The fabled blue marlin destination is being reborn….
Superyacht owner, businessman and philanthropist Carl Allen has purchased the island of Walker’s Cay in the Bahamas. Allen describes his relationship with the northernmost Bahamian island, which he has been visiting since a child of 12, as a “love affair”.
Have you ever wanted to know the most popular lures used around the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mid-Atlantic? Take a minute and listen in to Grand Slam Sportfishing Supply owner Jim McGrath as he showcases the best lures for 2019. Lures include the recent World Cup and the Mid-Atlantic winner. Don’t wait and order yours today!
The 4th annual White Marlin Roundup, was again based out of the beautiful Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina, was held April 10-13, 2019. There were 25 registered boats and the weather forecast was perfect, light winds and calm seas.
The first day of fishing was beautiful and the 77’ Bayliss, Wave Paver was off to a great start as they released 6 white marlin, for 1950 points. Plane Simple a 70’ Spencer finished the day in second place with 3 whites for 975 points. In third, was the Lo Que Sea with a 2 whites and 1 blue marlin for 800 points.
The real catch of the day was caught on The Chaser as they boated a white marlin to weigh in! As the crowd gathered around the weigh station, The Chaser backed in with an extra large white marlin in the cockpit. Angler Nick Locuv stood close by as he marlin was hoisted and the scales showed “129” pounds For the day there was 18 whites, 4 blue marlin and 8 sailfish released, along with the one big marlin that was weighed!
On day two with the same calm conditions, Wave Paver maintained their lead on the fleet by releasing 5 white marlin increasing their lead on the fleet. The Lo Que Sea added to their total by catching 4 whites to get them into second place overall and the Plane Simple dropped down to 3rd place. There was a total of 22 whites, 2 sailfish and 2 blue marlin caught on day two.
On day three, the final day of fishing, the Plane Simple got red hot and put the pressure on the Wave Paver by catching 4 white before noon. Wave Paver fought back by catching 4 that afternoon while Plane Simple caught 3 more that afternoon too. The 7 white marlin that the Plane Simple caught, put them well into second place, and Lo Que Sea ended up in third place. At lines out it was the Wave Paver winning this event for the second time in three years.
With 33 whites, 5 sailfish and 3 blue marlin caught on day three, it brought the three day total to 71 whites, 15 sailfish and 9 blue marlin!
All competitors gathered to honor the winners during the awards presentation at the beautiful Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina! The Ken Ullberg trophy for the Top Boat award went to Wave Paver and her owner Jr Davis! They also claimed many awards, including two top dailies, , the jackpot for the overall winner, Top Captain & Crew and even the largest Mahi of 39.5 pounds as they took home a big check of $149,740. The Top Captain & Crew went to Captain Russell Sinclair, and crew members Cody, Garrett, Ryan and Doug.
Plane Simple took second place, earning them a prize of $55,080. Third place went to the Lo Que Sea awarding them $20,880.
Angler Nick Locuv and The Chaser took home a check for $40,400 for the largest white marlin.
The top angler was Scott Glasscock on the Wave Paver. Scott caught 9 white marlin. The Top Lady Angler was Laura Russell on the Hit n Run! The largest tuna and wahoo was caught by Steven Staclings on the Jichi and they took home a check for $19,500.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s tournament, to be held again at the Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina. The dates will be April 15-18, 2020. See you all there!
Here’s the full Old Salt interview with Capt. Sam at the Fort Pierce Inlet.
by Dale Wills
Singer, songwriter, newspaper columnist, book author, duck hunter and longtime captain – Sam Crutchfield can catch most anything that swims in fresh or salt water. Were that not enough, Capt. Sam is also proficient in Morse code and was bitten by an alligator while wade fishing for bass in a Florida lake. Captain Sam Crutchfield is an outdoorsman in every sense of the word. When speaking with Sam you could hear about most anything – a play by play story of a big blue off Walker’s Cay or about any number of adventures in Florida or the Caribbean. Today, at the age of 79, you can still find Capt. Sam at his local boat ramp fishing in the Indian River Lagoon and along the Treasure Coast beaches almost every morning. “You can never get a missed day of fishing back,” he says gently.
