InTheBite

Young Guns: Captain Drake Sawyer

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picture of Drake Sawyer

On Location

57-foot Capps Boatworks

Owner: Paul Knowles

By Charlie Levine

Many captains are born into the fishing industry and taken under the wing of their fathers or an uncle. But you don’t have to be born into this industry to succeed. The majority of captains who make it to the top of the ladder work harder than the rest and never stop learning. Drake Sawyer falls in line with that ethos. And when you have some of the biggest names in offshore fishing singing your praises, you know you’re doing something right.

The 29-year-old captain is originally from Port Aransas, Texas. Drake began working on boats at 14 and never stopped. He started as a mate on charter boats and head boats (party boats, if you’re from Port Aransas), fishing for king mackerel and red snapper in the Gulf. When he was 16, he fished his first billfish tournament on a 31 Bertram.

“That was my first exposure to tournaments,” Sawyer says. “The runs were long and very wet on that 31. We didn’t billfish much on that boat, but we fished a handful of tournaments. The majority of the time we were meat fishing.”

Throughout high school the burgeoning young skipper bounced around and kept working on head boats. Soon he landed a job on a 61-footer but when the skipper took the boat to Mexico, he left Drake without a ride.

Looking at the back of the On Location boat

The On Location and Capt. Drake are switiching from a numbers approach in Costa Rica to fishing for large blue marlin in Madeira in 2019 and 2020.

“That winter I had just left college and I was working on any boat I could,” he says. “The captain of a 42 Tiara named On Location saw me buffing a boat in the middle of a cold front and asked me if I could help him. After he had seen my hard work, he asked me to fish with him in Mexico, so I ended up fishing down there that season regardless.”

On Location was owned by Paul Knowles from Corpus Christi, Texas. Ten years later, Drake is still working for Paul. From 2009 to 2011 Drake mated on the boat as they fished Isla Mujeres and Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, and then headed back to the Gulf for the summer.

In 2010, Paul purchased a 57-foot custom boat built by Nelva Capps of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The boat was only four years old at the time and had 800 hours on it. With a larger boat, the On Location team began traveling more. They ventured over the Bahamas then up to Massachusetts in search of giant bluefin tuna before heading back down the coast to fish the Gulf circuit. Then in 2013 they set sail for the Pacific, running through the Panama Canal.

They fished Piñas Bay, and upon the urging of Drake, decided to hit the FADs in Costa Rica. That was their home base until this past fall.

As the mate, Drake kept learning everything he could from tackle to engine maintenance. In 2014, Drake got his shot to run the program. He was 24.

“A lot of the things the previous captains taught me turned out to be incorrect,” Drake says. “We started fishing the tournaments in Costa Rica and I realized I had no idea how to sailfish, at least down there where you’re fishing next to some of the best in the world in one of the best fisheries. We needed to learn how to do this or we were just wasting money. I asked questions to everyone on the dock I possibly could.”

The young skipper befriended some of the most respected captains in the industry. Gentlemen like Bubba Carter, John Bayliss and Chip Shafer. Those were the men he fished next to, and those were the men he emulated. Drake’s hard work in the cockpit and bilge paid off. He caught an average of 900 billfish per season in Costa Rica and released his 1,000th blue marlin at the age of 28.

marlin jumping behind On Location boat

“I took the boat over with 3,000 hours on it,” he says. “We’re at 10,700 now, in the last five years. We’ve been fishing it hard.”

In Costa Rica, the crew exclusively teaser fished, and they’ve got it dialed. “Paul would come by himself to fish the FADs for five days, and he pitches every single fish,” Drake says. “On his best day he caught 20 blue marlin. The boat caught 22. The only reason Paul didn’t catch the other two was because they were doubles.”

For any boat to put up big numbers and hit goals, the crew must work together. “Paul is a really good boss to work for,” Drake says. “We always come up with a game plan, but when it comes time to fish, he trusts me to make the calls.”

After finishing their Costa Rica deployment in 2018, the On Location headed to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to fish Cabo and Mag Bay. “I’d been egging Paul on to do that trip for the last couple of years. When we decided to move the boat out of the Pacific, it made sense to take advantage of that destination before we go. We got lucky and hit it on a good year.”

The team fished three multi-day trips out of Mag Bay for a total of 12 days of fishing. They released 652 striped marlin – more than 200 billfish per trip! “It’s an absolute incredible fishery,” Drake says.

After Mag Bay, the On Location headed back to the U.S. to get some work done for its next big adventure… Madeira, the Canaries and Portugal. “We let our 1,000th blue marlin go this last FAD season in Costa Rica and now we want to go and try to catch a 1,000-pounder,” Drake says. That’s quite a changeup from teaser fishing on light tackle.

