love it love it's happening

guys uh not much uh making a quick run down to my uh doing what every charter captain has to do goes hit the credit card at the uh tackle shop uh For those who come to the Keys, Kudjoe Key has a really, really nice local bait and tackle store.

Well, they're bait stores across the parking lot, but their tackle shop is Kudjoe Key Fisherman's Supply House.

And just like it reminds me a lot of Gator Gyms.

If they ain't got it here in the Keys, then go back to Tampa, St. Pete, and go to Gator Gyms because they're my guys down here.

And just making a run.

I got a charter here in a couple hours, so I'm taking advantage of an early morning get-up.

and

Wow.

Um, different trips, um, African pompano this week, uh, on, uh, full big valley who's, um, cut, cut valley who like the plug, we just cut the tail and the head off and, uh, the African pompano's were slurping them down.

Like they were being offered a T-bone steak down there.

Um, just a really, really good mixed bag of fish.

Um, Boated for sailfish this week, which is really weird this time of year.

So, um, just a great, great week of fishing and, uh, no, I, I love to hear the stories about like safety harbor and those, I guess the off the beaten, the places where you don't get to hear about that often, because, you know, I have the home up in Newport Richey and the wife and I love to fish when we're up there, just me and her.

and uh you know i never took the time to really learn newport richie i do i can do one thing i can take the smaller boat out we can troll for grouper um you know i get in a certain area and just head head north and south back and forth and looking for rock piles and

How's the sargassum? I was down there in July and it was brutal.

Mm-hmm

... to probably bring that together.

And the nice thing is, back to my comment around tech debt, we're not having to tear anything down.

We can actually just deploy it, and the technology today can integrate across all these applications, and I think in a faster way.

So we view Avantos, who we have a strategic partnership with, where they're not just a vendor, they're, you know, we're real partners.

We see that.

You know, we're rebranding our advisor workstation a-Advisor Link, and it's bringing all the AI native capabilities to bear for the advisor.

What does that mean in terms of as you are putting together a wealth management platform and capability of the future, what does that start to look like as far as you're concerned?

and

keeping the same line.

The minute it was hit, trying to keep the back of that boat, like turning it around like it's the front, but you're using the back as the front, and you're keeping that fish as square in the back as you possibly can.

Of course, they're going to go crazy, and they're going to do stupid stuff, but you got to keep that boat as square to the fish as possible.

That's right.

But anyway, the fishing has been good yesterday.

We got the Mahi, we got a bunch of mangoes and yellow tails filled out a nice box for the clients then finished off a really hot day at Lou key reef snorkeling.

And, uh, we all jumped in the water.

Yeah.

Yeah, the, the heat.

The mahi have been still steady.

Um, seeing a drop-off a little closer to shore where there...

You gotta go beyond the reef a little bit in some deeper water to have a shot at some, you know, decent 10 to 15-pound mahi.

Uh, the chicken mahi are still inshore, but the bigger ones are in that deeper water right now.

Uh, the snapper and grouper and heads and tail fishing has been wonderful.

Yeah.

I'm gonna ask Mike, though, are you surprised Dillon is taking this fight?

No, I, um, I think he's got some tricks in the jujitsu world, but so do I. I'm good at jujitsu, I just, I use it to not use it.

I use it to hit people and, uh, you know, I'm looking to, to make Dillon tired of, of trying to grab his little locks and twists on me, and it just not work, and then I punch on him.

So I'm ready to see what happens.

I've been training.

I'm so fucking tired of training.

Mike, are you, are you taking his ground game lightly? Are you looking past him?

Absolutely not.

Doing great.

Fantastic.

Uh, great conversation this morning.

Yeah, I remember, uh, being out on Rick's boat and being, you know, like Rick said, going out by myself.

And no, I wasn't his mate, but I learned, that's where I learned everything that started this adventure that I've been on.

And, uh, I try to impress upon, uh, the people that I've taken as mates, and several of them have become captains and run different boats.

So whether it be their own boat or they're working for a company down here in the Keys.

Nice

But was there ever any, like, serious talk about running it back, you versus Nate in your next fight, your next appearance?

Uh, it's possible, yes.

I've heard, I've heard that we could be working towards that, a rematch if Nate wants it, uh, in NorCal, more closer to home for him.

Um, I don't know.

I mean, I'm pretty sure I know how that might not work out for him.

But, uh, I'm f- I'm focused on August 29th.

I'm gonna face Dillon here in my home city and put on a great show for the fans at home and, uh, you know, show my city what the King of Violence is all about.

How is it not Mike Perry versus Darren Till on September, whatever that is, in Manchester? How did we get here? It doesn't make any sense.