The Young Captain Sam
Born in 1939 in Polk County, Florida, Capt. Sam Crutchfield was hooked on fishing by the age of six. His father had a little boat and motor and would run out of Camp Mack on the Kissimmee River targeting big bass on shiners and artificials. His favorite holes were the Polk County phosphate pits, which according to Capt. Sam, “made the bass really big.” It was here that Sam caught his largest bass to date – a 17.2-pound whopper. Sam recalls how the incredible bass fishing during his youth has changed. “I remember the day they started dredging the Kissimmee to create the canal to Lake Okeechobee. It broke my heart, and it’s never been the same since.”
Captain Sam Crutchfield with his all-tackle 77-pound world record dolphin. It stood for more than decade.
After high school, Sam joined the Coast Guard. “I enrolled in Radio School with the plan to relocate to Fort Pierce to be on the Ft. Pierce inlet. Upon completing my training, I quickly realized Ft. Pierce did not have a radio position. I then selected Jacksonville Beach Coast Guard station to be my new home.” Back then, radio communication was Morse Code (which Captain Sam can still encode today).
Captain Sam’s two day on, two day off schedule in Jacksonville was ideal. “Hunting and fishing was easy with my schedule. In the fall, I would hunt ducks on the land currently developed as the TPC Sawgrass Golf Club in Ponte Vedra, Florida. It was one of the best flyways you could imagine. Widgeon, pintails and teal were so prevalent,” says Sam. “In the spring and summer, I would fish the Jacksonville pier in which I witnessed over a half-dozen fifty-pound kingfish caught.” Sam is careful to note that his biggest kingfish, caught off of Ft. Pierce, tipped the scale to 67-pounds.
A Career in Sportfishing
After his service in the Coast Guard, Capt. Sam finally moved to Ft. Pierce to attend Indian River Community College – and fish. During this time Sam started mating on charter boats. This was the beginning of a lifelong sportfishing career.
Crutchfield earned his captain’s license in 1966. “I started running a small 19’ inboard charter boat with a 70-hp named Lucky. We mostly fished the Ft. Pierce inlet and Indian River Lagoon for snook, tarpon, trout and redfish. I was lucky to be mentored by Capt. Rollin Matheson at the time. He was a big influence on me when I first started,” Sam recalls. “We used all conventional tackle with wire leader. I remember when the first spinning reels came out. Eagle Claw introduced ‘cat gut’ as a type of mono and the spinning reels were awful. They got their names ‘spinning’ because they would spin the line up in a mess.”
Crutchfield’s first charter boat, the Lucky.
A couple of years later, Crutchfield upgraded his boat, purchasing the Lucky Too, a 23’ T Craft with a 225-hp inboard Chrysler. The boat was equipped with two big live wells and two fishing chairs and could take a party of four fishing comfortably. Then, in 1973, he upgraded the boat again with a 30’ T Craft also called Lucky Too with a CAT 3160 diesel engine.
“My charter business progressed to mostly offshore fishing then.” In 1976, Sam purchased a 40’ Warren O’Neal-built boat out of North Carolina. The boat was originally built for sportfish legend Omie Tillet and is still in charter service today out of Oregon Inlet. During the late 70s and early 80s, Captain Sam built a steady charter business from Ft. Pierce which evolved into a world class operation booking clients in the summers to fish out of Walker’s Cay in the Bahamas.
During the fall, Sam was dialed into duck hunting around Lake Okeechobee and Louisiana – when he wasn’t charter fishing his local Ft. Pierce waters. Sam also mentioned he forged a great relationship with his dock partner and friend Chip Shafer during the height of his charter career. “Captain Chip’s friendship has meant a lot to me over the years, and we are still fishing buddies today,” says Capt. Sam.
In 1985, Capt. Sam retired from charter fishing, making the switch to private boats. His first private position was working for Charlie Campbell on the Escape, a 53’ Hatteras out of Stuart, Florida. “I had the opportunity to fish and help Charlie with his hunting ranch in Okeechobee. It was ideal, but short lived,” recalls Captain Sam.
Crutchfield’s largest blue marlin. Caught and released in Walker’s, it was a tank.
Around 1988, Capt. Sam switched gears again and accepted a new captain’s position on the 53’ Hatteras Lillian B. The new job allowed him to return to Walker’s Cay on a regular basis. The position evolved into working on a second family-owned boat, a 60’ Hatteras called Silver Streak. Captain Sam would split time on both boats. This lasted until the early 90s.
Captain Sam recalls many evenings sitting around the dock at Walker’s where he and so many others were, as Sam puts it, “living the good ole’ days but just didn’t know it.” The dock parties at Walker’s and Captain Sam’s love for music eventually paved the way for Captain Sam’s next career – in the music business.
