Juvenile blue marlin caught off of Charleston by Capt. Richard Brackett
By Captain Kevin Deerman
It’s always been amazing to me to see what kind of creatures show up in the lights around the boat at night when tuna fishing off the Texas coast. Over the years we’ve encountered many different types of fish. These nocturnal visitors are welcome entertainment for the crew on the long nights in the Gulf of Mexico. We are always on the lookout for flying fish to use for live bait.
Photo courtesy Gary Graham
A long-time west coast secret, the incredible fishery that is Mexico’s Magdalena Bay is attracting ever increasing international attention. With ever more traveling operations exploring the fishery, we’ve turned to Baja expert and longtime Mag Bay angler Gary Graham to provide a full report on the fishery, how to get there and what to expect.
By Gary Graham
Located on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula – approximately 800 miles south of the California border – Magdalena Bay is protected by five barrier islands. Spanning some 131 miles, with most of its shore lined with mangroves, this is the largest bay on the West Coast of the peninsula. An extraordinary habitat, the plankton-rich environment attracts sardine and shrimp with other baitfish which in turn attracts a diversity of sea life. The astonishing offshore fishery stretches approximately 100 miles out in front of Magdalena Bay, from the Thetis Bank north of Cabo San Lázaro, down to below Punta Tosca at the southern end of Santa Margarita Island.
By Jan Fogt
After talking to owners and captains about the best way to ask for a raise, we came away with this startling conclusion: most captains rely on their boss’s goodwill to provide cost of living and merit raises even though such raises usually are negotiated upfront in the business world.
Considering the majority of big game captains today manage hard assets costing well over a million dollars we think being a licensed sportfishing captain should be considered a professional occupation. Yet few captains and owners see the owner-crew relationship quite that way.
By Captain Stephen Rhodes
Having myself owned a classic 13-foot Boston Whaler as a teenager, since becoming a father it has been my dream to restore a Whaler for my own sons as they enter their teenage years. Our offshore boat is a custom 35 Henriques Express, Legacy. Like many other offshore fishermen, I wanted an inshore boat for flats fishing, tubing, water skiing and other adventures that are not feasible on a twin diesel sportfisherman. Beyond the fishing and boating applications, I knew from experience the many lessons that restoring a boat can impart to the boys.
By Dave Ferrell
Taking the helm of a sportfishing boat, traveling the world’s oceans in pursuit of billfish, represents a “dream job” for a whole lot of people…many of which have never spent much time offshore. The image of a tanned captain, beard wagging in the sea breeze, steering the boat over the horizon with nothing but freedom and fishing on the calendar for the days ahead, fuels a lot of daydreams in corporate boardrooms all across America. It’s like being a quarterback for the Dolphins (Give me a break, I’m from Florida!)…you just can’t imagine having a bad day at the office!
By Captain Nick Gonzalez
Kite fishing has been met by a number of innovations over the last 10 years. Electric kite reels have gotten faster, more reliable, and easier to use. To compliment these kite reels and increase efficiency, light, high-speed conventional reels with smooth drags and high gear ratios came into the market. A number of different rod manufacturers began making excellent rods with soft tips and moderate backbones that are ideal for kite fishing. In addition, circle hooks became mainstream and a number of different manufacturers make chemically sharpened circle hooks that are tournament legal and very affordable.
By Capt. Scott “Fraz” Murie
It seems like everyone wants to drive the boat these days. The mentality of a lot of crews these days is that the captain has the easy job. So why not get a captain’s license and be the captain?
The moment we live for
By Nick Smith
It occurred to me that this billfishing-with-lures thing we do is a lot like what I’ve done most of my life in the automobile business. It’s about attracting customers and eventually closing the deal. The oldest marketing adage in the book is AIDA. It was coined by some marketing genius way back in the late 1800s. It stands for: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
Isn’t that exactly what we’re trying to do with our spread of teasers or lures? These hunks of plastic and rubber have to accomplish AIDA and do it consistently for us to have success with the billfish that we pursue so fervently.
ITB Staff
While it has been years since most places in the world succumbed to the dink ballyhoo revolution, Hawaiian captains still proudly pull plastic. In some of places where lures still appear, their selection is haphazard…the old, “Grab that one over there and throw a hook in it” type thing. In Kona, lure fishing is equal parts science and applied engineering with a healthy dose of aesthetic appeal mixed in.
What does billfish conservation mean? Days like these…The Blue Bird with a banner blue marlin day in the DR, the Rebel flying a pile of white marlin flags in Virginia Beach, and the Main One with evidence of 70 sailfish releases in the Florida Keys.
