Your Cell Phone - Your Eye in the Sky

By Capt. Bob Tayton
Southwest Florida Outdoors University Staff

I hadn’t fished the ten thousand islands in awhile and the two hour drive down only helped fuel my anticipation. I had checked the weather the night before and it called for variable winds, partly cloudy skies and only a twenty percent chance of rain. And the fishing report called for redfish stacked ten deep.

After launching my boat, I began my journey into a most amazing sunrise. I absorbed the beauty and brilliance of the morning as I traveled through the mangrove islands for over an hour. Settling into the mid morning quite, I made my first cast of the day, BAM!!! A huge redfish exploded on my lure. Within a half hour I had boated three more big redfish. After releasing that fourth redfish, it seemed that the sun was beginning to disappear. However, it wasn’t even noon yet. That once brilliant sun was engulfed by a rather large dark cloud. Welcoming the shade for the moment, I made another cast, BAM!!!!! The strike was so loud that the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Unfortunately, the strike happened to be lightning. Looking up I noticed that that one lone dark cloud was being joined by a number of its friends. Rain storms don’t last long in Florida, I figured with only a twenty percent chance of rain, this one would pass quickly. Besides, fishing in the rain can be productive….sometimes.

Daytime turned to nighttime within fifteen minutes. The rain that began as almost a mist, turned into drops the size of bowling balls. Being almost an hour and a half from the ramp and currently being located in redfish central, I decided to wait it out. My decision to wait it out was soundly based on the previous night’s weather report. After two and a half straight hours of bowling ball size rain, I realized two things. One my boat was turning into an eighteen foot live well and two, I’ve been dryer in my shower, it was time to go. Fortunately, my car didn’t leak, for it rained all the home and half the night.

Being an inquisitive sort, I began to wonder about “TV weatherperson speak”. When they give those reports, what are they saying? What exactly is the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny? If they say 20% chance of rain and it rains all day, when I call the weatherperson and ask where’s the 80%, is he going to tell me Oklahoma? And what about those variable winds. They say soft tropical breezes, I see waves on the grass flats that would make the producers of the Poseidon Adventure envious.

Real time radar on your flats boat
But don’t despair, this is 2003 and there is hope. Cell phones have pretty much change the way we live, we used to be able to hide, now they can find us anywhere. The only down time we get now is when we shut off our phone, of course we then stress out about missing an important call. I often wondered if I would be better off without my cell phone, not anymore! With the advent of MyCast.com I wouldn’t want to live without my cell phone. Now, I’m my own weatherperson. Who do I call? No one really. MyCast.com is a real time weather service with real time data and color Doppler Radar available right on my cell phone’s screen simply by inputting a postal zip code. How cool is that? Yes, I’m talking about sitting in your boat, logging onto MyCast.com with a couple of key strokes and being able to see storm fronts in living color, just like on television. The storm fronts are depicted in color ranging from green to red for the severest parts of the storm. The color radar shows the actual storm movement and size in ten to fifteen minute increments. Now you can see in real time how severe, the duration and the direction of the storms. The service even provides weather alerts. Think about it, if you are fishing in southern Pine Island Sound and the weather looks bad, simply log onto MyCast.com, and the radar picture and information will help you decide if a move to Bokeelia or down to Naples will keep you fishing or it‘s time to head to the dock.

If real time color Doppler radar were the only feature of this service, trust me it would be a godsend. However, MyCast.com didn’t stop there. Along with a visual picture, you can get temperature, wind speed and direction and barometer readings. Is this great or what? But, MyCast.com didn’t stop here either. You can even get all of this information in an hourly forecast or a weekly. The radar feature allows to view regional, state or local maps with the ability to zoom in or out of the area map you have chosen. And, if you decide to fish in Oklahoma, simply by entering a postal zip code in the area you are going to fish, the radar and all the appropriate weather information is available on your phone‘s screen.

MyCast.com is currently available on the following cell phone service providers: Verizon, ATT, Sprint, Nextel and several others. Another great feature about this service is that on most services it costs under ten dollars a month, in fact on Verizon it’s under four dollars a month. They also offer a weather service designed specifically for pilots. Contact your service provider to see how to get MyCast.com or log onto, yes you guessed it, MyCast.com for additional information and other services offered by this great company. If you wish you can also contact MyCast.com by phone at 1-952-974-3300.

Think about this, who are you going to trust, a wanna-be TV star telling you last night that tomorrow is going to be partly cloudy, which is weatherperson speak for “I don’t have a clue”, or your own two eyes looking at your cell phone‘s screen while your partner is setting the hook on another big redfish? Trust me, I’m a converted cell phone lover, I only wish MyCast.com had been around on that so called 20% chance of rain day back in the eighties, if they had I probably wouldn’t have the water in my lungs that I do.

PS. Tarpon season is here!! Our guide staff is almost booked up. Charter one of the best from our Pro Guide Staff. Don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime - there’s a Silver King waiting to do battle with you.

Be sure and catch all the action on Southwest Florida Outdoors next season. We are currently on the water filming your next great “ Hometown Adventure.”