In 1995, Sam finally traded the ship’s wheel for a microphone, jumping full time into his singing career. Captain Sam recalls how Walker’s Cay charter captain Billy Black and friends – and the nights of singing and playing guitar on the dock after fishing – influenced many of his songs. Most of his lyrics were conjured up in the shadow of the iconic Walker’s Cay scale. If you like fishing even a little bit, you can’t help but enjoy Crutchfield’s songs like Trollin, Ugly, The Mullet & The Mackerel & The Ballyhoo and Big Game Fishin’.
“I really enjoyed making music, but didn’t realize that once you start making albums, every year you need to come out with another and another. I decided to quit making music after 13 albums,” Captain Sam recalls. (If you are interested in buying one of Captain Sam Crutchfield’s CDs for the boat, give us a call at InTheBite).
A Lifetime on the Water
Captain Sam’s lifelong interest in fishing proved to be one of his best decisions. “Through the years there were good times, bad times, sad times, and most of all, the wonderful times when good folks got together on a fishing boat to share the fun and excitement of sportfishing,” he says. “Recently on a morning fishing trip a young fella yelled ‘Hey old man, have you fished here all your life?’ ‘Nope,’ I answered. ‘Not yet!’”
Hitting the docks now— The December issue wraps up 2018 in style! Grab your copy today, available in both print and digital.
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI – (November 26, 2018) — Wahoo Smackdown X, hosted by the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina on November 8-12, 2018, saw 23 boats competing for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes. Out of the 23 competing boats, 22 teams landed fish, bringing 152 wahoo to the scales in the process.
The team from Who’s Your Daddy took top team honors with 16 fish weighing a total of 231.5 pounds, taking home $15,000 in cash winnings.
Second place was the Blitzsea Team earning $7,500 in cash winnings, an 84.7 pound monster. They weighed 21 fish for a total catch weight of 206.4 pounds.
Team Murderize, out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, finished third, taking home $2,500 in cash winnings, with a total catch of 11 fish with a total catch weight of 193.6 pounds.
The team from Little Giant caught the largest wahoo of the tournament at 50.7 lbs.
Tournament festivities included live local entertainment nightly, a cocktail reception poolside for the Captains Meeting, a cookout on day one of the tournament, and a closing awards party on the great lawn, featuring a buffet, live entertainment and a full open bar.
Sponsors for this year’s tournament include American Beverage Marketers www.masterofmixes.com as the Title Sponsor, Bahamian Brewery and Beverage (Sands), artist David Dunleavy. Tropic Ocean Airways, Caza Offshore, Live Wire Tackle, Flanigan’s, CS Custom Lures and Bimini Big Game Club.
by Alexandra Stark
One of the many charms of the sportfishing lifestyle is the travel to exotic places. By the very nature of the activity, just about every place from which you can catch a marlin or sailfish has a beach. Most also have marinas and a place to grab a bite to eat. For a captain’s wife, the chance to spend a vacation in a place where the boat is fishing can be a wonderful perk.
If you were setting up a travel plan, how could you select a location that combines great fishing with everything necessary for a special trip for your special lady? Get this wrong at your own peril – Ascension Island has world class blue marlin fishing, but how would she feel about “feeding bread to half-wild donkeys” as the headliner of her land-based itinerary? There are also many places with great night life and amenities that don’t hold up the fishing side of the equation.
There are places, however, that play host to great fishing and the types of amenities and activities that make them ideal for captains and their wives. We’ve selected the following locations by asking professional captains and their wives for their recommendations. The following is a profile of a few of the best, with an interview from a professional who describes the ins and outs of each location.
Andrea Angel, with her husband Captain BC, is a veteran of many fishing vacations.
Los Suenos Resort and Marina, Costa Rica
By now everyone in the world has heard of the great billfishing opportunities out of Los Suenos. The world class fishing is matched by a resort that overlooks no detail in providing an incredible atmosphere. It truly boasts of a whole gamut of activity – one that any captain’s wife would certainly enjoy.
