InTheBite

Capt. Paul Ivey: A Finer Storyteller Fishing Has Never Known

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Photo courtesy Thomas Kopper

By Elliott Stark

It’s hard to imagine a more colorful character on the fishing landscape than Captain Paul Ivey. Looking back on a career that spanned Florida, the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Venezuela and the Galapagos, Ivey’s recollections are delivered with characteristic New York flair. If you’re lucky enough to catch up with the old captain over the phone, you might as well be talking on the bridge of an old Bertram fishing Venezuela’s La Guaira Bank in 1988.

Ivey grew up on Long Island and spent his childhood chasing bass in freshwater. He made a couple of trips to Florida as a teen when he fished with a charter captain out of Castaway’s Marina in Miami Beach. “The mates intrigued me. I was fascinated by how they could get baits to look tasty enough for a wild animal to eat it when it was rigged on piano wire.”

In 1971, Ivey moved to Florida. “I went out and bought a 16’ aluminum boat with a 40 hp motor. One day someone told me that mackerel were biting just offshore of Hillsboro Inlet. I left the Everglades, where you could catch 13-pound bass routinely if you could get past the moccasins,” Paul recalls. “I went out with two rods with Clark spoons with one-ounce sinkers – rigged like a jackass… I about sank the boat with mackerel.”

“My cousin had the bright idea to sell these things. ‘Do you know how many bars there are between here and Hillsboro Inlet?’ he said. He wanted to sell the mackerel to bars for $2 apiece. I said, ‘If we’re going to sell them to bars we ought to sell them for $4.’ We sold so many that we had to take orders! The boat never saw freshwater again…”

Soon Ivey got to know Pompano charter Captain Joe Mott. “Joe used to hang out with Roy and Allen Merritt. He taught me how to rig ballyhoo. I fished with him a couple of times and I used to pick his brain,” Ivey recalls. Ivey then got a job as a mate out of Deerfield as he accumulated the sea time necessary to gain his captain’s license. Next, he bought an old, beat up 38’ Pace Maker that would require a year of work at Merritt’s Boat Yard to become seaworthy.

“I set out to be a charter captain,” he says. At the time most offshore charter captains working out of Hillsboro fished the edge of the Gulf Stream. ”Too many guys were fishing inshore. Offshore interested me – blues, whites, sails, dolphin and tuna – at the time they were all available. I wanted to make a living offshore. You can’t be good at everything, but you can excel at certain things if you spend the time.”

Charter fishing produced for Ivey and his different approach to the scene resulted in steady catches and happy clients. “A guy noticed me and all of the fish I was hanging. He asked me if I would like to run his 48’ Pace Maker for a weekend.” After trying to get out of the gig, Ivey relented. “He was used to running 17 miles offshore. I told him we’d run to 25. At 21 miles we found a giant weedline that was loaded with dolphin. We caught 160 of them. We stuffed them everywhere you could fit them. We ended up going up and down the canals in Lighthouse Point yelling ‘Fish! Fish!’ over the hailer. We were throwing dolphin onto people’s lawns. They loved it!”

“The guy then told me, ‘I want you to work for me. I’ll sell your boat for you.’ And he did. He made it worth my while and got me more for the boat than I paid for it. Friends of his would also hire me to run their boats. We spent time in Chub and Walker’s.” Over the course of his time in Walker’s, Ivey began dating a girl whose father owned an 84’ Berger yacht.

“Her brother and I were great friends. We’d stand on the swim platform of the Berger and tie ourselves to the boat so that we wouldn’t fall in. We’d troll lures and get bites. The captain would have to stop the boat so that we could fight the fish, he thought we’d lost our minds,” Ivey recalls. “We wound up winning the tagging division in Walker’s off a Berger Yacht!”

Around this time, Ivey made the acquaintance of Hal Prewitt, a man who owned a 46’ Post. One thing led to another and Ivey signed up to run the Post for the Bahamas Billfish Championship. The first tournament was in Walker’s Cay. As the mates on the boat were inexperienced (they may not have known ballyhoo from great danes), Ivey insisted that the crew pull his rigged lures.

The approach worked. Ivey and company boated a 368 on the first day and a 400-pounder on the last day. “The boat had no tuna door or gin pole, it took four of us to drag this half-dead blue over the gunnel!” They won the event by nine pounds. “We won $128,000. I won another $30k in the captain’s bet. They gave us a pillowcase full of money. Hal dumped it on us in the salon of the Post… I was bit by the marlin bug worse than anyone ever was…”

After placing in the Bimini and Treasure legs of the BBC, Ivey and company won the Bahamas Billfish Championship for the year – 1987 or 1988 he says. “Hal had always said that if we won the BBC, we’d go to St. Thomas. That was the Mecca.”

“We took the Post over after I asked him what boat we were going to charter over there. I thought we’d get killed if we took the Post. We got to South Caicos in one piece, but things were starting to break on the interior of the boat – the fridge door fell off and furniture broke.”

From South Caicos, it was on to St. Thomas. “When we tried to cross the Mona Passage it was blowing 25-knots. Against my better judgment, we tried it. Fifty-three hours later, we arrived at Club Nautico in San Juan. We looked like dogs that had been beaten to death – it obviously wasn’t my time to die… It got so bad that one of the cabinets flew open in the galley and two glass jars of Ragu fell and broke. The rubber on the hatch gave way and water got everywhere. The mirror in the stateroom fell and broke all over his bed.”

“We got into Club Nautico at 2 am – it was full of all these beautiful new Bertrams and Hatterases. We tied up the boat and all slept in the salon… The salon window had cracked in half. After we got the boat put back together, we got into St. Thomas on the 4th of July. There was no slip for us at American Yacht Harbour.” The party responsible for making the slip reservation forgot to call.

“So we went over to Sapphire Beach Marina. They were just building it. There were no docks and the electricity was only hooked up for the office. There were no bulkheads – no nothing! We anchored (on one side) and tied off to a palm tree. We routed electricity through a field,” Ivey recalls. “I had to follow other boats because I didn’t know where the North Drop was. I had to use radar to follow boats — they all passed us. On our first day of fishing on the North Drop, we hooked up a blue marlin almost immediately.” Ivey and the Megabyte never went back to the Bahamas.