Yeah, they're pretty good.

But, uh, no, the...

Yeah, the fishing, uh, yesterday was pretty darn good.

Uh, we went out just like I had planned, and we got our mahi, and, um, it is hot.

And you were talking about the heat.

I b- truly believe the whole spot lock, uh, the Power-Pole move, the other ones that started with it, but now the Power-Pole move, that makes it so much easier to decide to, when you're bottom fishing for snapper, grouper, it's much easier to pull that thing up and move spots, get a little wind on you.

But, uh, it was, uh, it was pretty brutal, so we were trolling really small squid-type lures.

Yep.

Ooh.

We cracked 90 a few times, but it's in the high 80s, 'cause we're getting that current that pushes in.

Um, it just depends how far it pushes in, the Gulf Stream and everything.

Uh, the Gulf side, now that's, that's a different story.

The Gulf side is in the 90s in some parts.

Um, around Looe Key Reef, where we take our customers to get in the water and do some snorkeling, I would say the temp has been anywhere from, uh, 87 to just...

It's cracked 90 a few days.

Problem is landing them has [laughs] been a challenge as of late for us, but, uh, yeah, it's, uh, been definitely frustrating, but we're seeing them swim up to the boat quite often.

No, that was weird.

He...

Well, um, you know, after his fight, uh, I think there was a difference in my debut as far as opponent-wise.

Maybe his opponent did have some experience, uh, so I can't knock him there.

And he took the shot, went down to a knee.

You know, you make a mistake, it's not about how many times you get knocked down, it's about how many times you get back up.

He got back up, finished the guy off second round.

How has life changed post Nate Diaz? Are you getting bigger offers, more offers? Do you feel like you've earned another level of respect? Has it motivated you more in the gym? How has life changed?

Good to be heard.

Well, the, uh, the fishing has been, been great.

If you can deal with the heat, it is hot.

Uh, our water temps on the Atlantic are, are now in the high eighties to low nineties, uh, dependent upon where you are.

I'm always looking for the upwellings.

Uh, one degree can make a difference.

One, two degrees tops can make a big difference in, uh, not only the amount of fish, but usually.

i

It's so

interesting.

The other fish, and of course it is mahi is the big thing right now, but plenty of heads and tails to steal, Dylan's.

A quote that he says all the time, the snapper fishing has been wonderful.

Big yellowtails, four, five, six pounders.

Wow.

Big mangoes.

I knew

Yeah.

It's wonderful, and what I did when I got my other...

The first next two units, they didn't have the cover yet.

I went down to home Depot and just got, took them with me and got electrical boxes and made some modifications, but now they have the sun cover and it works great.

So can't say enough about flush master and all the guys over there.

And by the way, you're missing a trick.

The guy sitting next to you T besides being a good salesman, he's one heck of a fisherman.

the weed line's been down there how's the how's the grass

there anything special and unique you do for this occasion, Max?

No, we have a programme of 30, 40 dances, so I choose the dances depending on who's coming out.

But tonight we're mob-handed.

We've got over 20 Morris dancers and musicians coming out tonight.

But it's a great event.

I think people come because it's a great event.

And Whitehorse Morris also marking their own anniversary, a 75th celebration planned for later this year.

I think it was some early members of Whitehorse Morris may even have started the whole thing back in, actually might have been pre-war.

I thought we were just going to stay with my buddy, John.

There we go.

Your buddy, John.

Well, and T there.

T, I've actually fished with T. T and I fished in a tournament together.

Yep.

One of Gene Hammond's tournaments.

Yes,

thinking Kalua.

Yeah, it's not new.

It's just slightly different and modernized, if you will.

So what's missing out of this category? And it's for Loco.

It's for Loco, original recipe, which fucked you up.

One can of that would just destroy you.

And it's funny.

How does it feel to be your own client as far as building something for you? And then like, how do you treat yourselves differently as a client? Because so many agencies say we're going to do this thing, but then client work gets in the way.

Yeah, I saw some cars

covered up.

uh a couple blocks over um there were actually some tarpon that were working their way down a road wow that's how how much water in certain areas a big pine we had key west really got it bad but we recovered no problems but the fissions have been really good the mahi fissions have been outstanding the uh just whatever you want as many as you want keep one hooked in the water and it's one right after another right now dealing with the heat and that rain to get out of here we're also getting plenty still getting plenty of permit uh the cobia kind of died off a little bit but they're still popping up as a surprise behind your boat and bottom wise mike the snapper fishing has never been better this whole year has been inundated with snapper and it doesn't matter.