Ashley Bretecher, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications has been with Los Sueños for 16 years. When she started it was to help during the high season only. Ashley left for a year to go to school and decided to come back to stay. Los Suenos is now home to Ashley and her daughter. Here is Ashley’s perspective:
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Cabo San Lucas is a place full of adventure and wonder. Its desert climate mean lots of sunshine and little rain. The waters surrounding it host a world class striped marlin fishery, with big blues and blacks mixed in. Aside from the fishing, Cabo offers an unmatched quality and diversity of accommodation and activity (dune buggy riding, parasailing, desert camel riding, spa days, drinking margaritas on the beach…you can even take pictures with baby lions!)
If you can’t figure out a good place to grab a cold drink in Cabo, you might have a serious problem. The Marina Cabo San Lucas is a great place to start. Photo courtesy Marina Cabo San Lucas
Darren “Diz” Carey is the General Manager of IGY’s Marina Cabo San Lucas, the 375-slip marina that plays host to sportfishers and megayachts – up to 380’ – from far and wide. A British ex-pat, Diz offers some wise perspective on what a companion/fishing vacation to Cabo might look like. His perspective is delivered charmingly with an understatement, thoughtfulness and wit.
shopping from designer brands to the best fakes – you can buy a $10 Rolex or walk down a little ways and pay $25k for the real thing. There are health spas with a large spectrum of services and pricing, 19 luxurious golf courses, restaurants spanning from taco bars to Michelin star chefs,” Carey says. Carey recommends the organic farm to table restaurant “Flora Farms” for a great meal and a good time. Whale watching and turtle hatchling release are must sees if you are there in the right season. There are also secluded beaches with wild horses are in Cabo, yes, this actually exists and it’s free! Carey reports that there are three stores in the marina that cater to women, even selling the latest in fishing gear.
One of Cabo’s many charms: You never know what you might see. Photo courtesy IGY Marinas
The Abaco Islands, Bahamas
There is just so much to do in the Abacos, so many places to go – rent your own boat or grab a ferry and you can do most anything. Everything is right next to each other and you can do something new every day. The main hub is Marsh Harbour, but don’t miss Manowar Cay or Treasure Cay. The most popular spot is Guana where you can join the sportfishing crowd every Sunday at Nipper’s and Grabbers. Visit Pete’s Pub by boat while you’re at it. You can swim with the pigs on Pig Beach in No Name Cay. The blue marlin fishing in the spring time is the high liner. The Abacos feature lots of canyons and bottom topography with plenty of coverage for tournament fleets.
Kevie Thomas, Rooms Division Director, Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina Marsh Harbour, Abaco, The Bahamas.
Kevie is a local and oh so proud of her Bahamian culture. She provides an insider’s perspective on what a trip to the Abacos, a group is islands and barrier cays in the northern Bahamas, might look like. “I was born and raised here, but I would not want to live anywhere else. Abaco is one big family, everyone knows everyone. It’s just a relaxing great place to live.”
“Don’t leave me on a beautiful beach with a waterfront resort!” said no wife ever. Photo courtesy Abaco Beach Resort
Key West, Florida
Want an island experience without the need for a passport? Key West provides an excellent fishery for everything from sailfish and wahoo to all manner of snapper and grouper exploits. It is also home to a vibrant hospitality scene, complete with a laid-back atmosphere, plenty of options for having a good time and eating something tasty.
The Oceans Edge Marina provides the fishing facilities necessary to compliment Key West’s full suite of good time attributes.
Brianna Birtles is the marketing director at Oceans Edge Marina in Key West. “I have been in Key West for six years now, having moved from New York. I was sick of my NY commute and in need of a change. I visited Key West prior to and decided to (do as David Sloane’s book suggests) ‘Quit my job and moved to Key West.’ I had previously worked in both advertising and travel but looked to completely restart and build a career in hotels.” Just 90 miles from Cuba, Key West is the most Southern City in the United States.
Happening now: Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic (Start: May 29 End: June 3) and Abaco Beach Blue Marlin Invitational (Start: May 30 End June 2)
Check back next week for an update on these Captain of the Year sanctioned tournaments, and good luck to all the captains and anglers fishing the events!
Click Here for the FINAL results of Abaco Beach Blue Marlin Tournament
This mystery sea creature was caught in the Corner (Bahamas) last weekend. White marlin, spearfish, hatchet marlin, roundscale, hybrid, mutant? What do you think it is?
Think you can identify this fish species?
Email: info@inthebite.com
Good luck to the China Time crew headed to the Bahamas this morning for the Baker’s Bay Invitational. Big thanks to Captain Mike Croke and Shawn Caravelli for delivering over our magazines!