“We fished St. Thomas and had a ball,” Ivey says. Hal Prewitt would eventually purchase a 61’ Jim Smith. “Bobby Brown and some other guys started talking about Venezuela.” Ivey soon flew down to check it out. It made an immediate impression. “Venezuela was the place. I thought I was in heaven. The first time I fished there, I saw nine whites in the spread at one time. Something on every line, two on the teasers.”

“Venezuela was where God created fish. Never had I seen 45 or 50 whites in my spread, I never could have dreamed it. In Venezuela in the 1980s if you didn’t see 70 whites in a day, you hadn’t left the dock. Bait was plentiful and compact then, schools of bait would stretch 100 miles. It’s not like that now.”

Ivey’s approach to fishing was an analytical one. The logs he kept were the stuff of legend. He tried to observe what he saw and where fish and bait were headed. “The logs I kept in Venezuela taught me not how to fish, but how to find fish. I had 78-85 locked in, permanently stored waypoints. At any time of year, I could visit points and see what I expected to see.” Ivey’s logs and observations provided him with patterns. “Recaptured tagged fish really helped me – proved that fish follow the same pattern I thought they would.” Ivey recaptured an incredible 50-odd tagged fish.

Beyond the fishing exploits, Venezuela provided Ivey with many relationships. It was Ivey who told Capt. Dave Noling to, “Get your ass out of Mexico and come down here to Venezuela.” An animal lover, Ivey would bring scraps from a chicken restaurant to street dogs and cats every Wednesday and Friday. One special dog, named Hobo II, flew home to America with one of Ivey’s friends, “She bought her a seat on the plane and everything!” he says with a laugh. “The first thing it did when she brought it home to Jupiter? It ate her cockatoo!”

Hal Prewitt would sell the Megabyte in 1996. Over eight years, Ivey and crew put 13,000 hours on the engine. Ivey next leased a series of boats in Venezuela which he would run for charter. After 26 years, Ivey was forced to move on. “Venezuela got too dicey. Wives got nervous and wouldn’t let their husbands fish there anymore.”

Ivey turned his attention southward and headed for the Galapagos Islands. “The Galapagos was like Venezuela in 1988 except for with striped marlin instead of whites. Stripes are like white marlin on steroids… and crack cocaine. Striped marlin fishing might be the most fun you can have with your clothes on. We would see 40 stripes some days. It’s no longer like that.” Ivey’s first trip to the Galapagos was in 2008.

These days Captain Paul Ivey is semiretired hanging out with his family in New York. He teaches Cub Scouts how to tie knots, “They can fish anywhere in the world if they know these knots.” At 72, he has accumulated more (and better stories) than have most people three times his age.

Surviving Dorian: A Story from the Abacos

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By Margaret Cross Rice

Woody and Margaret Rice rode out Hurricane Dorian in their home in Sugar Loaf Cay in the Abacos. It was a hellacious ordeal. For more on Hurricane Dorian, its impact on the Bahamas, the state of the Abacos today and the response to the storm, read the January/February issue of InTheBite magazine.  

In 2008 Margaret Cross Rice and her husband, Kenneth L Rice, Jr.(Woody), retired to Sugarloaf Cay in the Abacos. On September 1, 2019, Margaret and Woody and their two friends, Simon and Melay, survived one of the worst hurricane disasters in recorded history. 

Friday night, August 30, we were 90-percent ready for the storm.

I still needed to plan a couple of meals and get all the plants off the porch and inside the upstairs house.  I began taking items such as clothes and our all-weather jackets with the life vests to our downstairs bunker. Melay, one of our Sugarloaf helpers, wanted to stay across the pond at the house he usually occupies during a hurricane.  Eleven property owners share this pond on the horseshoe-shaped 62-acre island off the Eastern Shore of Marsh Harbour.

No one else was on the island. Most of the residents leave right before or sometime during the summer months. Simon, our neighbor to the east of the pond, was on the island for a few weeks and came to stay with us on Saturday morning at about 11 a.m. He had his little Chihuahua Peanut in tow.  We had our less than three-pound Papillon that we rescued 12 years ago. I thought that I should charge my Nook and bring some playing cards.

The weather reports at this point were rather grim, but no one said that Dorian would be 200 plus miles an hour. Weather reports indicated that we could expect a slow-moving category 4 or 5. Since my husband and I had been through many hurricanes such as Hurricane Donna in the early 60’s, etc., and my mom was pregnant with me during the 1949 hurricane, my husband Woody and I thought we would be fine. After many preparations, we focused on the water situation. Having enough water was vital.

Photo courtesy Ron Methot

The electric would go out and we would switch to our generator before the hurricane started. If the generator stopped, we needed extra water, and of course, we ran out of diesel because Dorian lasted so long. With the food and water we had, a hurricane of this magnitude would be survivable for us. My husband had built our Bahama home beyond the International or Dade County building code which became mandatory for all new homes built in Florida after Hurricane Andrew.

All four of us believed, according to slightly different weather reports, that Dorian would come in at 8 p.m. Saturday after some tropical storm business. Well, the next report on Saturday was that Dorian would now hit us about 8 a.m. Sunday morning after the opening tropical storm winds.

Woody and I knew that our downstairs was a concrete bunker as safe or almost as safe as our being in the President’s underground bunker in Washington, D.C. And that’s what I told my sister who thought Woody, Simon, and I were akin to the Three Stooges. That became the moniker Anne used when she called Simon’s family who could not understand why Simon did not get out of Abaco while he could. Woody and I did not leave because our house is a large investment and Woody is also the island’s best friend.

I tried to explain to my sister and brother and friends why we were staying, and only my brother seemed to understand that my house would be incredibly safe. Early Sunday morning, after about an hour’s sleep, my husband said, “the winds are increasing, we need to get downstairs while we can.” We took quick showers, the last ones we would take for three days.

At four in the morning, we went downstairs to the bunker where Simon and Peanut had already spent the night. Our little dog Papi stayed in his carrier most of the time because he is so old, but he and Peanut eventually worked things out, as animals usually do.

