Fort Myers Beach Archives - Good Time Charters

We love finding Sand Dollars and other sea shells in Fort Myers Beach and nearby islands

bjs — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:58:36 +0000

When out on our Coastal Sealife, Shelling and Dolphin Cruise, our guests often find sand dollars and other beautiful shells washed up on or near the shore. Sand dollars are a species of extremely flattened, invertebrates and belong to the same family as the sea urchin, sea biscuit and sea stars. They are typically one inch to four inches in diameter with a five-pointed shape on the back.

When they are alive, they’re a dark color, covered with short dark spines that almost look like fur on the bottom side. These spines are used to propel them around on the sea bottom and to push small pieces of food to its mouth. If you pick a live one up, always place them gently back furry feet side down. Sand dollars like muddy, shallow ocean bottoms near land. All live shells should be left in the water, never collected and killed.

When you find a dead sand dollar, they are a white circular disk, and all the fuzzy feet are gone. This is the creature’s exoskeleton and it is ok to collect the shell.
It seems that these creatures enjoy each other’s company as 600 or more can live in one square yard!

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Fort Myers Beach Biologist volunteers to assist in Bird Nesting Counts

bjs — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:50:50 +0000

Captain Cristina of Good Time Charters recently assisted a bird rookery nesting count in the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. Estero Bay is the first aquatic preserve established in Florida. It is a shallow estuary fed by five minor freshwater tributaries but influenced more by tidal action. Its diverse habitat is home to a wide array of birds. On the nest count, Estero Bay staff biologists and volunteers spotted nesting Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons, brown pelicans, cormorants, Great American Egrets, Tri-colored Herons and Reddish Egrets.

During this trip, 96 nests were counted on seven islands. There are a total of 24 islands monitored monthly by the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve staff and volunteers. This effort helps in making land management and conservation decisions.

Captain Cristina has been a volunteer biologist with the group since 2008. She has been involved because of the importance of protecting and preserving Estero Bay and keeping her tour guides and captains knowledgeable about local bird populations. Take a Good Time Charters Eco tour and see the wildlife of Southwest Florida including dolphins, manatees and a variety of birds! Our Master Naturalists are knowledgeable and fun. This is an experience like no other right here in Fort Myers Beach. This story was also featured in the local paper and you can read the full story here.

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Fishing Charters Fort Myers Beach

bjs — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 20:03:02 +0000

Check out this beautiful Snook that these folks landed then released on a fishing charter Fort Myers Beach this morning while out with Capt Mike! What a beauty.

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Fort Myers Beach Sunsets

bjs — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:02:50 +0000

The manatees are back! We have been seeing more and more manatees around and they have been in our marina almost every morning lately. These gentle giants are herbivores and love to snack on sea grass. Our water temperature around Fort Myers Beach have been getting warmer and they love the warmer water. Our dolphins are here all year and have been busy feeding on our fish and showing off for spectators. We now have 2 rescued seahorses in our aquarium and they are doing well feeding on bits of fresh shrimp and brine shrimp that we catch off the docks. Stop by and see them! The weather here is beautiful right now sunny and warm!

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Fort Myers Beach Fishing and Dolphin Charters

bjs — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 17:59:26 +0000

Can you Boogie like a Batfish? Sure you can! Despite the pretty red lips these Batfish are some the strangest looking fish in our bay! With the broad head region they sure look funny when they swim. Their entire front end shakes side to side like a funny dance. Though these fish prefer not to swim around a whole lot, too much work you see, especially since they clearly are not designed for speed. They prefer to sit on the sea floor bottom, maybe use those bottom fins to “walk” around, and wait for something tasty to eat to swim close by. They are pretty sneaky with that great camouflage to blend in. It may seem they lack a dorsal fin but actually it is modified, moveable, and small so they can use it to lure shrimp, crab and other fare. Two new species of batfish were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico as recently as 2010! We recently had this Batfish in our aquarium at Snook Bight marina for a few days to show off before letting him return back to the bay. Stop in and see us and our aquarium! We always have something new in the tank and love to show off our fish friends! Our Dolphin tours around Fort myers Beach have been so fun! Lots of dolphin and still some manatees around as well. Capt Mike is sooo busy with fishing charters and if you haven’t booked with him yet for the holidays you might miss out. We are so thankful for all of our regulars and repeat guests!! We always try harder to make your revisit better than your 1st! Give us a call or better yet stop by and see us and our displays!

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Fort Myers Beach Dolphin Watch and Fishing charters

bjs — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 13:49:43 +0000

It’s October and we are experiencing the best weather all year so far. October is our favorite month of the year here in Fort Myers Beach. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the lower 70s. WOOHOO! This is perfect weather for boating, fishing, and paddling! The dolphins have been very active feeding and one of our resident groups of dolphin have a new calf!! If you have been on our cruises before, you may be familiar with Floppy’s pod, well there is a new calf in the pod now! AHH, they are so cute and playful!!! The other day we sat idle and watched the new calf jumping out of the water, as if to say “Mom, Look what I can do!” We have also been seeing manatees still in good abundance around Fort Myers Beach. The other day we lucked out and found a group of about 5 of them grazing so we sat idle and watched them for a little bit then left them alone to eat in peace.

