Pescador on the Fly
April 24, 2026April MTD Report · April 1 – April 24, 2026
Blended MER · April 1–24
2.24x
vs floor 2.5x−11%
vs goal 3.0x−25%
Below floor
0x
2.5xFloor
3.0xGoal
3.5x
Paid spend · MTD
$17,074
Meta + Google
Shopify net sales · MTD
$38,195
93 orders · AOV $428
March close (reference)
2.60x
$53,758 ÷ $20,670
Shopify revenue · trailing 13 months
Revenue and MER, side by side
Net salesMERMTD (partial)
Trailing 12-mo avg MER: 3.32x · April MTD reflects Apr 1 – Apr 24, 2026.
Apr '25 · full month
$33,313
Orders
188
AOV
$177
MER
3.89x
Mar '26 · full month
$53,758
Orders
120
AOV
$448
MER
2.60x
Apr '26 · MTD (Apr 1–Apr 24)
Partial$38,195
Orders
93
AOV
$428
MER
2.24x
Top of mind
Three things that define the month
01
MER is under the 2.5 floor
02
The trend is up, fast
03
One ad-set is doing most of the damage
Audience health · Meta
Net new reach — are we still finding fresh audience?
Reach composition · monthly
Are we still reaching new people?
Reached previouslyNet new reach% Net new
Reached previouslyNet new reach% Net new
Peak month (% net new)
Sep '25
75.5% net new
Biggest expansion
Jan '26
286K new people
Last closed (Mar '26)
51.8%
net new share
Apr MTD
41.2%
lowest in 10 months
Why this chart matters. A high share of net newreach means we're still finding fresh audience each month. A falling share means we're recycling through the same people — creative fatigue and market saturation start to compound, MER compresses, and CAC drifts up. Pescador's net-new share has fallen from 72% in January to 41% in April MTD. That slide tracks the MER compression (3.15× → 2.60× → 2.24×) almost 1-to-1. The fix: fresh creative angles to unlock cold audiences, not just rotation of existing ones.
Inside the month
What worked. What didn't.
Strategic moves that landed
What worked
- Apr 11: Launched the Econ 101 Flex Ads stack6.46× on $1.1K
Entry-tier value angle ($175 rod / $250 combo) found its audience — highest-ROAS new build of the month.
- Apr 22: Launched El Jefe MMS Flex Ads (Paul · Verified Buyer)First non-flat-lay format to clear floor
Customer-voice testimonial broke through — credentialed-peer angle is now part of the creative rotation.
- Apr 10: Held the Jan TOP_PERFORMERSL365D workhorseStill the volume engine
Kept the proven flex stack running while iterating new angles instead of cutting it cold.
- Apr 10: Shipped El Jefe V2 product-shot staticsOnly static holding floor on its own
Proved gear-as-pride-of-ownership framing works outside the flex format — opens a static lane for the next SKUs.
Moves that missed
What didn't
- Q1 LAL stack fatigue53% of Meta spend at 1.71×
Running since January and showing audience fatigue. Refresh or reduce before further scale.
- Mar 10 Broad US Flex Ads aging out1.57× on $2.3K
Month-old creative against broad audience didn't carry — cold cohort needs fresher hooks.
- Apr 10 BestOf Broad tests (Econ101 / El Rey)0.65× across two cells
Both small tests sub-1× at capped budget. Concepts cut — the angle works, the broad cell didn't.
- Google Performance Max slipped3.94× → 2.97× MoM
Still above the 2.5 floor on a larger spend base, but worth an asset-group diagnostic before adding more budget.
