InTheBite

Captain Sam Crutchfield—Singer, Songwriter, Angler

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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 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.

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Boat Brokers and Captains Relationships

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two guys exchanging money

By Capt. Scott “Fraz” Murie

I’ve been a captain since 1978 and have taken boats from coast to coast, fishing hot spots for years. I’m still fishing but trying to stay closer to home. Let’s face it, I’m getting older.

Over these many years, I’ve met and developed relationships with many boat brokers. These relationships, for the most part, have been an asset to my career. I’ve had referrals for captain’s positions, delivery jobs and other positions I otherwise wouldn’t have known about, except for a broker. So, with that said, I’ve learned to appreciate the work of a good boat broker.

I heard a question the other day from a captain. He wanted to know the industry standard commission rate from a broker to a captain in yacht sale. He thought it was 5%. That’s just stupid!

There is no standard, nor is it ethical, for a broker to pay a captain a pre-arranged commission. That would be like a broker wanting a percentage of a captain’s salary if the broker found that captain’s job. I’ve heard it all. Things like, “Man, that broker is making 10% for doing nothing but showing the boat.”

Wrong!

What these captains (who are on salary and getting paid anyway) don’t realize is a broker is paid by commission only. These sales can take countless hours and weeks and months to come together.

They also require thousands of dollars of out of pocket expenses such as flights, hotels, food, professional photography, advertising and even then, a deal can fall apart. So, if you think it’s so easy, go get your broker’s license and get you some.

My advice to you captains is to develop a relationship with good brokers by helping them. A good, hard-working broker knows and meets a lot of people in our business. That broker just might be the person responsible for advancing your career down the road one day by his referral.

A good boat broker also knows the value of a good captain. If the captain goes out of his way to help the broker in every aspect of the boat sale, a good broker will express his appreciation by giving that captain a well-earned tip. It would always be after the sale finalizes and it could be substantial sometimes.

For a captain to demand a certain amount of money from a broker is ignorant and possibly illegal. It also shows what kind of captain they really are. So just do your job and take what you get.

– That’s my two-minute warning.

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

Capt. Evan Salvay: California Up and Comer

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Captain Evan Salvay

Capt. Evan Salvay

Stella June

45 Sea Hunter

Owner: Ivan Vanortwick Boat: Stella June, 45 Sea Hunter

By Charline Levine

With a Bisbee win on his resume and his finger directly on the pulse of the burgeoning bluefin tuna bite, at just 27 years old Capt. Evan Salvay has established himself as one of the top fishermen in Southern California. The trick to his success? A run-and-gun style that focuses on finding fish and doing whatever it takes to get tight. But like all successful captains, Evan started out young and learned a bunch of different skill sets before he made a name for himself.

Evan began fishing on the local sport boats (what So Cal guys call party boats) in middle school and wet his feet by helping out the deckhands. When he was 16, he started working for a six-pack boat based in Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island. Home to the Tuna Club of Avalon since 1898, Catalina is one of the storied spots in the annals of sport-fishing history.

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His first gig charter fishing was in 2009, not the best timing. An economic crash and slow fishing were not doing any favors for the charter industry, but it was a big year for Evan as he got to fish with Capt. Mike Arujo, a well-known marlin fisherman who ran the Vertigo, a 70-foot custom out of Newport Beach. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Arujo was among a small group of elite striped marlin captains in the area. It was Arujo who introduced the young mate to tournament fishing. Around this same time, Evan headed down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and fished with his uncle in some money events. In 2010, Evan was on a team that won a daily in the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot. It was his first taste of prize money.

The marlin fishing in Southern California slowed to a trickle from 2011 to 2014 and several of the big-time tourneys in the area ceased operations. “I took a hiatus for a few seasons,” Evan says. “The tournaments were putting up one fish for the entire fleet over three days of fishing. There weren’t many opportunities in So Cal for a young person trying to progress. It’s not like the East Coast.”

Winning black marlin catch with Captain Evan Salvay

Captain Evan Salvay and company posing with a $3 million black marlin.

