InTheBite

De-Bait-Able takes the Win in a Field of 39 Boats The 56th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament was held January 23 to 26, 2019 in the Palm Beaches.  This year an additional fishing day was added to the format giving teams the choice to fish any two. With two days of near ideal conditions, and a much-anticipated bite pushing into... [Read More...]

ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys – Captain Marty Lewis of Marathon, Florida, led his team aboard Main Attraction to the overall win in the 29th annual Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament that ended Jan. 27. Team anglers Mark Busch, Daniel Roberts, Clint Rodamer and Shelby Bentley, all residents of Marathon, together released 10 sails in the best time for top honors. Team HellReyzer captured second place with 10 sails, with Captain Ryan Alexander of Cutler Bay, Florida, at the helm. Anglers included Rey Acosta, Mike Acosta, Travis Upchurch and Jorge Corzo,... [Read More...]

Kicking off this year’s Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown with the 1st annual Ladies Only Tournament Los Sueños Resort and Marina, located at Playa Herradura on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, held the first leg of its sixth annual Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented by Chantilly Air, January 16-19, 2019. A total of 44 of the world’s... [Read More...]

On January 16-20th, the 2019 Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series kicked off with its first leg, Operation Sailfish, hosted at Sailfish Resort & Marina in Palm Beach. 36 teams competed with hopes of claiming the champion’s dog tags and a piece of the $780,000 purse that was up for grabs. In conjunction with its charity, Operation Homefront, event activities... [Read More...]

Congratulations to Captain Joe Garberoglio & the Fragrant Harbor crew! The champions of the 82nd Annual Silver Sailfish Derby with 13 releases overall and being Top Boat Day 1. There were 43 boats in the tournament. The total number of sailfish released in the two days of fishing was 201.    [Read More...]

Whether you're running the boat, manning the rod or trying to get your team in shape, everyone could use a refresher on making the most of your bites. In this video, originally published in 2017, acclaimed tournament angler Fred Hardwick outlines an ingenious, practical way of getting a fell for the drop back. If that were not enough, check out... [Read More...]

How Marlin and Sailfish REALLY Feed! …And, why you need to “Drop Back” to consistently hook Billfish when using live or dead natural bait. The family of “true” Billfish includes all the species called Marlin, all the Sailfish (which are split into the Atlantic and Pacific species with the Pacific Sailfish also being found in the Indian Ocean), several species... [Read More...]

Four captains, 20 tips for better live bait fishing by Ric Burnley Live bait is both the best bait and the worst bait. Nothing entices a fish to bite better than a wriggling and writhing forage fish dangling from the hook. Nothing gives anglers more trouble than catching, keeping and rigging livies. That’s right, you can’t live with live bait,... [Read More...]

Pulling Tricks: Five Pros Share Dredge Fishing Tactics By Ric Burnley The first time I saw a marlin dredge I had two thoughts. First: that looks ridiculous. Second: that looks awesome! At first, 40 rigged mullet dangling from a web-work of bars and leader looks like a cluster FUBAR waiting to happen. Put the dredge in the water, and dozens... [Read More...]

Increase Your Lure Hook-Up % Capt. Bart Miller Is a single hook rig better than a double? Is my trolling speed too fast? Can tag lines improve my hook up percentage? These are just a few questions most of us immediately ask ourselves when we miss a marlin bite and our hook-up percentage is not what we think it should... [Read More...]