Gray Taxidermy Newsletter
AN EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION FOR FISHERMEN, BY FISHERMEN

Issue 58, October 2015

Rock Star Captain BJ Burkett

Rock Star definition:
Captain or Crew member and up-and-coming legend. Mounting is a permanent part of their business model, heavy involvement in Face Book and Websites, cutting-edge customer and business interaction in today’s fast paced world.

Captain BJ Burkett, a native to Panama City, FL, was brought up in the fishing industry. As a 3rd generation fisherman, growing up on the deck of a shrimp boat or gillnetting mullet was a childhood any young boy would enjoy.

At 15 years old his father helped him buy his first boat and qualify for commercial licenses. From then on he spent most of his time before and after school on the bays of Panama City either floundering, crabbing or fishing for anything he could sell. Fishing was his after school job until he finished two years of college. At that point it was time to either keep fishing or proceed with college and get a teaching degree. After serious consideration Captain BJ decided fishing was his true passion.

Captain BJ has always been a people person and decided to try charter fishing at 22 years old. With some slight modifications to his 30 ft. boat to accommodate paying passengers, Captain BJ started chartering in 2005. It didn't take long to figure out that he really enjoyed chartering and seemed to be pretty good at it. Over the next 5 years he built a very successful charter business docked out of Captain Andersons Marina, Panama City Beach, Fl. In 2010 Captain BJ upgraded to a 42 ft., 15-passenger boat to help his
business grow even more, fishing more than 200 days a year. Captain BJ has found the career that he loves while keeping the fishing generations alive.

As proud supporters of our Legends and Rock Stars, we have teamed up with SIMRAD to bring our captains and mates a Simrad HH36 Handheld VHF radio as a “Thank you” for always supporting this great industry. This radio is a feature-packed handheld, Class D, DSC marine VHF radio loaded with the latest technology, integrated GPS, loud and clear audio and navigational features that leave other handheld VHF radios in the shade. Great for use on any sized boat, for professional or leisure use.

Mate of the Month – October 2015, David Cook

What is better than getting a call saying you will be receiving a new pair of Costa sunglasses for doing what you normally do??? That is what happened to David Cook from Hawaii, he is this month’s Mate of the Month. Congratulations David!!

From David Cook:

Aloha, my name is David Cook. I grew up on the beautiful island of Kaua`i. In 1992 hurricane Iniki destroyed our home and we relocated to Kailua, Kona. At the ripe old age of 3, I knew my destiny. For the last 4 years I have been home on Kaua`i fishing numerous charter boats on the west side, gaining knowledge from every captain. Thanks to Capt. Jude and the deep sea fishing Kauai crew, Mark White Lures and Gray Taxidermy.

Mahalo Nui Loa!

Captian of the Month, Oct. 2015 - Hector Ojeda “La Vaca” - Cancun

A new REACTOR watch is making it’s way to Cancun, Mexico! Congratulations on this month’s lucky draw – Captain Hector Ojeda “La Vaca.” Thank You REACTOR for believing in this program and your continued support to Gray Taxidermy Captains across the globe.

We are so lucky to have so many professional Captains and Mates across the world, all working together to bring the joy and excitement of fishing to so many people. Those memories would never get to happen without you.

From Captain Hector:

“I was born here, I am from Cancun. I started working in the fishing business when I was 16 years old at Marina Club Lagoon in a boat called Pachanga V; I started cleaning boats and learned enough to become a mate; I was there 5 years in total and got to learn the foundations of what I do up to this date and the allurement for sport fishing. After that I worked for a year and a half at Marina La Boom on board Pelicano and Christine. Then I moved and worked for Manuel Rosado for one year at Marina Verano Beat. From there I went to Aquaworld, I was with them for 5 years, first on board Fish VII where I started learning the basics to become a Captain and then I covered shifts for all crew members in all the boats.”

“I love everything about fishing; there are good and bad things like in every business but I really enjoy from the simple tasks we have to do in our boats to customer service and teaching them how to fish in this wonderful paradise that is Cancun.”

“The opportunity to become a captain came up to me on board of the formerly called Pachanga V, the first boat where I started working in fishing; the name was then changed to Kianah and departing from Marina Temptation instead. After two years, my brother Alex who lives in Canada formed a partnership with other fellow Canadians, they bought the Kianah and two other boats and created a fishing company called Deep Sea Fishing Cancun (www.deepseafishingcancun.com) and together with my other
brother, Enrique “El Bigotes” who is also a captain, we have been running the business and working steadily for over 11 years already. Today, mostly all our customers find us online and we are doing well.”

“Thank you very much to Gray Taxidermy for all the support. I have been collaborating with Gray for so many years already and they have always fulfilled mine and my customers’ expectations.”

Way to get the job done!!
Congratualtions, Captain of the Month
Captian Hector Ojeda “La Vaca”

I want to be a Captain...

Written by a ten year old schoolboy and published in the 1993 March Maritime Officer.

I want to be a captain when I grow up because it’s a funny job and easy to do. Captains don’t need much school education they just have to learn numbers so they can read the instruments. I guess they should be able to read maps so they won’t get lost.

Captains should be brave so they won’t be scared if it’s foggy and they can’t see, or if a propeller falls off they should stay calm so they will know what to do. Captains have to have eyes to see through clouds and they can’t be afraid of thunder or lightning because they are closer to them than we are.

The salary that captains make is another thing I like. They make more money than they can spend. This is because most people think that captaining a ship is dangerous, except captains, because they know how easy it is. There isn’t much I don’t like, except girls like captains and all the girls want to marry captains so they always have to chase them away so they won’t bother them. I hope I don’t get seasick because I get car sick and if I get seasick I could not be a captain and then I would have to go to work.

Your Facebook Campaign

By working together we can provide an even better Facebook experience for your existing customers as well as thousands of potential customers! We can post your fishing adventure photos, and you get the opportunity to advertise your company directly to people that love fishing and in return you will receive added exposure for your Charter business. IT’S THAT EASY!

Send us your fishing photos to photos@graytaxidermy.com and we will post them to our growing audience of 159,000+ fans, exclusively for Gray Taxidermy Captains and Mates. Make sure you let us know the Charter Business name, the Captain and mates name along with your location. Feel free to include your logo, website and phone number.