When the marlin scene dried up, Evan bought a 17-foot Boston Whaler and started to fish the salt-water bass circuit. He’d also roll the dice and run that small boat out to San Clemente Island for yellowtail. They built a custom, 52-gallon gas tank under the leaning post to make the 60-mile run in open ocean. “My dad would drop us off and say, ‘See ya later.’ We’d circumnavigate the entire island. We did it every week. We’d hit atrocious weather and giant swells. Luckily it didn’t kill us,” he says.

In 2014, Evan got his captain’s license just as an El Niño kicked in and the fishing started to improve. “I started to transition back to offshore,” he says. He purchased a 29-foot Crystaliner, an express style So Cal boat with twin Cummins. This time, the timing was just right. In 2016, the offshore fleet saw one of the best striped marlin bites in modern history. “There was a wide stretch of fish. We ran out of San Pedro and fished striped marlin around Santa Barbara Island and as far north as Santa Cruz Island. It was the same year we saw wahoo locally and blue marlin were around in catchable volumes. That bite may never be repeated in my lifetime.” Salvay and his crew landed a 474-pound blue in their home waters, which was one of the highlights of his young career.

The bluefin tuna also began to show up en masse with big fish over 200 pounds in the mix. “This bite never existed here before, and the whole scope of my business started to revolve around the bluefin,” he says. But these tuna were not easily caught. Crews would find massive schools of ‘foamers’ busting up on the surface but had to get creative to catch them. That’s really where Evan’s skills shined. He began to focus on jigging and popping techniques and that propelled him to the top of the game.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” he says. “The fishery is cooking strong right now and it’s perfectly suited to young people. It’s an active style of fishing.” Evan spends most of the day in the tower, scanning in the gyros for pods of fish. When he finds them, he hammers the throttles to get in on the action and then anglers use a mix of poppers, kite baits, stick baits and iron to get tight. This isn’t a slow-trolling affair, it’s action-packed.

Throughout this period, Evan continued to go to Cabo and fish 15 to 20 tournaments a year. In 2017 he took his tournament program in Mexico up a few notches. He linked up with a client, Davis Ahn, and they purchased a Cabo 40 express. They sent the boat to Mexico about a month before the kickoff of the tourney season. Evan got the program together quickly, learning the boat and getting it set up to his liking. They pulled it off and landed a 442-pound blue on the first day of the 2017 Bisbee’s Black and Blue. The fish didn’t take home the daily, but they finished the tournament in fifth place and got to collect a check. “We were four guys in our 20s that were somehow given a shot,” Evan says. “I think we were the youngest team to ever walk on that stage.”

Fishing with Captain Evan Salvay on Stella June

Salvay at the helm of the Stella June, 45 Sea Hunter.

The next year they went back to Cabo and fished on the same boat with the same crew. There were three qualifiers caught going into the final day, but the big money had rolled over and

there was a pile of cash up for grabs. “We went out that day and did what we wanted to do,” Evan says. “We filled the tuna tubes with 10- to 15-pound tuna and slow-trolled live bait.” They got bit around 11 a.m. and Charlie Lee caught the fish in just under two hours. The fish won the tournament, netting the Chinito Bonito a cool $3 million! The second largest tournament payout in sport-fishing.

“That was my dream,” Evan says. “I don’t know if it was luck or fate or what, but you put together a good program, put your time in and hope that luck kicks in. We got the bite we wanted. For someone who grows up fishing striped marlin in California and suffers through slow fishing, and to have your career skyrocket during some of the best fishing, it’s a dream come true.”

Right now, Evan is taking a hiatus from charter fishing and running a private boat that’s a big departure for the So Cal scene. The Stella June is a 45-foot Sea Hunter with quad 425-hp Yamahas, a full tower and a Seakeeper gyro. The boat is owned by Ivan Vanortwick who enjoys the same style of fishing as Evan.

“A lot of fishing is on the bow out here, not behind the boat,” Evan says. “We’ve got the biggest center console out here and it suits what we do. We utilize the speed and hunting ability to create a more active, engaging opportunity. I have a boss who’s into that. He likes to throw poppers and stick baits. You can’t always do that if you have an older boss who wants to sit in the cabin.”

