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Captain Chris Sheeder Passes Away After Battle with Cancer

January 7, 2021 By InTheBite Digital Editor

January 7, 2021—It’s with a heavy heart that we announce well-known Hawaii Captain Chris Sheeder has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer, according to a public Facebook post from his brother. Sheeder’s love for the water began at the young age of 11 when he took his first offshore trip out of Kona. This eventually led him to become a leader in refining techniques for catching billfish on the fly. He accumulated a career billfish tally of more than 35,000.

Sheeder worked his way up the ladder, from mate and then to captain. And throughout his time in the fishing circuit, Sheeder was always ready to give back to the community and share what he had learned himself.

This is best summed up in his own words when InTheBite interviewed him a few years back.

“I don’t feel like I’m in the sportfishing business, I’m in the dream fulfillment business. It might sound cheesy, but fishing is a great way of enriching other people’s lives. It’s been my avenue to making lifetime memories. How can you touch other people’s lives? Take them fishing. Lots of people think about a day spent together for a long, long time.”

Read more about Captain Chris Sheeder’s career here.

Filed Under: Central America, Crew, News, People Tagged With: billfishing, boat captain, captain chris sheeder, chris sheeder death

A Life on the Sea: Capt. Billy Black on the 50′ Duchess

December 15, 2020 By InTheBite Digital Editor

captain billy black with dogs

Captain Billy Black is well-known among the sportfishing community, especially along the Treasure Coast and the Bahamas. With a wealth of experience, and an interesting history to boot, Black is one of those captains who can truly say that he’s ‘been there and done that.’

We stopped by to chat with Black on his classic 50-foot Hatteras sportfisher, Duchess, that can be seen taking charters out to fish the waters off Stuart and the Bahamas. For more information on Capt. Billy Black’s sportfishing charters, visit captbillyblack.com or check out his fish de-hookers and lures here: captbillyblack.com/index.php/dehooker

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, People Tagged With: 50' hatteras, captain billy black, duchess, Hatteras Yachts, Walkers Cay

Captain Emory D. Dillon: A North Carolina Fishing Pioneer

November 23, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

 

Capt. Emory Dillon with a young Chip Shafer and a blue marlin caught off the Early Bird in Hatteras.

Capt. Emory Dillon with a young Chip Shafer and a blue marlin caught off the Early Bird in Hatteras.

By Jim Blount

In 2013 the offshore fishing community lost a true pioneer of the industry when Captain Emory D. Dillon passed away in Frisco, North Carolina at the age of 87. Captain Emory fished the offshore waters of North Carolina and Florida for over four decades on his boat, the Early Bird, until his retirement in the 1990s. His reputation as a successful charter captain stood out among all his fellow captains, anglers and mates. Emory’s dry sense of humor and likable personality combined with a natural instinct to perform as a charter boat captain earned him tremendous respect for those who spent time around him, especially his mates.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, People Tagged With: boat captain, Charter Fishing, Emory D. Dillon, north carolina fishing

The Best and Worst Fish of My Life

November 16, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Adventures, Crew, Featured Stories, Fishing, People Tagged With: captain ricky wheeler, fishing advice, Offshore Fishing, White Marlin Open

Q&A with COTY Hawaii Division Winner Capt. Shane O’Brien

November 10, 2020 By InTheBite Digital Editor

We caught up with Kona’s Capt. Shane O’Brien, who placed first in this year’s Captain of the Year Hawaii Division, to talk about the past year and how he got to where he is today. O’Brien ended the Hawaii Division with 2150 points.

Tournament Wins:

  • Lazy Marlin Hunt, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.
  • Firecracker Open, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
  • Kona Throw Down, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
  • Skins Marlin Derby, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.
  • Big Island Marlin Tournament, 1st Place Release, 500 Pts.
  • Hawaiian Marlin Tournament Series Champion, 250 Pts.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, People Tagged With: captain, Captain of the Year, captain shane o'brien, Hawaii Division, wild hooker

Keeping the Boss Happy: Advice from Veteran Captains and Owners

November 6, 2020 By InTheBite Digital Editor

captain and boat owner on boat

By Jan Fogt

When it comes to pleasing the boss, all the usual applies. Like keeping the boat clean and well maintained, keeping meticulous maintenance records, reigning in any bad behavior on the part of the crew, being prepared for travel and trips, tournaments, etc. In other words, when it comes to the boat, the secret to longevity on the job would seem to be to keep the boss’s life as hassle free as possible while watching out for the bottom line. As most captains will attest, if you can manage all of the above while taking care of fishing, you’ve got a job for life.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Advice, Boats, Careers, Crew, Featured Stories, Operations Tagged With: advice, boat captain, boat jobs, boat owners, fishing jobs

Capt. Newt Cagle: Forever Grateful

November 2, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

captain newt cagle at helm

By Capt. Jen Copeland

“Forever grateful.”