Captain Drake Sawyer at the helm

After more than 1,000 blue marlin, Drake may be as comfortable with the boat in reverse as going forward.

The plan is to ship the boat to Madeira in June and keep it there for two seasons. In 2020, they’ll embark on some serious travel, fishing for tuna in the Canary Islands in March and April, grander blue marlin in Madeira from May through August, white marlin off Portugal in September and October, then back to the Canaries.

There is much work to be done. It’s a 13-year-old custom boat, so there’s plenty of glass and finish work to keep them busy. They’re also installing a transformer to be able to keep regular voltage with Euro power. And then there’s the tackle.

“We’ve got a lot to learn about heavy tackle,” Drake says. “I’m looking forward to switching gears. It’s a whole new fishery to put my mind to. My boss and I have been working really hard. He’s working on his technique as an angler, and I’m working on mine as a captain.”

They’ll be fishing 130-pound tackle almost exclusively, at least in the beginning. “I don’t want the right one to show up and be under-gunned,” Drake says. “I’m starting to gear my head toward the tackle and getting as many recommendations as I can as to what we need before I get over there. It’s going to be fun.”

The crew has caught two blues around 700 pounds in the Gulf of Mexico and a handful of blue marlin in the 350- to 400-pound range in Costa Rica. It’s definitely a big learning curve but the young captain is ready to put his skills to the test.

“We will start lure fishing then move over to teaser fishing,” he says. “If we get to switch on one over 800 pounds, we’ll have accomplished our goal.”

The opportunity to travel and experience new fisheries is the ultimate dream job for Capt. Drake Sawyer, but it took a lot of hard work to make it happen. “Fishing is all I’ve ever done,” he says. “Luckily I’ve had an owner like Paul who has given me lots of opportunity to spend time on the water.”

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

Nominate an InTheBite Young Gun

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Know any up and comers? InTheBite is calling for nominations for our Young Guns features. To be eligible must be a full time sportfishing captain (private or charter) 33 years old or younger. Having a great story, running an interesting operation, or just being a good person who can catch fish will put a nomination in the running.

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The Young Guns of Sportfishing: Chris Kubik

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By Elliott Stark

Although you have to be pretty dedicated to fishing to buy and run a bluewater charter boat, there are some people whose desire to make a sportfishing career happen goes the extra mile. Captain Chris Kubik is one of those people. Having grown up in Atlanta, Kubik travelled to the Outer Banks in the summers as a child. When he was 16, he saved up enough to charter a boat. After catching a white marlin, he was hooked.

Growing up Kubik would read anything about fishing he could get his hands on – magazines, fishing reports, you name it. “I read a story about a guy who wanted to fish and headed to the dock to start handing out ice until he got a job fishing…So that’s what I did,” Kubik recalls.

“I loaded up my Honda Accord and headed to Oregon Inlet. I drove overnight from Atlanta, it took about nine hours. I got there early and slept in my car for an hour and I started handing out ice. I got a job on an inshore boat about three weeks later and started picking up freelance offshore trips from there,” he says.

Kubik rented a place to sleep while waiting for his fishing dreams to materialize. Does this sound like an awesome thing to do? “It definitely was not awesome. It was terrible. I rented a piece of crap trailer – it was the most God-awful place you could imagine. It was rented by the week, if that tells you anything. There was a house on some land with a bunch of trailers on the property. It was a bunch of crackheads and me. I was afraid to unload my stuff out of my car because they might have stolen it,” Kubik says.

Kubik worked on the inshore boat over the summer and soon made friends with a mate who had an extra room where he stayed. His living conditions improved and Kubik has never looked back. “Fin Gaddy had an opening,” Chris recalls. An owner/operator, Gaddy runs the Qualifier, a 54-foot Mann, out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. “I knew the mate who was leaving and Fin let me freelance for a couple of days. I’m not sure why he hired me because to be honest at the time I was not very good… I guess he thought he could teach me and he did.”

Captain Chris Kubik – Point Runner, 60-foot Guthrie

Kubik would fish with Gaddy for ten years. Fin provides a bit of perspective on what makes Kubik such a force on the water. “He just has a competitive spirit about him. When I first met him, he’d only fished a little bit offshore. He was such a genuinely nice and sincere person that it almost made me uncomfortable,” Gaddy says with a bit of a laugh. Soon after hiring Kubik, Gaddy and the Qualifier headed to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. “He’d never caught a sailfish. After two days he’d caught 58. It was sort of a trial by fire. Chris got to learn in the right places. It was his dream to come here and fish and he made it happen.”