They plan to take the Sea Hunter to Cabo and fish the tournaments in the fall. “We’re looking forward to see what we can do with a boat that has speed, bait capacity and good, technical anglers,” he says.

InTheBite InTheSight: Cotton Mesa Trophy Whitetail Ranch

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Enjoy an InTheBite exclusive look into the World Class Cotton Mesa Trophy Whitetail Ranch in Corsicana, Texas.

A family run business for the past 33 years, owners Robert and Stephen Gegenheimer, have produced some of the top whitetail and exotics in the State of Texas. The ranch includes an 8000 square foot lodge that features six bedrooms all with private baths, cable TV and internet.

“If you like hunting and being treated like family, then Cotton Mesa Ranch needs to be on your list. Robert, his son Stephen, and the entire ranch staff are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They go above and beyond to make sure your experience at Cotton Mesa is one you’ll never forget.”— InTheBite Publisher Dale Wills.

2019 Texas Billfish Classic Final Results

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Texas Billfish Classic
July 17-20, 2019
Freeport, Texas
 
28 boats, 22 blue marlin, 4 white marlin, 7 sailfish 
Release Division:
1st Place: Done Deal, Captain Jason Buck
6 blues, 1 white
2nd Place: Bali Ha’i, Captain Anthony Lopez
4 blues

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2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast Winner – Congratulations Team “Reel Steel”

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More than 200 anglers competing on 38 teams experienced three days of record fishing, releasing 91 blue marlin, 17 white marlin and a spearfish.

HAMILTON, Bermuda (July 8, 2019) – An army of fishing talent experienced flat-calm conditions offshore Bermuda for the 2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast. A total of 248 anglers on 42 boats fished hard for three days, July 4-6, competing for marlin releases and coveted qualifying blue marlin to weigh in. Three days of fishing produced 38 blue marlin and 10 white marlin releases during the event, with most blues ranging in the 200- to 400-pound class. After lines out on day three, Team Reel Steel totaled two blue and two white marlin releases to win the 2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast.

As the competition intensified each day, no one team was able to pull away from the pack. In fact, no team that won a Daily Marlin Release Jackpot finished in the overall top three. The blue marlin bite increased each day but wasn’t as spectacular as 2018. Day one recorded 10 releases, day two saw 12 releases, and day three logged 16 blue marlin releases. Blue marlin releases were worth 500 points, garnering all the attention, while species such as white marlin and spearfish scored 200 points.

DAY ONE, JULY 4

Team Bree, captained by Kyle Liane, jumped out to an early lead on day one of the Bermuda Billfish Blast. The team released two blue marlin (1,000 points) by anglers Karl Minzenberg and Randy Ringhaver. The two blues were enough to win both levels of the Daily Marlin Release Jackpot and control the leaderboard.

Team Waste Knot, captained by Michael Tickle, was close behind with 700 points from one blue and one white marlin. Angler Scott Poole caught and released both fish. Teams Freyja, Legacy, Flyer, Big Deal, Blank Check, Reel Addiction and Auspicious all had great days too, recording one blue marlin release. The leaderboard was tight after day one.

DAY TWO, JULY 5

Team Stacked Up, captained by Snick Akers, got in on the action in a big way during day two. The newcomers to the Bermuda Triple Crown landed a blue marlin and white marlin for 700 points to win both levels of the Daily Marlin Release Jackpot. Angler Mike Engelman was in the chair for both fish. Team Reel Steel, captained by Jason Parker, was close behind, landing a blue marlin and a white marlin. Although Reel Steel and Stacked Up both caught the same number of fish, for the same amount of points, tournament rules dictate whichever team caught their fish earlier breaks the tiebreaker.

After two days of fishing, Bree held the lead with two blue marlin releases (1,000 points). Teams Flyer and Legacy also had two blue marlin releases (1,000 points). Team Stacked Up and Reel Steel were behind the top three places with 900 points each. Just one white marlin release was the difference between the top five teams after two days of fishing. Also, after two days of fishing, no team landed a marlin to weigh for the Largest Marlin jackpots.