The tropical storm, Act I, began picking up speed at about 11 a.m. and Dorian was soon upon us. Upstairs we have Pella hurricane impact windows that are supposed to last through a 140 miles an hour. At 200 miles an hour plus, the upstairs windows held. In our bunker downstairs we have double glazed windows and the aluminum shutters on top of the windows. Nothing blew out.

Dorian’s first slam lasted about five hours; then came the eye of calm. All three of us went outside and surveyed the damage, stunned that the next-door neighbor’s house was gone and the neighbor’s cottage to the south was gone. His main house, however, appeared to be standing. The other houses to the east, including Simon’s, appeared to be intact. Our house had some water damage upstairs because the house to the north of us must have hit the edge of our roof. After about an hour of total calm in the eye, the monster winds began again for phase two.

This was the real horror. Our home of poured concrete shook so badly that the bed we were sitting on began vibrating. The deafening rain and wind were hitting the aluminum shutters with no relief. The three of us had evacuated to the bedroom after the living room sliding glass doors, protected by shutters, appeared to be coming apart. Simon and Woody put wood in the bottom tracks, preventing the glass slider from ripping and
exploding inside.

While we huddled in the bedroom with the two dogs, Simon saw the back door begin opening. He raced over and shut the door. Then Woody and Simon attached a piece of covered wire to a new nail in the door casing. Problem solved. This second Dorian slamming lasted hours and hours.

On Monday afternoon the hurricane moved its huge bloated self slowly away as another tropical storm came in to take Dorian’s place. About 5 p.m. Monday afternoon we surveyed the damage again. Because of the heavy rain, we could not see much, so the three of us assumed that everything looked as it had during the eye on Sunday. Not exactly. The main house of our neighbor to the south was standing but gutted and the entire Eastern Shore of Marsh Harbour looked like the aftermath of a bombing.

Photo courtesy Ron Methot

Our house had another leak, probably due to a neighbor’s shed blowing over us. Woody, Simon, and I began working to dry everything, including the tile floor downstairs. Our double-hung windows were good downstairs in our bunker, but the 200 plus winds had pushed the rain through the windows. During Dorian, I had used every towel but three to mop up the water that just kept coming in. We knew the water was not rising, just raining, no flooding.

The tide did come up but not near the house and not near the front door. Meanwhile, our friend Melay was stuck without a radio at the only surviving house next to Simon’s. All four of us had forgotten to make sure he had a radio.  When the generator blew over at this surviving house, Melay lost power during the second phase of the storm.

On Tuesday afternoon the tropical storm was still raging, but not the worst we had experienced.  Woody and Simon walked the island to rescue Melay, who was fine but out of food, although he had plenty of water. All three of them came back to our bunker after a quick survey of Simon’s house. He had some roof and gutter damage and a small hole in one of his walls due to another house’s debris slamming into his place.

Going and coming around the island was another nightmare for the men. They had to climb over the island jungle that had now collapsed; bits and pieces of houses and boats and smaller personal items were blocking the way.
By Wednesday, September 4, Woody was able to get the water flowing from our cistern, and we had quick showers. We get our water or did get our water from a pipe running from Marsh Harbour’s Eastern Shore. No more water pipes thanks to Dorian.

Photo courtesy Ron Methot

We stored the city water in our three thousand tank cistern, but before the storm hit, we were down to 1200 gallons. The one pump broke. Unfortunately, the hurricane also caused a leak, and the day we thought all was well was the beginning of the end for both the cistern and then the generator. They failed us early Friday morning.

September 6: We had been using the generator only at night, which meant the generator worked for 12 hours on and 12 hours off, but I suppose it too became traumatized by the storm. So…Friday morning Woody was able to get our neighbor’s Boston Whaler working. This is the only working boat on the island.

The rest are destroyed. Three houses out of 12 on the island made it through Dorian. Saturday morning.

September 7: Melay, Woody and I motored to Simon’s house to take showers and have coffee. Four hours earlier, Woody, Melay and Simon had taken the generator from another neighbor’s demolished house. They hooked it up to Simon’s electric panel and changed his burned-out water pump.

We were now able to have showers, do laundry, and charge our phones and VHF radios. Woody and I bought a Satellite phone years ago which we have been using to call the U.S. No cell service yet since the top fifty feet of the main cell phone tower was blown away. On Sunday afternoon friends came by in their boat from Florida with food and water and diesel.

Although our experience has been and is awful, we are really blessed that Melay, Simon, Woody, and I are alive. Melay no longer has a home in Marsh Harbour, so he will be living with us. One of my friends almost drowned in her house during Dorian and lost everything. Other friends also lost their homes or parts of them, while clinging to each other for hours and praying to survive.

My U.S. family and friends keep asking why Woody and I don’t leave. The answer: looters will take over our home. This is not the U.S., and we need Martial Law established in Marsh Harbour. As homeowners on Sugarloaf Cay, Woody and I must stand our ground.

 

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers. Please help the Bahamians survive and rebuild. If this 200-plus storm had hit Florida, the same horror would have happened there.

Margaret Cross Rice
Sugarloaf Cay
Marsh Harbour
Abaco, Bahamas

Targeting Marlin and Pelagics from a Center Console

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Captain Adam Peeples runs the One Shot Charters out of the Destin, Florida area. In addition to running a first-class operation, Peeples is a combat veteran with two deployments in Iraq and a stint as an instructor at the US Army Sniper School to his credit.

By Capt. Adam Peeples

Here in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, we are fortunate to have an excellent marlin fishery. Whether live baiting blue marlin, pulling an all-around spread for pelagics, or targeting white marlin during the late summer with naked ballyhoo, there are plenty of options to get connected with a feisty billfish.

Targeting marlin from a center console requires a slightly different approach from a large sportfish vessel. As most of my trips are charters, I am more likely to troll a variety pack in my spread than to specifically target marlin in most situations. I want to capitalize on a potential marlin bite, but I also want to appeal to the potential wahoo, mahi, or tuna that may be in the area. I’ve had success with pulling lures for marlin, but in some situations, I would rather put a couple of live baits out than dragging lures.