The mornings have been perfect conditions for Stand Up Paddleboarding. I took out some local ladies paddleboarding yesterday and we saw dolphins and a mother manatee with her calf. If anyone needs a birthday idea we had a local lady book a charter with us as a surprise birthday party for her husband’s 60th bday. She even made cool t-shirts for everyone on the charter! I attached a pic of the birthday boy and a couple of his friends sporting the fun t-shirts.

Fishing has been so good and the redfish bite is ON!! Capt Mike has been bringing in some really happy fishermen and women with their catch. Besides redfish, I have also seen snapper, shark, and sheepshead on the cleaning table.

I performed a wedding ceremony a couple weekends ago and the wedding went off without a hitch. The weather was amazing, the water was calm, and the happy couple exchanged some amazing vows. If you need an officiant for your wedding in Fort Myers Beach give us a call. I’m off to clean our aquarium, so like my friend Rusty says, “Peace out, Sauerkraut!” – Capt Cristina and the rest of the Good Time Family

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Fort Myers Beach Dolphin cruises and Fishing charters

bjs — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:33:46 +0000

A face only a mother could love, or in the case of the toadfish (also called oyster cracker) only a father could love. The male toadfish makes a grunting sound by vibrating his swimbladder to attract a female to his nest to lay eggs. The female leaves, and he protects the eggs. Even after they hatch and start to swim he protects them. Way to go Papa Toadfish! Did you know that a few of these fish have been over 3 million miles into space?? They were taken along on shuttle missions in 1998 to study effects of gravity on balance issues such as dizziness, motion sickness, and vertigo. Turns out the toadfish has a very similar balance system to us so they make ideal models for study. Capt Mike brought one in for our exhibit and he has already made a home resting on the bottom of the tank, and enjoys ambushing small crab and shrimp for food. Stop by and visit our display and meet and learn more about Mr. Toadfish! We have still been enjoying lots of wildlife in the area, with all the dolphins and manatees. Stop in and see us real soon! Capt Cristina and the rest of the Good Time crew.

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Fort Myers Beach things to do

bjs — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:40:17 +0000

Fort Myers Beach dolphin cruises and fishing charters. We have been having a great July so far! Lots of manatee sightings and playful dolphins around. I have been enjoying all the birds too! Lots of pelican, egret, and heron chics this year! They are so cute. I attached a pic I took of Great Blue Heron chics patiently waiting for mom or dad to bring back some food. I volunteer when I can to assist the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve bird monitoring program and I really enjoy watching the chics grow up. They grow so fast though! You know a brown pelican chic is full grown in 3 months? Come join us for a cruise and learn more about this beautiful ecosystem!

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Fort Myers Beach Things to Do and Activities

bjs — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 17:16:08 +0000

Can you do a headstand? I can’t either. But recently we have met a lot of folks that can…on a paddleboard! If you don’t know what that is, it is basically a board that floats. Now I have been practicing yoga my entire life and apply it to lots of everyday situations that I encounter. But the headstand has always been difficult for me, now crow, full wheel, wild thing etc., no problem, even on a paddleboard. Oh well, I guess that gives me yet another goal. I attached a pic of one young man who was out on a recent tour with me and had never been on a paddleboard before. He did a headstand as if it was no big deal. Now don’t worry folks, we don’t make you do headstands on our tours, we just think it is really cool if you can! Capt Mike has been busy with fishing as usual. I attached a photo of a long time regular, Mrs Turken, with a beautiful red fish that she caught in Estero Bay Fort Myers Beach. The dolphins and manatees have been regular encounters on all our tours this summer around Fort Myers Beach! We never tire of seeing the wildlife here. We are so lucky to be in such a beautiful area!

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Fort Myers Beach Activities

bjs — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:43:08 +0000

We have been having such a great summer so far, I am not even sure where to begin! June is nearly over and we were busier than ever! Thank you to everyone that has joined us for an excursion, those who recommended us to others, and all our return customers that keep coming back to visit us! The waters of Fort Myers Beach are teaming with dolphins, manatees, and lots of birds! The sunset cruises have been booked up every evening and we have seen some gorgeous sunsets so far this summer. We did take a day to play hooky and have our semi-annual crew appreciation party. The whole crew, including our Everglades Adventure guides, got on the Good Time Charter boat to spend a day on the water with each other. We ended up all the way up by North Captiva island and decided to throw the anchor to go paddleboarding and for a swim. While we were there, this boat was high and dry so we thought it would make a fun prop for a group photo. Capt Joe tried paddleboarding for the 1st time and did great!! See more pics of our day together here: Crew album. We had a wonderful lunch on the way back at Grandma Dot’s on Sanibel. What a great day we had and what a collection of very special people we have on our crew. In other news, I have once again donated my hair- another 11 inch pontytail. That makes my 3rd donation of hair to Locks for Love and I sure hope they are able to use them to accomplish their wonderful goal. Capt Mike has been busy fishing as usual! Lots of shark around right now near shore and in the passes. The other day he caught a nurse, hammerhead, bonnethead, and a black tip all on the same charter! Wow, that was some fun action! We were recently voted Best of the Beach’s Fishing Charter boat yet again this year! Thank you to every one that voted for us and we will keep up the hard work to hopefully win it again next year! Well folks, we really hope you consider us when making your plans for your next outing. Please book early! Hope to see y’all on Fort Myers Beach really soon! Cheers, Cristina and the Good Time Charters Crew

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