“Fin taught me everything I know about marlin fishing – teasers, dredges, maneuvering on fish. Attention to detail was the biggest thing – the importance of keeping everything perfect… knots, connections, everything. He is very meticulous in that regard,” Kubik recalls. “If he wanted to teach me to rig something on our day off, he would pull out five or six mackerel and show me how to do it. A lot of guys won’t do that because they don’t want to waste the bait.”

“When I left the Qualifier, I started mating on the Point Runner. I would run it when Capt. Danny Wadsworth (owner/operator) needed a day off. I worked there for three years and bought it last year,” says Kubik. The Point Runner is a 60-foot Guthrie powered by c12.9 Cats. Kubik’s operation is based out of the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. Kubik follows in one of sportfishing’s greatest traditions – the North Carolina owner/operator charterman.

When asked about the lessons he has learned along the way, Kubik provides some wise perspective. “Spend time learning before you think about moving up,” he says. Advice to young guys breaking into the industry? “Don’t feel like you deserve anything… because you don’t. These days it seems like there is a lot of entitlement. All the young kids want to be paid to ride out. Don’t be afraid to start on the bottom and work your way up. If you work hard and are motivated, you’ll succeed in fishing. If you look around at tournaments, most guys pull the same thing. But if you pay attention to detail, you can stand out.”

You can find Captain Chris Kubik and the Point Runner available for charter out of Oregon Inlet most of the year. In the winter time, Kubik runs a private boat – the Sea Hag, a 61-foot Blackwell – in Florida and Isla Mujeres. If you’d like to book a trip with Captain Chris Kubik, send him a note at Chris@pointrunner.com

or visit www.pointrunner.com.

The Young Guns of Sportfishing: Captain Deane Lambros

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by Capt. Jen Copeland

When the owner of Canyon Runner Charters, Captain Adam LaRosa, sends a message nominating one of his captains be featured in a future Young Guns expose’, it’s quite an endorsement. Rarely does an owner have the time to read such features, but to have him take the time to describe his captain is inspiring. Originally from Westport, Connecticut, Captain Deane Lambros, one of our younger guns, runs and oversees much of the Canyon Runner operations – from maintenance to charter trips. Deane has worked for the company since he was 19.

Six years ago, Lambros was in the middle of an oil change when Mr. LaRosa approached him with an opportunity that changed his life. One of the Runner’s captains was unable to make a scheduled trip and LaRosa asked if 22-year-old Deane was comfortable running the boat.  Without hesitation, his answer was an unequivocal, “Yes.”

With three years of training fresh in his mind, Captain Deane took the helm of his first Canyon Runner charter. Banking on the confidence LaRosa had in him, and remembering the old adage “safety first,” Lambros managed to keep it together enough to produce a successful trip. “Being totally in charge for the first time was a real challenge,” says Lambros. The young captain recalls being a bit out of his comfort zone on his first trip. “I was dealing with fog and trying to keep the anxiety at bay, all the while smiling and producing bites,” he recalls. Lambros’ pep talk to himself that day was a familiar one to anyone who makes a living in this line of work – one that we all have to occasionally remind ourselves of. “We’re just going fishing.”

Today with 300+ giant tunas to his credit, some 15,000 hours of wheel time, and over ten top three tournament finishes under his belt, Captain Deane has put the work in by fishing hard, fishing fast and having fun while doing it. All traits of a great captain… traits he learned at Canyon Runner. At 28, Captain Deane Lambros names nearly all past and present Canyon Runner captains as his professional influences – each bringing certain philosophies and skills to Deane’s attention. From the knowledge he’s gained at Canyon Runner, he is able to understand the needs of his charters and is confident in the critical decisions that must be made day after day. As importantly, Lambros reads between the boss’ lines in order to compliment his personality and smoothly run a business in the aggressive northeast charter industry.

No matter how grateful he may be to the “A” list of qualified professional influences, Deane gives the first and foremost credit to his parents for the example they’ve set. According to Lambros, it was his parents who “rigorously reinforced” a strong and honest work ethic during his childhood.  His father, who still works full-time at age 86, continues to lead by example to this day.

Lambros takes his job very seriously – something all prospective captains should aspire to do.  He believes young men need to prove themselves to others by demonstrating they are polished, conscientious and driven. “It’s refreshing to see a young person wanting to be part of a team and asking questions with a willingness to learn, and if you put in the effort, you will succeed.”

Mates who put safety first and represent themselves in a manner which is non-threatening to the charter guests are an important part of the customer experience. For a charter operation, those who can’t relate with people put themselves out of the running for advancement. Whether charter or private, a young mate’s attitude toward his job is a direct reflection of himself. According to Deane, “There isn’t a single boat owner who wants a reckless, unprofessional captain running their boat.”