Setting Up for Both Scenarios on the Center Console

On my Cape Horn 31T, my typical spread for marlin and pelagic fish in general includes five hooked lures and three teasers, with a pitch bait on standby. Off the transom, I pull a set of bowling pin type teasers. I connect the teaser to the starboard transom cleat, and I use a laundry basket to store, deploy, and recover the teaser. The laundry basket works perfectly for keeping the teaser from getting fouled during deployment and recovery. It also makes it easy to move the entire rig out of the way while fighting a fish.

Next, I have Squidnation’s “Flippy Floppy Things” on both riggers. I have clamp-on teaser reels attached to the underside of the T-top within arm’s reach of the helm. This enables me to immediately retrieve one or both teasers in the event of a bite while never leaving the helm. The specific lures I pull will vary depending on the situation, but typically I start with a Moldcraft Super Chugger on the left flat.

The right flat behind the bowling pins is always going to be a dolphin scheme lure as the teaser itself is dolphin colored. It usually is a Black Bart Eleuthera Plunger, but sometimes I will switch that out with an Ilander Black Hole/Ballyhoo combo. And the left rigger will have an Ilander Sea Star/Ballyhoo combo, while the right rigger is my “wild card” position. I will switch this lure out with whatever I am in the mood for, often a skirted ballyhoo or Moldcraft Wide Range.

The shotgun is usually a Marlin Magic Ahi P bullet. The sweet spot on my boat is 1700 rpms. In most conditions this gives me a troll speed of 7-8 knots. If the seas are rough, then RPMs can vary based trolling down sea, beam to, or straight into the swell. Space comes at a premium on a center console, so when we get a bite, the primary objective is to first clear all lines and teasers.

All rods, the teaser basket, and any other loose items are moved to the bow of the boat and away from the angler. It is very important to keep the deck clear and free of obstacles while fighting a fish in a stand-up harness, especially in a battle that requires a lot of boat driving. I prefer to fight fish off the port side of the boat and have the angler move forward and aft as needed throughout the fight. When it is time to leader the fish, I direct the angler forward of the console while taking a slight left turn. This keeps the fish away from the props and allows the fish to be brought alongside the boat for a safe release.

The Effectiveness of Live Baiting

While pulling baits is my preferred method of fishing for marlin, there are circumstances when live baiting is more effective. I like to live bait around FADS, drill ships, and even on large pieces of flotsam that are holding bait. Not having tuna tubes, catching and storing several large marlin baits is not really an option for me. What I can do is catch the bait on location. Baits are immediately bridled and deployed so I can have two lively baits behind the boat in a matter of minutes.

Live baits, especially blue runners, love to find their way into the props and around the motors on an outboard powered boat. It’s a team effort to deploy each bait. As soon as the bait is bridled, it is pitched out to the side of the boat away from the motors. Simultaneously, I give the throttle a quick bump forward and pull away from the bait. I will continue to pull away from it until it is right where it needs to be behind the boat. The first bait out goes into the right rigger clip to keep the line off the water and help maintain separation between the second bait.

Putting the second bait out requires the same method; the only difference is that I run the second bait closer to the boat straight from the rod holder. After that, I simply bump troll the baits in the area I want to fish. I prefer using this technique when I am in a very fishy area and want to spend time working the same spot.

If you choose to target marlin from a center console, there are a multitude of rigging options and aftermarket products available to set up a center console for blue water fishing. I prefer to keep things simple on my boat, but the possibilities are endless for how technical one wants to be. Getting the bite is only one piece of the puzzle. Correctly positioning the angler, driving the boat, and the endgame of wiring and handling the fish are just as important to successfully catch marlin from a center console and should not be overlooked.

Cooking at Keoni’s Point of View, Kona, Hawaii

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InTheBite received a cooking-101 at Keoni’s Point of View in Kona, Hawaii and the restaurant delivered. The seafood hotspot, which sits on the west side of the island, is well-known for its fresh fish dishes—from Hawaiian-style poke to smoked marlin dip—that come out of the busy kitchen.

Owners and husband and wife team, Keoni and Kalina Llanes, have built the restaurant from the ground up making it a current favorite among locals and visitors alike. And the restaurant has also become a way to honor Keoni’s uncle, Capt. Randy Llanes, whose life was cut short when he was impaled by the bill of a swordfish while spearfishing. According to Keoni, his uncle dreamed about one day opening up a restaurant of his own.

Today, that dream has taken root on Honokohau Harbor. InTheBite brought a mahi-mahi that was cooked up at the restaurant and prepared for a meal that did not disappoint.

Final Results for the 2020 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament

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Photo courtesy Pelagic.

Final Results for the 2020 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament

Billfish Release

Base Entry

1 Top Fly 3600
2 Rum Runner 3100
3 Game Plan 2800

Tuna Gamefish Division

Base Entry

Rank Team Day 1 Day 2 Points
1 Sea Hag 118.8 70.6 189.4
2 La Otra Vida 128.6 59.4 188
3 Fire Fly 98.8 98.8

 

Dorado Gamefish Division

Base Entry

Rank Team Day 1 Day 2 Points
1 Full Nelson 26.4 32.6 59
2 Mainline 24 31.2 55.2
3 Adios 28.1 26.2 54.3

Small Boat Billfish Release

Base Entry

Rank Team Points
1 Amys Dream 2100
2 Kelly Dawn 2000
3 Swordfish on Moon Walker 1600

Small Boat Tuna Gamefish Division

Base Entry

Rank Team Day 1 Day 2 Points
1 Cairns Australia on Big Eye II 164.8 164.8
2 Amys Dream 76 76
3 Gamefisher II 65.6 65.6

Small Boat Dorado Gamefish Division

Base Entry

Rank Team Day 1 Day 2 Points
1 Merman Magic fishing on Wetass II 27.6 46.2 73.8
2 Hooked Tifarno on Good Day 20.4 26.8 47.2
3 Gamefisher II 29.6 29.6

Top Angler

Large Boat Billfish Only

Rank Angler Points
1 Kurt Forsberg 1700
2 Christian Rojas 1600
3 Diego Porras 1400

Top Female Angler

Billfish Only

Rank Angler Points
1 Joni Smith 1400
2 Beth Kawaja 800
3 Nancy Llacuna 500

Meet the Owners: Patrick Durso of BoatMat Corporation

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Photo courtesy BoatMat Corporation.

