ITB Staff
While it has been years since most places in the world succumbed to the dink ballyhoo revolution, Hawaiian captains still proudly pull plastic. In some of places where lures still appear, their selection is haphazard…the old, “Grab that one over there and throw a hook in it” type thing. In Kona, lure fishing is equal parts science and applied engineering with a healthy dose of aesthetic appeal mixed in.
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.
ITB Staff
Kona, Hawaii is a wonderful place. In terms of distance from a continental landmass, the Hawaiian archipelago is one of the most remote strings of islands in the world. And now that travel to the islands has opened up with a Hawaii’s safe travel program, getting to the Pacific should be back on your list of places to go. Kona sits on the western edge of the Island of Hawaii—the Big Island. Its rocky coastline is the result of millions of years of volcanic deposits piling atop one another. The Hawaiian Islands are mountains that jut from the sea floor, covering thousands of feet beneath the waterline and thousands more above it. The mountainous interior of the Island of Hawaii creates a giant wind block, large enough to create a permanent lee and break apart hurricanes.
A sweeping scape of Playa Muerto. Photo courtesy Jessica Haydahl
By Monte Richardson
The Pan-American Highway is something road-traveling adventurers discuss over a few cold beers. The fallacy of its execution lies in one small 60-mile chunk of Panamanian jungle aptly named the Darien Gap.
Save for this small sliver of rainforest, one could theoretically journey on the roadway clear from Deadhorse, Alaska on the banks of Prudhoe Bay all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, some 30,000 miles of white line fever for the aspiring motorist. This gap in the road, a falling house of cards for someone’s magic bus, is home to Playa Muerto and a keystone civilization of indigenous natives named the Emberá.
Photo courtesy Peter Groesbeck
By Elliott Stark
When it comes to fishing, Southern California is a kingdom all its own. It boasts the US West Coast’s only billfish fishery and its richly abundant waters have been attracting anglers since the days of Zane Grey. The physical dynamics of the oceans and current in many ways define the approach of the anglers and captains who ply its waters. The culture of fishing runs deep—what happened here in the formative days of sportfishing was, in its time, as impactful and profound as any place in the United States.
SANTA ANA, Ca., September 7 – 8, 2021—AFTCO and Marsh Wear partner with the IGFA Worldwide Anglers Relief Fund (WARF) and Costa Sunglasses to support fishing guides affected by Hurricane Ida in coastal Louisiana.
On September 7th, 2021, 100% of profits from all purchases made on marshwearclothing.com will be donated to WARF and on September 8th, 2021, 100% of profits from all purchases made on aftco.com will be donated to WARF.
ITB Staff
It’s become an recurring theme each year to hear about the best parts of the Caribbean and Gulf being overrun with weed. Not the “puff puff give” kind, but the pain in the butt kind. Sargassum. It can be everywhere. And not just in neat lines along the rips but in mats and globs and clumps as far as the eye can see. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that since 2011, large accumulations of Sargassum have become a remerging problem in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and tropical Atlantic.
Photo courtesy Boom Boom Sportfishing
On June 22, Captain Tony Brown with Boom Boom Sportfishing and his crew caught an impressive 1,040-pound Pacific blue marlin four miles off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. The experience was especially memorable for Tony and his crew because their deckhand’s family was the charter group that day.
If you would like to donate to our team “Team Inlet” Click Here
(L to R) Chris and Casey Pranckun in the middle of the Gulfstream
By Dale Wills
Paddle boarding from the Bahamas to Florida may sound like a crazy idea. Keep reading and you’ll understand why this trip made sense. A friend of mine asked if I could help co-captain his boat for the fundraiser, The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis, as he and his family volunteered to be a support boat for 3 paddlers attempting to cross 80 miles of open ocean from Bimini, Bahamas to Lake Worth, Florida. What I witnessed as a result of taking part in the crossing was a heroic effort by everyone involved. The main goal was to increase awareness and money for the foundation and that they did. Over $600K was raised.
By Dave Ferrell
I’ve just recently returned from a little piece of paradise that was the result of one man’s dream over 20 years in the making. But first, a little back story. I first met Ron Kawaja, owner of the Pelagic clothing brand, in a crappy Miami hotel room during the Miami Boat Show in the late-90s. Ron was getting ready to launch a new company that meant to capitalize on the surf style boardshorts that were popular with a lot of mates in the sportfishing world. I was the editor of Marlin at the time and told the crew that I thought it was a great idea and supplied them with as many names of well-regarded fishermen as I could. Now, 20 years later, Pelagic is a world-wide brand bringing the West Coast style and much more to the sportfishing community. [Read more…]