DAY THREE, JULY 6

On day three, two teams that blanked the first two days stole the show.

Team Uno Mas, captained by Brooks Smith, landed two blue marlin and a white marlin for 1,200 points on day three. Anglers Jeremy Cabillo and Drew MacDowell each caught a blue, with MacDowell also releasing a white marlin. Uno Mas’ second blue marlin made the team think twice about boating the fish. A lengthy fight and oversize head had the blue marlin close to the 500-pound mark. For their three releases, Uno Mas won both levels of the Daily Marlin Release Jackpot. The points they scored on day three had them just 200 points behind the eventual winners

Team Sea Angel, captained by BC Angel, hooked one fish all tournament — but that fish was a game changer. On day three, angler Austin Angel came tight on a blue marlin and fought the fish for less than 2 hours. When they got the fish boat side, the team made the right call to gaff the fish and boat it. Back at the weigh-in docks, the fish weighed 509 pounds, just 9 pounds heavier than the 500-pound qualifying weight.

The Bermuda Billfish Blast offers optional winner-take-all Largest Marlin jackpots at two levels. The team that catches the largest blue marlin over 500 pounds wins the entire jackpot if they enter levels one and two. In the past, if the Largest Marlin Jackpot wasn’t won on July 4, the jackpot money was awarded to the top three boats in the Overall Billfish Release Jackpot. Tournament rules changed in 2019 allowing teams to weigh-in qualifying blue marlin on days two and three if no fish were weighed the prior day. For their catch on day three, Sea Angel won both levels of the winner-take-all Largest Marlin Jackpot.

WINNERS 

First place team Reel Steel

Team Reel Steel, captained by Jason Parker, scored 1,400 points to win first-place team, totaling two blue marlin and two white marlin releases. The team of anglers consisted of Mike Verzaleno, Marc Verzaleno, Drake Cropper, Big Mike Verzaleno and Charles Coats. They also won the first-place Overall Release Points Jackpot. Total Winnings were $77,400 and an invitation to the 2020 Offshore World Championship. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Maui Jim sunglasses, VanMark Jewelry Designers marlin pendants, a Yeti cooler, Steve Goione prints, Release Marine custom trophy, Soundview Millwork trophies, Big-T lures and Bacardi spirits.

Team Sea Angel, captained by BC Angel, landed a 509-pound blue marlin to win both levels of the winner-take-all Largest Marlin Jackpot. The team of anglers consisted of Nolan Raunswinter, Randy Estes, Andrea Angel, Greg Angel, Austin Angel and Tyler Lindorf. Total Winnings were $100,800.

Team Waste Knot, captained by Michael Tickle, scored 1,200 points to win second-place team, totaling one white marlin and two blue marlin releases. The team also won second-place Overall Release Points Jackpot. Waste Knot anglers included Scott Poole, Ven Poole, Chelsea Poole, Scott Poole, Jr, Thompson Brown and Chase Dalce. Total winnings were $45,180. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures, Soundview Millworks trophies, Maui Jim sunglasses and Bacardi spirits.

Team Auspicious, captained by Edward “Cookie” Murray, scored 1,200 points to win the third-place team, totaling one white marlin and two blue marlin releases. The team also won third-place Overall Release Points Jackpot. Team Auspicious consisted of Kevin Stafford, David Soares, Carl Copeland, Joseph Rahman, Mark Brochu, John Copeland and John Given. Total winnings were $25,920. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures, Soundview Millworks trophies, Maui Jim sunglasses and Bacardi spirits.

Team Bree, captained by Kyle Liane, scored 1,000 points on day one from two blue marlin to win both levels of the Day One Marlin Release Jackpot. Team Bree consisted of Colin Murphy, Ian Fletcher, Randy Ringhaver, Royal Hendrix, Karl Minzenberg and Shelley Minzenberg. Total winnings were $33,600. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures, and Maui Jim sunglasses.