InTheBite chats with Patrick Durso, of BoatMat Corporation, Melbourne, Florida. 

Patrick Durso is the president of BoatMat Corporation, an endeavor he spearheaded in 1999, kicking off with the company’s first yachting product: the BoardingMat. Since that time, Durso and his team have been providing boaters around the world with top-of-the-line products, designed for their specific needs while out on the water. And listening to what customers want for their boats is a key part of what Durso does. Because for him, it’s those customer-owner relationships that makes being a part of this company that much better.

What’s new with your business?

The newest thing related to InTheBite customers would be the 60-inch model boarding mat that we’ve never offered before. We were asked by our customers if there was a larger size available so we put it into our product mix. It’s made for sportfishers and it gives really great protection on boats. We just started offering this the past year, we never offered this size before, and now it’s a standard size and pretty low cost for what it does for protecting the covering boards.

Photo courtesy BoatMat Corporation.

How was the business started?

I grew up boating and fishing in South Florida in Pompano Beach and I was sewing as a 15 year old. The business started 20 years ago in the late 90s when a friend of mine at the time approached me and asked me to make a cover for them to put on their boat. There was an opportunity to put another product in our mix and like any other product, it took some time to develop and market it and see if there was a demand. So we ended up making one then we went to some of the catalog houses and it was a hit. It just exploded. We already sold products for the fishing industry and then we started making mats for boats.

Patrick Durso. Photo courtesy BoatMat Corporation.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Being with my family. My daughter is a volleyball player so supporting her and being with her and my son. And I’m an avid boater. I enjoy the Florida Keys. I like the water, the chill, laid-back lifestyle, it’s just a relaxed vibe there. I’ll be headed to the Keys next month.

Photo courtesy BoatMat Corporation.

What do you like about the industry you’re in?

The close friendships and the relationship I’ve made over the years. The relationships I’ve cultivated over the years, that is the most important thing to me. It’s a tight-knit community.

Editor’s note: This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

The Future is Here: Making Your Old Boat New

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By Steve Katz

Have you toured a new boat at a boat show or in your marina? Did all the bells and whistles make your current boat feel dated? It can happen fast. Technology moves so quickly these days that it can seem like your systems are outdated as soon as you take delivery of your new boat. Just as technology is moving rapidly, so is the ability to refit and refine your boat.

System upgrades are increasingly available in the form of refit packages that can make your current boat feel like the latest splash in the marina. There are plenty of boat yards and builders that will be glad to book you for a refit. I spent time at a few East Coast boat yards and there seems to be no shortage of major refits underway, mezzanines, paint, hardtops, towers, Seakeepers, electronics, water systems, re-power, etc.

As anyone with even a passing interest in boats knows, major refits are a timely and costly process. What if you do not have the time or budget for a complete refit? What upgrades can be made that are budget friendly and take
weeks instead of months? What upgrades are available to give you the best bang for the buck and make your boat feel new again?

I’m glad you asked. Here is a breakdown of a handful of trending upgrades that can bring your old boat new, without breaking the bank or keeping you on the hard during tournament season.

Potential system monitoring inputs that would cover the boat from top to bottom.

Digital Switching

Digital switching describes the use of a touch screen or similar device to replace (or augment) the manual switch for electric accessories such as lighting and pumps. Common systems include the Carling Technologies’ OctoPlex® monitoring and control system, popular on larger boats, and CZone control and monitoring system often found on smaller boats. While systems like this were once only available on new high-end boats, these systems are now available for retrofit.

The CZone, in fact, is easily available in a modular system. A newly introduced line from OctoPlex®, OctoLite® is a distributed power control and monitoring system that can be easily complement a boat’s existing standard electrical system. The OctoLite® System is flexible-to-configure and includes devices such as multi-function touchscreen display, configurable keypad, multiplex switch module, solid-state power controller, bypass module, and AC distributed power module.

Digital switching systems are composed of a digital electrical junction module installed near the device to be controlled with a small data cable run to the helm or other location where data is to be displayed. The CZone can often save the time and expense of running wires where access is limited. Additionally, both of these systems integrate with multifunction displays (MFD) at the helm, allowing you to go to a digital switching page on the MFD and operate accessories without adding new switches at the helm or elsewhere. Th is functionality also travels through the MFD network, allowing control from most any networked MFD. With the system you can then switch control from the tower, cockpit, salon – wherever a MDF is installed.

OctoPlex control and monitoring now available on a Garmin OneHelm MFD display.

One place where a CZone module can be particularly useful is when installing new underwater lights. While many of the modern lights are LED, systems are getting so bright they use a lot of power. Getting large wires from a power source to the lights and back to a switch can be difficult. This is especially true when you have limited access or when your wire chases are jam packed. A CZone module can be installed near the transom, with all the lights and power connected into the module with just a small data wire run to the NMEA2000 backbone – instead of running numerous heavy-duty wires.

These systems can also monitor and report problems with on-board electrical systems. They can, for instance, monitor the voltage and amperage to a particular circuit and signal an alarm if the electrical power is out of a pre-programmed range. This is also useful in letting you know when you have a navigation light out (the circuit is drawing too little power) or a bad fixture drawing too much power.

Maretron’s N2KView® software displays vessel information on computer screen or on a Garmin OneHelm MFD using the Maretron MBB300C.

System Monitoring: Multiple System Data in One Place Without Spending a Fortune

Modern sportfishers and yachts often have a large computer screen reporting the status of many shipboard systems – fuel, water, electricity, temperatures, engine data, etc. While the installation of complex proprietary system
may be out of the question for an older boat, using your existing MFD and off-the-shelf sensors can create a single monitoring source for many of your boat’s systems. The Maretron Company (partly owned by Carling Technologies) offers an array of sensors and devices that can be installed individually or combined for a whole boat system. Maretron products include user interface products, NMEA2000 gateways and bridges, tank  monitoring, engine monitoring, power monitoring and control, general system monitoring and recording, navigation equipment, sensors and a myriad of NMEA2000 cabling and hardware products.

