Airmar East Coast Division

Captain of the Year Home

 

Capt. Russell Sinclair, Wave Paver, 1000 Points

• White Marlin Open, 1st Place Release, 500 Pts.
• MidAtlantic, Most Points Overall, 500 Pts.

Capt. Bull Tolson, Sea Toy, 700 Points

• Dare County Boat Builders Tourn., 3rd Place, 100 Pts.
• Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.
• Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Garrett Yarbrough, Lo Que Sea, 500 Points

• Big Rock, 1st Place, 500 Points

Capt. Sean Dooley, Grander, 500 Pts. 

• Carolina Billfish Classic, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. John Cruise, III, Pelagic Hunter II, 500 Points

• Big Rock, Heaviest Marlin, 495.2 lbs, 500 Pts.

Capt. Geno Sauers, Cotton Picker, 500 Points

• Virginia Beach Invitational, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Donnie White, Sea Wolf, 500 Points

• HUK Big Fish Classic, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Tim Hyde, Seacurity, 500 Points

• HUK Big Fish Classic, Heaviest Marlin 384 lbs, 500 Pts.

Capt. Dave Grubbs, Grand Slam, 500 Points

• Alice Kelly Memorial Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Chris Kubik, Point Chaser, 500 Points

• Dare County Boat Builders Tourn., 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Rob Barker, Desperado, 500 Points

• Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. David Grossman, Canyon Blues, 500 Points

• White Marlin Open, Heaviest White Marlin 97 lbs, 500 Pts.

Capt. John Adams, Griffin, 500 Points

• MidAtlantic, Top Blue Marlin 815 lbs,  500 Points

Capt. Anthony Pino, Blood Money, 500 Points

• The MidAtlantic, Top White Marlin 91 lbs., 500 Pts.

Capt. Andy Helms, Reel Joy, 500 Points

• Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Gary Stamm, Buckshot, 500 Points

• Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day Tournament, Heaviest White Marlin 70 lbs., 500 Pts.

Capt. Kevin Gaylord, Sea I Sea, 300 Points

• Big Rock, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Alan Neiford, Mister Pete, 300 Points

• Carolina Billfish Classic, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Shey Mahoney, Sea Trader, 300 Points

• Virginia Beach Invitational, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Howard Lynch, Kilo Charlie, 300 Points

• HUK Big Fish Classic, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Barry Daniels, Skirt Chaser, 300 Points

• Dare County Boat Buildres Tourn., 2nd Place 300 Pts.

Capt. Randy Bryant, Maggie, 300 Points

• Alice Kelly Memorial Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Brooks Smith, Uno Mas, 300 Points

• Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Rob Mahoney, Mama C, 300 Points

• White Marlin Open, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Carl Beale, Don’t Panic, 300 Points

• Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Jason Genthner, Tighten Up, 300 Points

• Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Ryan Riggs, Full Pull, 200 Points

• White Marlin Open, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.
• Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Gene Ward, Post Call, 100 Points

• Big Rock, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Randy Ragland, Reel Hook Up, 100 Points

• Carolina Billfish Classic, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Neil Sykes, Victory Lake, 100 Points

• Virginia Beach Invitational, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Mark McDevitt, J&T, 100 Points

• HUK Big Fish Classic, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Bobby Garmany, Bench Mark, 100 Points

• Alice Kelly Memorial Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Sean Gallagher, Uno Mas, 100 Points

• Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

2019 AIRMAR East Coast Division Captain of the Year

Capt. Ryan Knapp, Top Dog, 1000 Total Points

Hatteras Village Offshore Open, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
The Big Rock, Heaviest Marlin 914-pounds, 500 Pts.

Just a young pup at 29, Capt. Ryan Knapp has packed a lot of experience into his short career. Knapp’s grandfather and uncle had offshore boats while he was growing up and he says that, “I was always the one who wanted to go do it! My grandfather really encouraged me, and I was pretty much attached to him at the ankle. I grew up on the western shore of Maryland so we fished a of Chesapeake Bay and Ocean City stuff.”

Like a lot of aspiring mates, Knapp got his first paying job as mate on Joe Riley’s famous headboat, Muff Diver. “It was a big pink headboat and you couldn’t miss it. It’s not an easy job working on a headboat, but you could make it work if you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the people happy. You really have to love doing it to be successful. When Riley finally retired at the age of 70, he said to me, Ryan, you are my last protégé, do me proud. I still think about that a lot and try to live up to his expectations.”

Knapp earned his AIRMAR East Coast Captain of the Year designation with two impressive first-place wins in the Big Rock and Hatteras Village open, so you could say that North Carolina has been very good to Knapp and his team. “I definitely got zoned in on where the fish were going to be in North Carolina this year. By the time I left the state, we were 12 for 12 on blue marlin bites and found every one of those fish in 80.5 F water. I got tuned into a few things, but I really just paid attention and did my job,” says Knapp.

Success, however, didn’t come quick or easy for his team. “I’ve fished The Big Rock for six years…and before last year, we’ve had just one bite in six years. It wasn’t that we weren’t in the zone, we just didn’t get the opportunities. You really are hunting unicorns out there sometimes.” “Five years into it and we still hadn’t caught one. At the end of the tournament my boss walks up and thanks us for all our hard work and tells us what a great tournament it’s been. Now that’s the guy you want to work for…a guy who will do what it takes to succeed.”

That perseverance paid off in spades this past year. “The Hatteras Village Open was awesome for us. The last day of fishing we saw five blues, caught three and killed one. We saw all the fish just 27 miles from the slip. It was truly an amazing day. All of the fish were 400-plus pounds and it was just amazing to see that many blue marlin in one day so close to home. It seemed like we would catch one, head up sea for a bit, turn around, catch another one, head up sea and do it again,” says Knapp.

Knapp’s first mate, Phillip “Moonpie” Williams is only a few years older than he is, but the team has been working together for the same set of owners on the same boat for the last four and half years. “We’ve been very fortunate to have worked together all this time…it makes for a good atmosphere and we are a very family-oriented team,” says Knapp. “The boat is owned by two brothers, Todd and Kyle Dickerson, and since one of them was a police officer, most of our fishing guests consist of fire fighters and police officers. We have a small group of about ten guys that rotate through, so that’s a good thing as well. It keeps things fairly consistent.” Knapp says that keeping an upbeat attitude is important for any boat’s success, whether fishing in a tournament or just for fun. “I never want to come home from a day’s fishing and have someone onboard that’s mad or upset about something; that’s the exact opposite of what a day’s fishing is supposed to bring.”

“I would like to thank everyone along the way who made me into what I am today. It’s very gratifying to win this award at such a young age. It’s really what you do all this for…you want to try to be the best and the one to beat,” says Knapp. “When I get to be an old man, I want the guys to head out the grounds and find me already sitting there when they pull up. Then I want them to say, ‘Shit! We aren’t going to catch anything today… Ryan’s going to catch them all!’ Bull Tolsen was that guy for me.”

Past Winners