Top Performers · Last 30 Days
Flex Ad
4.92x
Top Performers · April re-build
Launched Apr 10, 26·18 days live
Spend
$1,590
ROAS
4.92x
01/16/26_FLEXIBLEADS_MULTIPLEFORMATS_TOP_PERFORMERSL365D
Flex Ad
3.22x
JD Flex Ads · El Rey
Launched Apr 14, 26·14 days live
Spend
$876
ROAS
3.22x
4.11.26_JD+FLEXIBLEADS_EL-REY
Static
2.53x
El Jefe V2 · whole-setup product shot
Launched Apr 10, 26·18 days live
Spend
$1,180
ROAS
2.53x
04-10-26_PF_NEW_PF_STATIC1X1_ELJEFEV2_NURTURANCE_MULTIPURPOSE_WHOLESETUP_PRODUCTSHOT_HOMEPAGE_SHOPNOW
Flex Ad
2.35x
Top Performers · Jan LAL stack
Launched Oct 2, 25·208 days live
Spend
$9,494
ROAS
2.35x
01/16/26_FLEXIBLEADS_MULTIPLEFORMATS_TOP_PERFORMERSL365D
Creative · last 30 days + 14-day launches
What we're reading from the creative
- 01Winning angle: "refuse the retail tax." No-Markup, Direct-to-Angler, Why Fly Shops Charge 2X — all the same desire. Buyers want proof of value, not lifestyle.
- 02Flat-lay product shots beat UGC. El Jefe V2 whole-setup is the only static holding floor on its own. Try the same DNA on El Rey G6 and the next combo SKU.
- 03Credentialed-peer testimonials work.Paul's "guides were surprised by a sub-$500 rod" broke through — source UGC with multi-rod-owner / guide-friend specificity, not generic 5-stars.
- 04Persona read: gear evaluators, not aspirants. Zero lifestyle storytelling on the winner shelf. This buyer already lives fly fishing — sell specs, savings math, verified-owner detail.
Channel mix · MTD
How Meta and Google split the work
Where the money went
Spend mix
85%
15%
Meta
$14,592(85%)
Google
$2,482(15%)
MTD spend$17,074
Where the money came from
Revenue mix
78%
22%
Meta
$28,651(78%)
Google
$7,918(22%)
MTD revenue$36,569
Efficiency by channel
ROAS vs target
Dashed = 2.5 floorSolid = 3.0 goal
All windows · all channels
The one table
| Metric | April MTD Apr 1 – Apr 24, 2026 Base | Last 7 days Apr 17 – Apr 23, 2026 Δ vs Base | Prior 7 days Apr 10 – Apr 16, 2026 Δ vs Base | Last month · same 24d Mar 1 – Mar 24, 2026 Δ vs Base | Last month · full March March 2026 Δ vs Base | Last year · same 24d Apr 1 – Apr 24, 2025 Δ vs Base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MetaSpend | $14,592 | $4,200 7d window | $5,079 7d window | $13,691 -6% | $16,989 31d window | $4,476 -69% |
MetaRevenue | $28,651 | $14,593 7d window | $6,825 7d window | $25,536 -11% | $36,347 31d window | $9,039 -68% |
MetaROAS | 1.96x | 3.47x +77% | 1.34x -32% | 1.87x -5% | 2.14x +9% | 2.02x +3% |
GoogleSpend | $2,482 | $887 7d window | $585 7d window | $3,005 +21% | $3,682 31d window | $2,282 -8% |
GoogleRevenue | $7,918 | $3,161 7d window | $2,094 7d window | $11,851 +50% | $12,460 31d window | $7,985 +1% |
GoogleROAS | 3.19x | 3.57x +12% | 3.58x +12% | 3.94x +24% | 3.38x +6% | 3.50x +10% |
BlendedSpend | $17,074 | $5,087 7d window | $5,665 7d window | $16,697 -2% | $20,670 31d window | $6,758 -60% |
BlendedRevenue | $36,569 | $17,754 7d window | $8,919 7d window | $37,387 +2% | $48,807 31d window | $17,024 -53% |
BlendedROAS | 2.14x | 3.49x +63% | 1.57x -26% | 2.24x +5% | 2.36x +10% | 2.52x +18% |
ROAS shown is paid-attributed (platform-reported), which double-counts cross-platform overlap and is NOT the same as MER. Dollar deltas are only shown when the two windows span the same number of days. For ROAS, deltas are always comparable.
What's next
Top 3 priorities for next week
01
Pull MER back above the 2.5 floor
02
Protect Google's efficiency anchor
03