Adios – The Last G&S

July 7, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

The Adios, a 52’, would be the last G&S boat ever splashed. The boat’s owner, Mr. Clint Hixson of Lake Charles, Louisiana, purchased the hull from the Campbell family in 2015. The boat was commissioned by multiple world record holder Stuart Campbell, though he would pass before its completion. Hixson purchased the hull and set out to build the boat he had dreamed of since he was a child.

“I went into the G&S factory in Destin as a kid with my father. The Hooker and the Makaira were being built side by side – it was 1983. I’ve wanted a G&S boat ever since,” Hixson says.

“I bought the hull in 2015 and went in with Buddy and Steve to customize the design. When we started, I thought I knew something about boats…I found out very quickly that I didn’t,” Clint says with a laugh. “It was an absolute privilege to work with those two gentlemen.”

This would ultimately be the last boat G&S ever built. Steve Sauer was working on the boat until right before he passed away. “Steve was a perfectionist and was great to work with,” Clint describes. “Buddy Gentry is a gentleman. He would want to give all the credit to Steve, but you really couldn’t build a boat with a better pair.”

“I wanted to build a boat that I could run myself and fish with my family. A 52’ seemed about right. Originally, I was going to name it Country Girl,” Hixson recalls. After Sauer’s passing, Hixson visited the factory. “G&S had some shirts made up that said ‘G&S Boats 1973-2018. Adios.’” That made an impression on Hixson and led his decision to provide a fitting tribute to a company and group of people that leave an indelible impact on the sportfishing landscape.

“I asked Buddy if it was alright with him if I named the boat, Adios. He said he would like that…”

“More than anything, this boat is a chance to give back to my father, Edley Hixson. He gave me the love of fishing and boats and none of this would be possible without him,” Clint says. In fact, Clint informed his father of the boat’s purchase by tossing him the keys. The Hixson family and Captain Flash Clark plan to fish the boat around Florida and the Gulf Coast.

If you happen to see the boat, you are seeing a piece of history. The boat’s name is a fitting tribute to its pedigree and though it has just splashed, it already has a story more interesting than most ever will.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Capt. Ronnie Riebe and the HT Hook

July 6, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

Photo courtesy ©Los Sueños Resort and Marina • Photographer: PepperAilor

Capt. Ronnie Riebe Scandalous (fishing on HT Hook)

Homeport: Jupiter, Florida
Boat: 2015 62’ Viking
Power: C32 Caterpillars/1925 per side
Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, Leg 1, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Ronnie Riebe had not planned to fish in the 2020 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown. But when he got a call the Wednesday before the tournament saying the crew of the Scandalous needed a boat, he knew what was going to happen.

It’s this kind of situation that makes the HT Hook an outlier in the fishing world. While the boat’s owner, Harry Shufflebarger, may not fish tournaments anymore, Riebe says he always tries to keep the boat available for a team in need of a boat and a captain. The HT Hook, is named for the boss, a man who was known as “Harry the Hook” for many years.

That was how at the start of Leg I, Riebe—who has worked for the Shufflebarger family for almost 21 years—along with his first mate, Wailyn Vargas, and second mate, Jacob Provo, combined with the Scandalous team, took to the water.

“I have to give credit to the crew, it was a team effort and for never fishing together before and on such short notice, we all just came together,” Riebe says. “Everyone worked so well together, I was really impressed. It almost felt like we’d been fishing together for years.”

Along with Wailyn, who has been fishing with Riebe for 10-plus years, and Provo, who started fishing with him last January, the Scandalous team included Capt. Brian Shepard, anglers Rusty Little, Bradley Goodrich, Alan Latham, Keith Henry, Randy Gregory, and Corbin Plumlee.

Three or four guys were on binoculars, spotting boats, watching for birds and making sure they knew exactly where everyone was. When they tried out an area where there had been a marlin bite, the pace picked up. The team went 9 for 9 on marlin and according to Riebe, “had the right bites and made them count.”

The hybrid team’s total of 5200 points—seven sailfish and nine marlin releases—was good enough to take Leg 1.“At the very end, we knew that we were only one marlin out of winning the daily and then here comes this striped marlin,” Riebe says. “We fed the fish and were like ‘holy cow’ when we realized we had a shot of sweeping it and that was pretty special.”

As a captain, Riebe says his approach to tournaments comes down to tapping into all your resources. From talking to other captains and to trying different areas, to simply burning up fuel to find the right spot to settle in, Riebe uses all available information and tactics come tournament time. “Make all your shots count,” Riebe says.

When it comes to marlin, Riebe favors ballyhoos for hook baits, mullets for dredges and the occasional mackerel or bonita, depending on the size or species of the marlin.

And what’s next for Riebe and the HT Hook? At the moment it could be anything. The original plan was to continue fishing with the Scandalous team in Leg 3 of the Triple Crown, however, because of the coronavirus outbreak, the tournament was canceled. In the meantime, Riebe and the HT Hook will fish the blue marlin in Los Sueños and be ready to head out if there’s another team in need.

“We’ve just been trying to help out all the boats, we’re here to give them a hand if needed,” Riebe says. “We’ll just have to see what happens and try to help if a team’s boat breaks down. We want to help people out and try to contribute to the industry however we can.”