Team Stacked Up, captained by Snick Akers, scored 700 points on day two from one white marlin and one blue marlin to win both levels of the Day Two Marlin Release Jackpot. Team Stacked Up consisted of Scott Miller, James Nantz, John Seitzer, Mike Engelman, Heather Serriani, and Lisa Serirani. Total winnings were $33,600. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures, and Maui Jim sunglasses.

Team Uno Mas, captained by Brooks Smith, scored 1,200 points on day three from one white marlin and two blue marlin to win both levels of the Day Three Marlin Release Jackpot. Team Uno Mas consisted of Maria Smith, Sean Gallagher, Drew MacDowell, David Mothershed, Jeremy Cabillo and Jeremy Quinos. Total winnings were $33,600. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures, and Maui Jim sunglasses.

TOP ANGLER AND JUNIOR ANGLER

Angler Marc Verzaleno, of Team Reel Steel, scored 1,400 points to win the top junior and top angler of the 2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast. Verzaleno’s 1,400 points came from two blue marlin and two white marlin releases. His prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Soundview Millworks trophies, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures and Maui Jim sunglasses.

TOP LADY ANGLER

Angler Laura Russell, of Team Hit N Run, scored 1,000 points from two blue marlin, to win the top lady angler of the 2019 Bermuda Triple Crown. Other prizes included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Soundview Millworks trophies, VanMark Jewelry Designers earrings, Steve Goione print, Big T Lures and Bacardi Spirits.

The 2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast tournament, presented by the Bermuda Tourism Authority, culminated in a highly popular awards banquet dinner in the Harbourview Ballroom at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel. More than 350 people were in attendance. The tournament awarded $350,000, plus trophies and prizes. For more information, visit www.bermudatriplecrown.com.

InTheBite Dock Talk: 2019 Yamaha Helm Master Upgrade

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InTheBite was on site for the unveiling of the latest upgrade to  the Yamaha XTO Offshore. Checkout this video with Captain Shannon Pickens explaining the latest version of the Yamaha Helm Master and fine tuning your position with the upgraded SetPoint modes.

Hitting the Docks Now! – June 2019 Issue

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June means summer. Summer means tournaments. Nothing says tournaments quite like InTheBite.

Grab a copy of the latest June Issue, hitting the docks now!

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InTheBite Dock Talk: St. Lucie Battery & Tire

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In this Dock Talk edition, President Doug Miller of St. Lucie Battery & Tire, showcases their line and services for marine batteries. Whatever your needs are, St. Lucie Battery & Tire has the marine batteries you need! Providing professional installation, dock side delivery, same or next service across Florida.

The Young Guns of Sportfishing: Captain Ricky Wheeler

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by Charlie Levine

Captain Ricky Wheeler rose up through the ranks in New Jersey learning how to catch everything from fluke to bigeye tuna to blue marlin. Wheeler credits fishing out of this part of the world with shaping the captain he is today. It was that well-rounded fishing education that helped him become a successful captain and launch his own tackle company.

Wheeler, who just turned 34, grew up in Delaware but spent his summers in Wildwood, New Jersey. When he scored a job at South Jersey Marina, home to the MidAtlantic 500, the door to the offshore fishing world opened.  “I grew up fishing for striped bass and bluefish in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays,” he says. “My dad and granddad had boats and back then the fishing for weakfish was really good, but we didn’t do much offshore fishing. We didn’t have the means. When I started working at the marina, I met the right people and got invited offshore. I learned a lot really fast.”

He spent a summer working as a mate on the Super Crew, a 54 Monterey, and caught his first white marlin. “That kind of catapulted my love for offshore fishing,” he says. His next big break occurred while fishing the MidAtlantic tournament with Frank Pettisani who had a 45 Hatteras. “We caught fish, but didn’t win,” Wheeler says. “Frank offered me a job on the way home and had me running that boat right away. I got my captain’s license that winter.”

Wheeler fished with Pettisani for five years, till the end of 2010. “For me, it was great because Frank demands a lot, but I don’t think realizes it. He wants perfection every day. He pushes me to go beyond good and get better,” Wheeler says. “He understands the fishing part of it.”

