In the fast-moving atmosphere of the World Wide Web, sites come and go in a flash, particularly those more dedicated to community-building instead of making money. That appeared to be the fate of CapMel.com, a hugely popular site founded and run by Captain Mel Berman of Tampa, mostly just because he loved fishing and fishermen.
Berman put in hundreds of hours building the site and making it a focal point of fishing on Florida's West Coast. Promoted by his highly-rated fishing radio show on 970-WFLA, the site was a huge success, with millions of hits logged each year. Mel made a few bucks on it, but mostly he just did it because he enjoyed keeping his fingers on the pulse of all things angling.
But when Berman passed away at 81 in February of 2010, the site began to languish. An attempt made to convert it to a money-maker soon failed, and not much happened for months afterwards.
Then along came Mel's longtime fishing buddy, Neil Taylor.
Taylor had retired from a career as a head umpire in the minor leagues, working the Triple A circuit for years. When he stopped calling balls and strikes, he started calling fishing buddies to join him on kayak fishing trips on the flats. Soon, it evolved into one of the more successful kayak guiding operations in Florida—thanks in part to regular promotion from Mel Berman.
"Mel helped me like he helped so many other anglers around Tampa Bay, and I wanted to keep the site going in his honor," said Taylor.
He took the time to learn web design, then invested 200 hours in rebuilding the site from scratch.
"I wanted to keep all the things in it that people loved from Mel's time, but add upgraded software and faster, easier access to more information," said Taylor.
So far, the site seems to be a smashing success; it's drawing some 5 million hits a month, an incredible number for a fishing website, and Taylor says a few ads are starting to trickle in—not yet enough to compensate him for the many hours he spends as webmaster between charter trips, but enough to keep the site going.
"It's drawing the eyeballs, so I'm hopeful we'll spread the word and get the support from the industry," says Taylor.
The site gives solunar tables, moon phases, tides, weather forecasts, fishing product reviews—and access to almost 2,000 fishing reports filed by guides from all over Florida. It also includes links to all Florida fishing regulations, lists of boat ramps and piers, knot-tying guides and lots more.
Last but perhaps most-liked is the Angler's Forum section, which draws tens of thousands of posts on hundreds of topics from those who wish to vent about regulations and poachers to those who simply want to know where they can catch a flounder from shore. The site is located at www.capmel.com.