On a recent project, a customer added Maretron fuel tank level sensors to the aft tanks while installing a new mezzanine. This system complements the traditional sight gauges in the engine room (or the good old stick
in the tank method). These sensors monitor the fuel tank level ultrasonically, similar to a depth sounder, and report the fuel level to the NMEA2000 network. In this case, the system then displayed the fuel level gauges on
the Garmin MFD screens on the helm. Since there are no moving parts (or sticks), these fuel tank level sensors are reliable and provide an easy way to confirm tank level while underway or transferring fuel.

While many engine manufacturers offer fuel flow data, it is often a calculated value based on engine load, RPM, temperate, etc. Maretron also offers a positive displacement fuel flow system that measures fuel flow in and out of the tank – a very accurate way to measure fuel burn. Combining the fuel flow sensors and tank level monitoring, you can be confident of the fuel burn rate and available range.

The fuel example is an easily relatable use of digital system monitoring. Applications to other boat systems are just as easy and simple. They can provide an added level of confidence and make seeing system data quite a bit easier.

Even if you were in the Audio/Video Club, much has changed since you were in high school…

Entertainment: Creating a Smart, Flexible, and Easy to Use Video and Sound System

Someone who spends down time rigging hundreds of ballyhoo might accidentally forget about the needs and desires of owners and guests. When not fishing, many boats become a hotel. As one captain recently old me, “He runs an Airbnb that fishes, too.” Many sportfish boats that follow the fish also follow nice weather. Consequently, owners, friends and relatives may request to stay on-board and enjoy the amenities while not fishing.

One interior upgrade that is sure to please all is the audio/video system. The variety of audio/video content available is as varied as the guests. Updating your audio/video system to a modern flexible system that can stream content from the internet, connect to the guests’ smart devices and also connect to on-board satellite TV systems can help provide an enjoyable experience onboard for all. As not all of us were in the A/V club in school, the audio/video system needs to be simple but inclusive.

Besides, if the system upgrades are not simple and user friendly, the captain and crew will have to add “tech support” to their job descriptions. I have noticed a trend towards individual audio/video systems in each stateroom and main areas in lieu of a complex ship wide system. This provides simple total control for each area of the boat. Residential style audio video receivers can be used in the salon. These units have many desirable, modern features.

These home theater style receivers can switch between multiple HDMI, or even analog, sources. They often include front mounted inputs that permit easy connection of devices to the TV, without having to access the back of
the TV. The newest home theater receivers can connect to multiple sources of entertainment, including streaming content from the internet and also provide Bluetooth and or Apple Airplay connections. This allows your guests to use their own smart device for entertainment.

Replacing existing TVs with Smart TVs is a popular upgrade. The cost of high-end TVs has come down and the features they include have gone up. A Smart TV is a modern flat screen television that has built in applications (apps) and the ability to connect to the internet. This allows the TV stream content from popular services such as Netflix, Amazon, Spotify and dozens more. In order for these TVs to stream content, they need an internet connection from a wireless access point or a wired network.

Pro Tip – Outside Spaces: When it comes to areas exposed to the weather, residential audio/video equipment should not be used. As it is not designed for the outdoor marine environment, residential hardware won’t last very
long. Using a marine rated stereo, amplifier and speakers is the best way to ensure lasting outdoor performance. The newest marine stereos are very similar to home audio systems. They have many independent output channels (zones) and have many different input sources, including Bluetooth SiriusXM, and Apple Airplay. TV Tech Note 1: DirecTV is expected to make system changes in 2019 that will require subscribers to use the newest HD receivers.

This may render older KVH TV antenna systems (such as M1, M1DX, M3, M3DX, G4, G6, G8, 4, 6) incompatible – requiring antenna updates. Additionally, subscribers with late model hardware may find some changes in the channel lineup, since DirecTV is planning to eliminate SD (standard definition) transmission broadcasts from 101W and 119W satellites and only broadcast HD programing.

TV Tech Note 2: Modern TVs and audio/video receivers pass information in both directions through a single HDMI cable. Be sure you have cables that meet the latest standards to ensure proper operation. ARC (audio return channel) is a popular feature with modern
HDMI communications. ARC allows sound from the TV to pass back to the receiver/amplifier using a single cable to produce amplified sound from the system speakers in lieu of just the TV speakers – useful when using
Smart TV apps.

A network of engine room cameras can provide peace of mind between checks.

Security and Video: Keeping Track of the Boat (and its Systems)

Keeping the boat safe and secure is one thing everyone can agree on. After all, captains are responsible for the boats they command 24/7. Owners are interested in protecting their assets. Crew and guests like to be notified as quickly as possible if there is an issue out of the ordinary. Automated remote monitoring systems are the best way to provide all interested parties real time information on the boat and its systems. Not only are these systems great, but competition in this market segment has resulted in a variety of reasonably priced systems to choose from.

GOST is one of the most popular and all-encompassing systems. GOST offers many modules and components, allowing you to build a system that meets your needs. Besides security and monitoring, GOST offers a camera system with a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and streaming remote access. With the streaming access you can use your smartphone to connect to the on-board cameras to see live or recorded video anywhere you have an internet connection.

These video system can also be used to capture fishing action, especially since the cameras are recording 24/7. This is a great feature, since you’ll no longer need to remember to turn on the camera or charge
the batteries. If you don’t have a full DVR video system, a simple engine room camera system should be on the top of everyone’s list. This is often configured with multiple small cameras that send live image to monitors on the helm.

This is a great way for the crew to monitor the engine room in between routine checks. Some crew also like to have a unobtrusive camera in the salon. A salon cam is perfect way for the captain to ensure that guests are seated safely before getting underway. A salon cam is also a great way for watching for a guest or crew to signal the captain to slow down while they need to move around the cabin.

A salon cam is a great way to ensue that nobody is eating sausages on the couch before you throttle her up!

These systems are reasonably priced. Running the wires is often the most complex part of the system. Other companies, such as BoatCommand, Siren Marine and Yacht Protector offer security and monitoring systems. These systems are not just for tracking stolen boats or to act as a burglar alarm.

