Photo courtesy Kevin Dodge
By Ric Burnley
It’s not often that an aspiring fisherman gets the opportunity to be taken under the wing of a living legend. Yet long before meeting Bouncer Smith, a pioneer of several fisheries and one of the most outspoken captains in our industry, Abie Raymond knew all along that he would work on the water, only ever wanting one profession. The 32-year old captain was born in Miami and started guiding inshore trips by the age of 15.
Uno Mas‘ Maria Magalhaes not only took home the win for the 2021 Top Female Angler but the Signature Triple Crown Top Series Angler Overall, becoming the first woman to claim this achievement.
Wild Hooker, 2,150 points
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 Overall Champions – 250 pts.
Photo courtesy Michelle Gaylord/Out Your Front Door
Auspicious // 1,350 points
Bermuda Billfish Blast 2nd Place – 300 pts.
Bermuda Big Game Classic 1st Place – 500 pts.
Sea Horse Anglers Club 2nd Place – 300 pts.
Bermuda Triple Crown Overall Champions – 250 pts.
Photo courtesy Steve Momot
White Marlin Open, 1st Place Release – 500 pts.
MidAtlantic, Most Points Overall – 500 pts.
It never hurts to have a former champ in the driver’s seat and for the third time in five years, Capt. Russell Sinclair of Merritt Island, Florida, has earned a coveted Captain of the Year Cup. And with his 2020 showing, Sinclair is the first captain to win different divisions. With tournaments being forced to shutter across the globe, this was unlike any fishing season anyone had ever experienced. “So, we started last year in March and had some great fishing in the Abacos. We had two trips down there. And right before the closure, we moved the boat back to the U.S. and we sat there waiting during the whole quarantine thing to see what to do with our season. We wanted to go down to St. Thomas and fish the BVI and USVI, but we finally just pulled the plug on everything and went to the Northeast. We kinda weren’t supposed to be there,” Sinclair says.
Photo courtesy Brian Leiser
MBGFC Memorial Day Tournament, 1st Place – 500 pts.
MBGFC Memorial Day Tournament, Heaviest Marlin – 613.8 lbs. – 500 pts.
Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, Heaviest Marlin – 660.4 lbs. – 500 pts.
Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, 3rd Place – 100 pts.
MBGFC Invitational Labor Day Tournament, 1st Place – 500 pts.
By Gary Caputi
Being a private boat captain is considered by many to be one of the more glamorous and adventurous jobs you could ever have. Imagine being at the helm of a multi-million dollar
sportfishing yacht that travels to amazing places to catch billfish. Not only is someone else footing the bill, you’re getting paid to do it! Even being a deckhand aboard such a boat is something young men daydream about. There is, however, a lot more to “the life” than meets the eye. InTheBite spent time discussing the ins and outs of “the life” with three experienced captains. We covered a lot of ground.
New Lines
By Ric Burnley
A good mate is worth his weight in gold. From wiring a blue marlin to serving cocktails, the second in command on a professional sportfishing boat has many jobs to master and many people to please.
So, how do you quantify the value of excellence? How do you compensate a person for unwavering dedication, extensive technical knowledge, a crushing physical toil and a winning attitude? Paying a mate what he’s worth would quickly run most operations out of financial resources. With all the adventure, excitement, drama and sheer fun of professional fishing, at the end of the day, it all comes down to a wad of cash passed from the fisherman to his best friend on the water. [Read more…]
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.
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