Wheeler fished nine months out of the year in New Jersey, fishing for whatever was biting, then spent the winter months with customization projects on the boat. “It went well, and I learned a lot,” he says. “We totally customized that boat and fished a lot.”

Pettisani took the boat from Cape May to Venezuela in 2010 and also fished in Aruba. Those were tough times to fish in Venezuela, with issues sourcing fuel for US boats. It was just dangerous to be there. “It’s a shame,” Wheeler says. “It’s a beautiful country and really good fishing.”

After Venezuela, Wheeler headed back to New Jersey and started freelancing. He fished with IGFA world-record holder Maureen Klause. The pair set nine records together. He also ran larger boats for various clients over the summer. In 2011, he spent his winter in the southern Bahamas, fishing with Capt. Joe Trainor on the Over/Under. He also began fishing in Trinidad and Grenada with Pettisani who had moved the boat there. “It was a busy, year-round schedule for four or five years,” Wheeler says. But the entire time, Wheeler was learning more about fishing in various areas and taking what he learned in New Jersey and applying it to new waters.

“In New Jersey, we have long runs and you learn how to read sea-surface temperature and chlorophyll charts, how water moves and how to adapt every day,” he says.  “I use what I learned up there and take it everywhere. Fish do the same basic thing anywhere. It may change a bit depending on what they’re eating, but we’ll still target current edges and look for color breaks.”

From Trainor, Wheeler also learned how to keep a boat running in remote settings. There simply aren’t many facilities in the southern Bahamas. If something breaks, you better be able to fix it, and you better have spare parts. “There was no body coming to help us,” Wheeler says. “You’ve got to learn to fix things. I don’t love turning wrenches, I actually dislike it, but I love that I know how to do it. Anything that is broken can be fixed.”

Wheeler started spending time in Grenada in the winter of 2013 with Pettisani and fished the spring months with Joe Trainor in the Bahamas. A self-described computer geek, Wheeler also uses his electronics to the full extent possible. He says that freelancing on different boats really helped him master marine electronics. “Every boat I fished on had different electronics, from the newest to the oldest, so I had to learn all that. It was one of the best things that could’ve happened to me. The same could be said for engines and gensets, they were all different. When you only work on one boat you only learn one system.”

After fishing Grenada for a few seasons, Pettisani decided to go all in. He didn’t want anyone but Wheeler to run the operation. Pettisani stationed the 45 Hatteras on the Spice Island and brought over the Exile (formerly Phat Mann and Soul Candy), a 65 Paul Mann that’s going to fish year-round in Grenada. The operation, Exile Charters (www.exilecharters.com), is ready to make the most of a bite that Wheeler says is quietly home to one of the best fisheries in the Caribbean.

“Nobody there really understands how good the fishing is,” Wheeler says. “It’s just far enough that most American boats don’t go, but you can get direct flights from New York and Miami. Our clientele can be there in a few hours.” According to Wheeler, prime time in Grenada runs from December through April with February standing out as the peak of the action. “We’ll see sails balling bait and you can get 25-plus shots a day. The first three days of February we fished five-hour days and had 15 shots with blues in the mix.” The yellowfin bite is also strong, offering some variety and the action is just five miles offshore.

Tackle Innovator                

When fishing remote locations, you sometimes need to get a little creative with the spread. Wheeler had been using what he calls a Party Hat, which added some flash to an O-ring circle hook ballyhoo rig. “I wanted to be able to add some color to the ballyhoo, especially for tuna,” he says. His Party Hat accomplished that goal and didn’t impede the circle hook hookup ratio on the drop back.

He met his future business partner on a liveaboard charter and they started Fish Downsea (www.fishdownsea.com), offering a line of Party Hats, Dredge Shads, Mojo rigs and more. “I would make my own tackle as a hobby,” Wheeler says. “We kept expanding on it and we’re about to start a line of trolling lures. This season I’m going to try a good array of shapes I like. We made some molds, and we’re going to try them. If I’m going to pull something, why not make it mine? If I can pull it, I can promote it.”

Charlie Levine is the publisher of FishTrack.com and the author of the fishing book, “Sucked Dry: The Struggle is Reel,” available on Amazon.