InTheBite 2012 Captain of the Year, Capt. Rob Moore

Rob Moore was raised to be a captain. His father owned charter boats so it was only natural that he follow in those footsteps at a young age, learning about boats and the industry from the ground up first as a mate and later as a captain in his own right. In March, the 42-year old Floridian will celebrate his ten-year anniversary at the helm of Frank and MaryEllen Rodriguez’ Fa-La-Me, a beautiful new 70-foot Viking Enclosed Bridge. And despite working out the kinks in the new boat, Moore and company put on one heck of a show in 2012. They tore through the Bahamas Billfish Championship, easily racking up enough points to win the overall title of BBC Champions and placing in nearly every event of the series. Then they headed north to Bermuda and the land of the giants. There, they continued their success with a pair of first place finishes (in the Bermuda Release Cup and Bermuda Big Game Classic tournaments) and a second in the Sea Horse to once again win the overall title, this time the Bermuda Triple Crown. They went on to place in several other events from Nantucket to south Florida throughout the year. In the Cat Island tournament they finished second and set a new Bahamas record for the most billfish in one day with five whites, five sails and one blue marlin. They lost a second blue marlin just 20 feet from the leader due to sharks. Needless to say, the team had a ton of fun along the way.

Much of their tournament success can be attributed to their ability to work together as a team, from Frank’s easygoing demeanor and angling ability in the cockpit to the mates, Taylor and Tyler Beckford and Jon Meade, who Moore readily admits made the team look pretty good on more than a few occasions. Combine that with an experienced and yet adaptable captain and it’s easy to see why the Fa-La-Me is consistently at the top of the leaderboard wherever they decide to fish.

It’s been a pretty incredible season, Moore said in a recent interview. To take a new boat and do what we were able to do, we’re just in awe of it all at the end of the day. And it really meant a lot for us to do it with Frank, who keeps us all jacked up when we’re together, he said. When asked about the importance of teamwork, Moore said, It’s without a doubt the most important part of our program. Frank and La count on me to run the boat safely and to make good decisions. I count on the mates to do their jobs in the cockpit and also for our anglers to do their best too. Just one weak link and it won’t happen. Everyone on the boat works together there are no individual heroes. Even when you work as hard as we did all during the year, you’re still surprised when it happens and everything goes your way. You just have to be ready for it and then enjoy the ride when it’s your turn.

The team anticipates a heavy travel schedule in 2013. After the south Florida sailfish tournaments finish up, they’ll most likely head south to Mexico then down to the Dominican Republic, then back up to Bermuda for the summer tournaments and then St. Thomas and the southern Caribbean in the fall.

Please join us in congratulating Capt. Rob Moore, the InTheBite 2012 Captain of the Year.