By Christopher Swanhart
Walking the docks of any boat show, you’ll see a plethora of boats. Our industry is filled with use-driven designs—motor yachts, expedition yachts, high-speed center consoles, low speed trawlers, the list goes on, including one of my favorites, sportfishing yachts.
The 43’ Release Boatworks Gameboat is for the boat owner who values compact maneuverability paired with a large cockpit and spacious sleeping accommodations. This family-friendly battlewagon combines Release Boatworks’ classically engineered seaworthy hull with lofty accommodations below for overnight trips, as well as a highly fishable cockpit and clean wake for chasing pelagics offshore.
Step aboard the 72-foot Bayliss Old Reliable with a private tour from Smith as he takes us around his new boat, which splashed in July of 2021. The custom-built craft was specifically designed for chasing billfish on fly and was recently prepped for a multi-year Pacific tour.
And the day before Old Reliable shipped out, Nick Smith and Capt. Chip Shafer provided InTheBite with a guided walk-through to talk about the boat’s personal touches and offshore capabilities. It is rare to see a boat so personally customized for one goal and that is chasing and catching billfish on fly.