They provide remote access to the status of critical boat systems (such as battery voltage, shore power, temperature, bilge pump activity and high water to name a few). A monitoring system, for example, can notify the captain about the loss of shore power within seconds. Receiving a text message or push notification on a smart phone is a much better way to learn of lost shore power than what could be the alternative.

Maybe the shore power circuit breaker tripped, maybe the power cord pulled out of the receptacle. Either way, an unnoticed loss of shore power can lead to thawed bait, dead batteries, interior temperature rise, live well pumps shutting down and bilge pumps losing power. Tech Note – Wired vs Wireless Cameras: While wireless cameras are available, they often need a power source – therefore requiring some wires.

Since a wired system is more reliable on a boat, I currently recommend a wired camera system. There are some new battery powered residential camera systems that are fully wireless. These may prove to be acceptable on a boat, though many require an internet connection to operate.

What Does it All Mean?

Even if your boat is only a few years old, there may be new technology that can be easily tied into existing systems. Digital switching, system monitoring, entertainment and security/video upgrades can provide a satisfying upgrade for an older boat. These upgrades can often be completed within a reasonable budget and schedule.

Captain Steve Katz is the owner of Steve’s Marine Service Inc in Ocean City, Maryland. He is the Vice President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association and holds ABYC Master Technician certification, NMEA AMEI, NMEA2000 certificates along with factory training from many manufacturers. To contact Steve, email info@inthebite.com.

 

Results: Pelican Yacht Club Invitational & 2020 Silver Sailfish Derby

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Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant Photography.

Pelican Yacht Club Invitational

Overall Standings

First Place – Wrapped Up, Capt. Patrick Price, 1900.

Second Place –  Intents, Capt. Rhett Bailey, 1900.

Third Place –  Showtime!, Capt. Jon Meade, 1400.

Final Results for 2020 Silver Sailfish Derby

Overall Team Sailfish Releases

First Place –  Old, No. 7, with 17 releases.

Second Place –  Native Son, with 14 releases.

Third Place –  Day Sea, with 13 releases.

Final Results for 2020 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament

Overall Team Results

First Place –  Top Fly, with 3600 points.

Second Place –  Rum Runner, with 3100 points.

Third Place –  Game Plan, with 2800 points.

 

The Championship of Sportfishing: The Evolution of the Captain of the Year

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Captain of the Year

The InTheBite Captain of the Year Cup, presented by Hatteras, is the championship of sportfishing. The Cup is the world’s only quantifiable way to recognize the tournament success of professional sportfishermen. Comprised of 90-sanctioned events that span the world, there is nothing else like it. Winning an InTheBite Captain of the Year Award is a major achievement. From the winners to the Cup’s origin, it is an interesting tale.

Tranquilo crew COTY pic. Photo courtesy Pepper Ailor

Origins of the Cup

InTheBite Magazine started in 2003. Since its conception, the magazine has focused on providing useful, entertaining content for professional sportfishing crews. Over the course of covering the sportfishing landscape in the magazine’s formative years, InTheBite’s publisher and founder, Dale Wills, began to notice that something was missing.

“We began realizing that each year as we covered the magazine that certain teams would get on winning streaks. There was no award for them at the time and we wanted to recognize guys for doing well, so we created the Captain of the Year,” Wills, the son of a captain, recalls. “There was nothing for crews that consistently placed in tournaments. The owners would get checks, but we wanted to do more. We wanted to recognize the crews and the success of our readership.”

The first ever InTheBite Captain of the Year was VJ Bell in 2003. It was Bell’s dominance that spurred the decision to act. “That year we watched VJ Bell cleaning everyone’s clock and we wanted to recognize him.”

Scoring

In 2014, The Captain of the Year Cup took on its current multidivisional format. From 2003-2013, a single captain won the award based on voting by past winners. In 2014, to recognize the regional variations in the sportfishing landscape, the Captain of the Year Cup expanded to five divisions: East Coast Division, the Contender Florida Division, Gulf, Hawaii and the IGY Marinas International Division. Beyond the five divisions, InTheBite recognizes a winner of the World Wide Rankings, the captain who accrues the highest point total in the race each year. Each division is comprised of sanctioned tournaments, the results of which produce points for the COTY scoring.

Sanctioned events must meet a 12-boat minimum. Scoring is accumulated in the catch and release divisions of billfish tournaments: 500-points for first place, 300-points for second, 100-points for third place. For tournaments that include a heaviest marlin division, there is an additional 500-points awarded to the winning captain. The heaviest marlin points are in addition to and separate from the points awarded for the release divisions.

Ronnie Fields party.

In this way, a captain could theoretically win 1,000 points in the same tournament by weighing the heaviest marlin and winning the release division. And in tournaments that award top boat prizes through combined weighed fish and released fish, Captain of the Year points are awarded to the winner of the release division. An additional 250-points is awarded to captains who win series crowns in tournament circuits (Gulf Coast Triple Crown, the Los Sueños Triple Crown, etc.).

The point tallies follow the captain, rather than the boat. It is common for charter captains, especially in the Florida Division, to tally points on two or sometimes three boats in the course of the year. Not only do some captains score on multiple boats, some captains tally points in different divisions through the year. Multi divisional tallies were the key to the top two finishers in 2016’s World Wide Rankings—Captains Jon Duffie and Tommy Lynskey (each of whom scored in both the international and east coast divisions).

What Does it Mean to Win Captain of the Year?

Winning an ITB Captain of the Year Award is a big deal. From the early days of the award, when a single winner was chosen to the point-based divisional system of today, to win requires skill, consistency and dedication (nobody will turn down a little luck, either). Winning a Captain of the Year award requires a sizeable investment in tournament fishing by boat owners, skill and proficiency of mates, and anglers who are consistently ready when the bite happens. While all of these things must be present, it is the captain whose decision making keeps winning boats on the fish.

“It was awesome. I think it’s a pretty cool idea. With all of the new categories and areas, it has changed quite a bit since I won it,” says Captain Travis Butters the 2008 Captain of the Year. “The award was a great idea for the industry. It gives everyone something to strive for aside from just winning tournaments.”