It doesn't seem to matter what you're using bait wise.

Um, the mutton seemed to like the ballyhoo a little better, but other than that, yellow tail mangoes, um, some different exotic snappers, you know, they're hitting everything you're putting down live bait, cut bait doesn't matter.

Right.

But I know two guys from Vero Beach North is big red snapper fishing, just like the Gulf.

Right.

Nice

... and cobia are still mixed in.

We're still seeing some good cobia catches.

Um, yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper are really firing off and, uh, getting the muttons and everything.

Um, you know, we do a lot of, we do a lot of big drifting.

Um, the Upper Keys is really, really big about, uh, drift fishing out over the reefs and having...

You have lines all over the place.I think maybe you did a show one time.

Yep.

Amen.

Um, the fishing has been good.

Mixing snappers, groupers, whatever.

Plenty of heads and tails.

And, uh, what I did wanna share with you, Mike, is your reach is so far with your show, and I'll tell you why.

Um, the crew I had yesterday and this whole weekend, they are big fans of your show all the way in Montana.

Yeah.

And the same day Rick told me he was on TV for, you know, a fishing report down in the Bradenton area, the news.

What did you come away feeling?

Um, I did, I came away feeling, like I said, about being, you know, the best welterweight 170-pound fighter.

Like, um, you know, talking to Jake after the fight, it's like I fought him at 200 pounds.

That 30 pounds makes a big difference.

The fact that I came in in that shape, and I did the diet for over 60 days and got myself in incredible shape.

And, and I, I maintained the diet and exercise through traveling and being in California and change of scenery and maintaining that hold on my, on my...

It's a structure.

[laughs]

Yeah.

The fishing has, the fishing has been good.

Uh, I told, uh, Dylan and Rick yesterday, uh, we're getting, definitely getting cobia and permit over the wrecks and reefs.

Uh, anything with high relief, they're circling, making their big circles.

Um, we're starting to see a lot of, a lot of the cobia too, um, and we talk about sharks, and we don't like them and all that, but they'll be on the back of a, of a bull shark or something and-... shark will come by and you're watching back behind the tail, and the only problem with that [laughs] is they go from being friendly to being chum when you hook one [laughs] 'cause that shark'll turn on 'em.

So we try not to, we try not to cast at the smaller ones when they're doing that.

We try to pick out a couple of the bigger ones to, to have a shot at catching them and getting them out of the water.

Great.

Um, it's a weird question to ask you because you have been very active, but did you feel rusty with your MMA skills, with your jujitsu? Were you still keeping up with it? Or once you started to really get into the MMA stuff, putting the gloves, the knees, the Muay Thai, the wrestling, were you like, "Man, I've, I've not forgotten some of this, but I'm a little bit rusty now"?

Yeah, there was some rust, uh, for sure.

Um, but I still...

You know, even in BKFC style or in dirty boxing, clinch fighting is a part of it, so there is some grappling going on in the stand-up version of the clinch and, uh, you know, trying to hit and hold or, you know, if you're holding, it's to push and pull and get an angle so you can break away and hit the guy, which is a lot of MMA skill that, that we've done since my UFC days.

Um, but, you know, when it gets to the ground, someone like Terrance gets- shoots a good double leg.

When, when a high-level black belt gets a position first on you, or if he gets you down, or he has, like, the side of your back, or, or if you start in a position, start with your back, start in bottom side control, and you gotta work out from there, that can be pretty tough.

You know, I've, you've, you've trained four rounds, and then they're like, "All right.

Yeah.

Are you hoping that they stick around so that there's more options for the fighters?

Yeah.

I mean, based on what, what casuals have said on, on this match up, like this match up kind of changed the card for some people, which was really cool.

And, um, and we're a triple headliner.

My first five-round fight, uh, you know, against cardio crazy Nate Diaz.

So I'm, I'm putting in the work already, and I'm grinding.

And based on what some people have said, but it's like-You know what is prime? What is a fighter's prime? 'Cause I'm entering prime at prime Platinum Perry.

Um, a, a little bit older than you, so what type of fighter, what type of Nathan Diaz are you expecting to see on May 16th?

Without you, it wouldn't have been half as good.

Thank you.

Yes, I am grateful.

All the...

You know, BKFC had a great story that night, and I was happy to be, you know, the main event of it, but that's even one half of the main event.

You know, Jeremy's emotional tearing up after a good fight was a part of the story too that people like to, uh, watch because they can connect with that 'cause they've been beat up and crying before, so they can totally understand his emotions there, and I get that.

And then, you know, to be a little bit beat up and victorious, you know.

... type of address.