InTheBite

Captain Brad Philipps Breaks Down the Guatemala Billfish

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guatemala billfish

Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

By Mark B. Hatter

“We know more about the moon than we know about the habits of billfish.”

Brad Philipps, captain, owner and operator of the charter boat Decisive and Guatemala Billfishing Adventures, introspectively remarked as we sipped whisky and smoked Cuban cigars on the rooftop of his Casa Philipps in Antigua, in January of 2020. It had been a VERY slow week, yet under the uncharacteristic circumstances, we raised and released more sailfish using fly tackle than any other boat in the fleet.

So, I am not so sure about Philipp’s moon and billfish remark.

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Charter Boat Confessional—True Tales from the High Seas

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The Bali Hai headed offshore. Photo courtesy Jim Callas

By Jim Callas

As a young deckhand, I had the opportunity to fish with some really awesome guys—one of whom was a fellow by the name of Capt. David Russell. Russell was fishing on a boat called the Bali Hai and was a pretty cool guy. We got to talking one day and he basically hired me on the spot for some reason and soon we were fishing every day. The Bali Hai was what was referred to as a Navy Crash boat or
AVR boat. AVR was an acronym for “air, sea rescue.” These old wooden boats were built for the navy and resembled a PT boat from WWII. Built out of double diagonal mahogany planking, powered by twin Ford Lehman diesels and had a reverse sheer line. The old AVR boats came in two sizes: 44 feet and 63 feet—we had the 44 foot version.

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Laundry Line – A Guide To Flying Fishing Flags

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fish flags

On the starboard halyard, billfish flags are to be arranged by species significance.

ITB Staff

It was long before social media revealed daily fishing reports that fish flags were used to publicly announce one’s success on the water. History credits The Tuna Club of Santa Catalina for the introduction of fish capture flags that were oversized and colored so nearby boats could be alerted to tuna, swordfish and marlin landings.

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Returning to Normal in Marsh Harbour Bahamas

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Abaco Beach Resort Marina

By Dale Wills

I recently returned from a visit to Marsh Harbour, Bahamas for the Production vs. Custom Shootout run by legend Skip Smith. This was my first time returning to the islands since Dorian devastated the Abacos in September 2019. I stayed at the Abaco Beach Resort and the marina looks better today than it ever did. The new tournament scale is awesome and I’d bet a giant sea monster couldn’t tear it down as it is now made from steel beams. If only that precious ground under the scale could talk. I have fond memories of big marlin and boats backing under it to celebrate.

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Lesson Learned: Stuck at Sea

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jupiter inlet

Photo courtesy Chad Pinder

By Chad Pinder, as told to ITB Staff

I was a mate out of the Square Grouper in Jupiter aboard a 6-pack boat. In March 2018, we had a charter a family of four plus a regular. The day went as planned and we started out bottom fishing then a little storm cell came through. As the seas got bumpy people started to drop from seasickness.

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Gallery: Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown, Leg 2

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Leg 2 of the 2021 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown may have wrapped up but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still reminiscing about the great time we had. From traveling with the Jaruco team to catching up with the Uno Mas winners, the tournament was just another silver lining for 2021.

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InTheBite Editors’ Top Story Picks for 2020

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As we say goodbye to 2020 and look to 2021 with hope and excitement for new things to come, we can’t do this without looking back at the significant stories of the year. Our editors curated the top five stories that had a significant impact for us and our readers. These are the features that motivated, educated and took us away to wide open waters for the time we were reading. We hope you enjoy.

1. How the New Texas State Record Came to Be

820 bluefin tuna hanging from Pelican Rest scale in texas

In a very direct sense, the pending new Texas state record bluefin tuna was a victim of the coronavirus.

Whether or not fish can actually catch this disease, who the hell knows, but the trip that resulted in greasing the biggest bluefin in the history of the Lone Star State was the result of being cooped up in the house awaiting the virus to run its course. Captain Robert Nichols, who runs the Rock Mama, a 55’ Hatteras based out of Galveston, Texas was gracious enough to tell us all about this fish of a lifetime.

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2. Two-Minute Warning: Pay Scale

two guys exchanging moneySo many times, I’m asked about how much a captain should get paid. Sometimes, I’m asked by the captain and sometimes I’m asked by the owners. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason on what a captain should or shouldn’t make.

Back in the day, there was an unwritten rule that a captain should make a grand per foot. I don’t know who came up with that…but it was ignorant.

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3. The 2019 Captains of the Year

The InTheBiteCaptain of the Year Cup presented by Hatteras is the world’s foremost competition for professional sportfishermen. The world’s only quantifiable metric for comparing the tournament success of captains, winning an InTheBite Captain of the Year Award is a major achievement. The Cup is composed of five divisions that span the sportfishing world: East Coast, Florida, Gulf Coast, Hawaii and International.

We look back on the 2019 winners who pushed past challenges, beat the odds and showed us what it takes to be the best.

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4. Steering You Straight: The Scoop on Steering

What type of steering system do you have? While most sportfish crew would answer hydraulic, there are many variables today that differentiate the design, components and operation of a vessel’s steering system. Learning about your boat’s system can assist when it comes time for maintenance, ordering repair parts and performing bleeding (more about this later).

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5. Four Captains, 20 Tips for Better Live Bait Fishing

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, and you can’t win without.

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Child’s Play: An Expert’s Approach to Fishing with Kids

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fin gaddy with his two sons on the qualifier

Fin Gaddy with his twin sons on the Qualifier. Photo courtesy Fin Gaddy

Photos and Story by Scott Kerrigan

For those passionate about fishing, ensuring that your kids enjoy time on the water is a very important—some might say life-altering—consideration. For those who make a living as charter or private boat captains, creating a kid-friendly fishing environment is that much more important. The difference between creating a lifelong angler and a kid that will never fish again can be something as simple as making sure that the tackle and the target species are age-appropriate.

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The Best and Worst Fish of My Life

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Captain Ricky Wheeler and mate Stephen Bowen

By Keith Bowen

During the 2017 WMO, I fished with Capt. Ricky Wheeler on the Exile 65 Paul Mann out of The Canyon Club Marina in Cape May, NJ. After a classic crashing teaser bite, a plug was pitched on an 80W standup combo and it was ‘game on’ with a decent sized Blue Marlin. I quickly got in my Smitty Built harness and got ready for a fight. Between fishing in Costa Rica and New Jersey, I had caught about 20 Blue Marlin in the past but after one jump, it was clear this was my biggest to date. Everyone was extremely excited during the controlled chaos as there had not yet been a blue weighed in and we were in the right Calcutta’s.

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Quantified—Taking a Closer Look into an Epic Fishing Trip

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During a two-day fishing trip out of Port Aransas, Texas, the Quantified team —Wills Scott group out of Beaumont, Texas — reeled in a massive haul. All were standup except the swordfish. This was the first trip on Quantified. Justin Drummond was captain with mate DA Hughes III.