When describing his winning year of 2008, Butters recalls, “First we won something in Key West. Then we won the Custom Boat Shootout and won a couple in Bermuda, and the Triple Crown. It was just one of those years when everything went your way.” Captain Devin Potts is the 2016 Gulf Division Captain of the Year. Potts, who runs the Sea Mixer, a 66-foot Spencer, says “There are a lot of good, good fishermen here. Winning this is a huge career milestone for me. It has been a humbling experience.”

Captain Victor Julio Lopez runs the Tranquilo, a 57-foot Spencer. Lopez was the first Costa Rican born captain to win the award, winning the 2016 International Division. “The success of my efforts may be attributed to the blessing of God and the effort of our team and our anglers. My mate Daniel Arrieta has been here giving his best to keep us in this position. My wife Tania is by my side and has always been my good luck charm,” says Lopez describing his success. “It’s taken a great effort day to day to be in the position and it is a great honor to the first Costa Rican captain to be named Captain of the Year.”

Glenn Cameron party.

So Now You’ve Won Captain of the Year… Now What?

It is standard practice that Captains of the Year host a party along with the presentation of the award. Just as there have been many different personalities who have won, the parties in the past have ranged far and wide. Captain Wink Doerzbacher won the 2013 Captain of the Year and the Florida Division Award in 2014. He celebrated in style with a reception at the Sailfish Point Clubhouse in Stuart, Florida. Captain John Dudas’ 2009 celebration was a catered affair at the legendary Miami Beach Rod and Gun Club.

When Captain Ronnie Fields won it in 2010, the party was an epic affair hosted by Big Oh owner Gray Ingram at his home. The reception for Captain Victor Julio Lopez included a friends and family affair on the cockpit of the Tranquilo after day 1 of a Los Sueños tournament and a formal presentation at the tournament’s award ceremony. Captain Russell Sinclair’s reception was held at the Ocean Club Marina in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Some parties include pig roasts with guest chefs—like Captain Travis Butters (master of the pig roast), and some are a bit more low key. Compare this the bright lights and cocktail hours of some captains with the approach of back-to-back Hawaii Division Captain of the Year Kerwin Masunaga. Captain Kerwin prefers to live bait during tournaments and keep his head down. He lets his fishing do the talking for him. And all of the diversity of approach is part of what makes the Cup so interesting.

Glenn Cameron and mate.

The Sanctioned Events

The Cup consists of 90-sanctioned events. The largest division by number is the IGY International Division with 23-tournaments. The Hawaii Division consists of 11. Sanctioned events are billfish tournaments that contain a minimum of 12-boats. While the award is meant to recognize the achievement of captains, the setup of the structure benefits a wide variety of those with an interest in sportfishing. Tournaments are chief among them.
Randy Bright is the Tournament Director of the Houston Big Game Club’s Lone Star Shootout.

“We’ve been part of it since it started. I think it’s a great program. Captains love to compete and to compare themselves with other guys that they’re fishing with,” says the industry veteran. “It’s a great benefit to the professional tournament captains. Anything we can do to create a tie between tournament and tournament is a good thing. Captains really like the idea of being part of it. It also helps the tournament because it encourages captains to encourage their owners to fish multiple events.”

Pig Roast.

Amy Dukes is the Tournament Director for the South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series and the five events that comprise the series—this year marks the 50 th anniversary of the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament— are pivotal to the East Coast Division race.

“It’s an honor to have captains that fish the South Carolina Governor’s Cup to be included in such a prestigious award,” says Duke. “The last couple of years we’ve had a great representation in the Captain of the Year standings. Captain Harvey Shiflet, the 2016 East Coast Captain of the Year, won two of our events last year. Before that, Captain Gary Richardson on the Reel Passion, turned success in the Governor’s Cup into a Captain of the Year Award in 2015. Captain Bobby Garmany on the Sportin’ Life placed well, too.”

Rob Moore party.

The Cup Now

InTheBite.com is the source for current standings and the latest cup news. In the fourth year of its divisional format, the InTheBite Captain of the Year Cup, presented by Hatteras, is coming into its own. As the races heat up, the phone lines at the office ring with anticipation. “Who is winning?” “How am I doing?” “Do I need to fish any more events to keep my lead safe?” This is what makes tournament fishing fun and we’re honored to be able to recognize those who consistently produce.

Two Minute Warning: Build and They Will Come

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By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie

There are many similarities between farming and fishing. A farmer has to plow his field and plant his crop. Then, after a while, it’s harvest time. In the fishing business, if you’re willing to do the work, it’s a lot like farming. This is especially true when it comes to creating and deploying artificial reefs.

Reef building is rewarding but requires much red tape. All of the permitting and inspections can be very frustrating. In our area of the Northern Gulf, the spring season brings the migration of cobia in large numbers. By making your own fishing spots you can significantly increase your chances of catching these fish. We use FADS, or fish-attracting-devices (which are simply underwater kites), to congregate the fish as they pass through.

We place them just under the surface in a safe zone where no boats can hit them. They attract and hold large amounts of bait. This in turn, attracts larger fish. The FADS also work well in deep water (several hundred fathoms) for the purposes of catching wahoo, marlin, dolphin and live bait. We are in the process now of building some large reefs, which will be homes for grouper, snapper and amberjack.

We’re building them out of concrete drums and commercial grade chicken coops. It’s a ton of work but the harvest is worth it. Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games. The hurricanes have
destroyed, buried, and moved our artificial reefs in the shallow water, forcing us to start all over again. Another frustrating situation is when you see a boat sitting right on top of your reef,
catching the fish that you worked so hard to harvest.

After all, you hauled the reef out there and you bore all the expenses. But in reality, it’s all fair game and there’s nothing you can do about it. With today’s electronics, you can’t let other boats get too close to a reef you’re fishing, or they can what we call, “zap you,” when they use their electronics to get your exact coordinates. Even still, all the work and frustration are worth knowing where you’re going instead of hoping and poking.

The reward of building your own reefs is a great harvest from the sea. So, get out there, plow the field, plant the seed and get ready for the harvest.

– That’s my two-minute warning. Fraz