ve never seen everytime your out on the boat. Hope to see you soon.