Aged just seventeen, Newt Cagle left his South Carolina home of Sullivan’s Island. On Captain John Mumford’s Hattitude, he was en route to all the usual new mate, cut-your-teeth destinations. The standard travel circuit seems to continually spit out the good new mates, and swallow up the bad: Florida, Mexico, Bahamas, Dominican Republic and St. Thomas. If you can survive the nighttime antics of this billfish boot camp, you’re usually good. If not, you’re on the first plane home – to grow up.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, News, People, Young Guns Tagged With: boat captain, boat jobs, fishing jobs, north carolina fishing, young gun

Captain Carter Drummond: Ahead of the Competition

October 26, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

A guy holding a cubera snapper

By Capt. Jen Copeland

After mating a summer in the Gulf aboard a pretty little Carolina boat named Hook-N-Bull, Carter Drummond began his second year of college. It was the fall of 2009 and the 60-foot Billy Holton steamed toward Panama without him. With owner/operator Tom Shumate and Will Cocke at the helm, Carter was not sure he’d ever see her again. After trying to juggle his childhood love for fishing and school for over a year, fishing won out. Drummond took the next semester off and flew to Panama in pursuit of a dream.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, People Tagged With: boat captain, carter drummond, hook-n-bull, young guns

Old Salts: Captain Bouncer Smith

June 5, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

Captain Bouncer on his Dusky 33

Captain Bouncer Smith at his slip in Miami Beach Marina.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, General News, News, Old Salts Rule, People Tagged With: bouncer smith, Captain Bouncer Smith, captain profile, old salts

Captain of the Year: The Most Prestigious Award in the History of Tournament Sportfishing

June 3, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

captain of the year trophy and plaques

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Captain of the Year, Crew, Featured Stories, General News, News, People, Tournaments Tagged With: captain, Captain of the Year, COTY, East Coast Division, ryan knapp

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Upcoming Tournaments

Sun 24

31st Annual Cheeca Lodge & Spa Presidential Sailfish Tournament

January 22 - January 24
Tue 26

Reef Cup Invitational Sailfish Tournament

January 26 - January 30
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News

  • U.S. Coast Guard Operation Set Up to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in South Atlantic

    U.S. Coast Guard Operation Set Up to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in South Atlantic

      US Department of State, US Coast Guard, Jan. 20, 2021—The Department of State is supporting the U.S. Coast Guard Operation Southern Cross as part of an effort to build regional maritime security partnerships and counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the South Atlantic. The U.S. Department of State announced the multi-month inaugural deployment of the new USCG Legend-class... [Read More...]

  • Coast Guard assists fishing vessel 80 miles off Key West

    Coast Guard assists fishing vessel 80 miles off Key West

    MIAMI, US Coast Guard, District 7 — Coast Guard rescue crews assisted the 40-foot fishing vessel Santa Maria, Thursday, Jan. 14, after the crew launched two flares signaling their distress approximately 80 miles southwest of Key West.  A nearby good Samaritan saw the flares and reported to Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders the Santa Maria crew's distress. The good... [Read More...]

  • Cabana, Canyon Lady, Showtime/Remix: Weekend Tournament Winners

    Cabana, Canyon Lady, Showtime/Remix: Weekend Tournament Winners

    Annual Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament First Place: Canyon Lady, Capt. Bill Davis Second Place: Ditch Digger, Capt. Jon Brooks Third Place: Miss Texas, Capt. Matt Bierley Operation Sailfish – 1st leg of “Quest for the Crest” Sailfish Series First Place: Showtime/Remix, Capt. Nick Carullo Second Place: TEAM HMY, Capt. Trey Claus Third Place: Goin' Raptor, Capt. Paul Sabayrac Pelagic... [Read More...]

  • Miss Texas Wins Silver Sailfish Derby, Waterman Wins Pelican Yacht Club Invitational

    Miss Texas Wins Silver Sailfish Derby, Waterman Wins Pelican Yacht Club Invitational

    Silver Sailfish Derby  First Place Most Releases Overall: Miss Texas Second Place: Priceless Third Place: Doing It All/Hardway Fourth Place: Gator One Top Individual Angler: Mike Simko with 9 releases Top Meat Fish: George Moss, Lunático, with a 32.8 lb kingfish Top Lady Angler: Carly Desmond, DaySea  Pelican Yacht Club Invitational First Place: Waterman, Capt. Kevin Paul Second Place: Dakeri,... [Read More...]

  • Canceled Plans, More Time Brought New Wave of Boaters, Anglers in 2020, Study Finds

    Canceled Plans, More Time Brought New Wave of Boaters, Anglers in 2020, Study Finds

    Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16, 2020—With COVID-19 transforming Americans' recreational habits, a new study from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) has found that millions of new or returning participants have taken up fishing & boating. Particular increases were seen among nontraditional participants, signaling the activities' increasing appeal among new audiences. Titled Who's On Board: Keeping New Anglers & Boaters Hooked,... [Read More...]

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