Lifetime Access Plans Are Discontinued – Here’s Why
The bottom line, up front is that the lifetime access plans originally offered beginning in 2016 for Inshore Fishing 101, Inshore Fishing 201 and Sight Fishing Mastery School. I’ve been holding off on this for awhile now. It’s not something I wanted to do, but I feel like I owe an explanation:
First off, when I came up with this idea for online courses ten years ago, I was under the impression there would be more anglers who are interested in such thing out of the quarter-million licensed inshore anglers gracing Louisiana’s coastline. But time proved me wrong. It turns out that the kind of inshore angler who is willing to learn and apply him or her self are extremely rare.
Second, costs to host a website such as this one are not cheap. Everything from the hosting to the software to the email I have to pay for and those costs have only gone up. I cannot possibly expect to continue to pay for this business with a one-time payment from nine years ago. It just doesn’t make sense.
I personally hate it when access plans or rates are changed on me (thing of Netflix, Spotify, Navionics, etc.) but fact of the matter is that I am a one-man show. LAFB is not a big multi-billion dollar business. I always felt that I was closer and more intimate with my customer base (because I am), but if I want to keep this business alive and thriving then I have to do what makes sense for a business.
Third, I do not create crap content. While most content out there is shallow and not well thought out, mine is. Nobody gets out on the water and gets the supporting B-roll like I have. It took two years to produce the latest iteration of Inshore Fishing 101. Most of that time was spent writing and running the boat to get that perfect shot. Whether you realize it or not, that’s a lot of work.
Right now I am laying down the foundation to do the same for Inshore Fishing 201 and Sight Fishing Mastery School, but cannot justify putting another 2-4 years of work into something essentially for free. For me to have the drive to create the best content, there must be an incentive. Would you show up to your place of work for two years and not get compensated?
That and I now have to compete with AI. There’s no choice but to go all out or don’t do it all.
Fourth, most of the lifetime access members have long since upgraded to LAFB Elite anyway, or haven’t visited the site in a long time. Removing the lifetime-access will make administering LAFB Elite astronomically easier and will help me keep costs down. LAFB Elite is a hell of an investment considering that most charters today run north of $1,000.
Last, but not least, I am immensely grateful for the anglers who helped get LAFB Elite off the launchpad with Inshore Fishing 101 ten years ago. Thank you so much!
Above all, I just want you to be happy! If you are one of the members affected by this change and are unsatisfied, then please reach out to me via this contact form. I’ll be more than happy to get you a generous discount for LAFB Elite or do what I can so that you have a good experience.
Today, LAFB Elite is worth so much more with all of its content and, of course, the Community. That forum is really the capstone that brings it all together and helps people find and catch fish.
Thank you for your time, consideration and understanding. – Captain Devin