Captain Deane Lambros’ professional philosophy is one that sets him well for decades to come. His outlook is characterized by a high level of organizational skill, situational awareness, and an ability to “play well with others.” He executes a meticulous maintenance schedule that ensures tools and spare parts for repairs on the fly are readily available, keeping the program seamless and uninterrupted.

Mature and well-spoken, Lambros’ level-headed personality has allowed him to rise up quickly in LaRosa’s army of Canyon Runners. “I have been able to accomplish in ten years at Canyon Runner what may have taken me 30 years in the private sector,” he says. “Joining a charter program will plain and simply give you a fast learning curve.”

For a young man not yet 30, Lambros’ candid understanding of what it takes to succeed in his line of work is impressive. “Charter fishing is an industry of customer service,” Deane insists. “We are expectation managers. You must know what is expected of you by the owner, the guests, and the crew. You then draw from past experiences when the weather gets dicey, the fish get finicky or the boat breaks down.” Captain Deane fully understands the many facets that go along with charter fishing. There is little doubt that owner Adam LaRosa is thankful for this—perhaps that encouraged Deane’s nomination.

The Young Guns of Sportfishing: Captain Mark Decabia

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by Capt. Jen Copeland

Some say commercial fishermen make the best fishermen: because they are just, well, fishy. At age seven Mark DeCabia began as most fishermen do, fishing with his father. Surrounded by commercial fishermen as a boy, he and his father would go tuna fishing with friends. As Mark neared his teenaged years, he found himself frequenting New York’s commercial tuna boats – eventually landing himself a deck job at age 13. “My dad would drive me to the dock each morning at 4:00 a.m.,” says Mark. “By the time I was 15, I knew this was the only thing I wanted to do for a living.”

Mark’s father was concerned his childhood love would falter, so DeCabia promised he would go to (and finish) college, “just in case.” Four years later, with a degree in Business Management and Fisheries Science from the University of Rhode Island, Mark took a job on the Canyon Runner out of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. “I started off running the boat in Miami,” he recalls. “I remember going eight for eight on sails, with a double header of swords that same night.” After a first day on the job like that, it’s no wonder that Captain Mark DeCabia hasn’t regretted a single moment since he began his fishing career.

Then 18-year-old Mark DeCabia became “Captain Mark DeCabia” – earning his ticket just one week before taking the helm of the Canyon Runner. He was working deck on a charter boat called Reel Action when a blood infection took his captain out of the game, forcing Mark to run the boat for the remainder of the season. “I was basically fed to the sharks,” he laughs. “I threw up every morning before the first ten trips I ran by myself.” Mark’s nerves finally settled, and 16 years later, he confidently splits time between Stuart, Florida and Long Island running the 52-foot Viking express called the Rebel.

“I still fish the same spots today I did as a kid,” says Mark, “but I use totally different techniques.” His modus operandi may have changed, but it has all been for the better. In 2014, DeCabia placed first in the Hamptons Offshore Invitational and placed second in 2015 in the same tournament. 2016 got him the second-place tuna award at the Montauk Canyon Challenge, and he followed that up with the MCC top boat trophy in 2017, all on the Rebel.

DeCabia’s hard-charging, private boat outlook runs a close parallel with his commercial fishing – which he still does today. “I’m the first one to the boat every morning, and the last one to leave every night, whether I’m fun fishing, commercial fishing, or tournament fishing,” he tells me. “In this business, if you’re not first, your last.” With few good, private jobs available, you must stay focused and positive to keep yours.

Mark says he is “over-prepared and confident, always staying three steps ahead” whether blue marlin fishing or targeting bait. “I try and remember on any given day there could be five guys standing on the dock waiting to take my job.” So, “when it’s time to ‘punch in’, it’s 110% until the boat is safely secured and clean.” This outlook is rooted in his dad’s advice – which Mark has taken very seriously.

With rock star influences such as Gina Lisa’s Danny Scotti, Canyon Runner’s Phil Dulanie and Northeast tuna legend Cookie Murray, I’d say whatever DeCabia took from these guys is worth its weight in gold. Scotti has been on the Gina Lisa for 31 years and is Mark’s go-to for “private” advice –  like how to approach the owners when it comes to the boat. Dulanie, although he refused to give up any of his fishing “secrets,” showed Mark how to fix most of the problems that occur on a boat.

“These are the fixes you could never read from a book, they were real-life situations,” Mark points out. When looking back, Mark is smart enough to realize that the lessons these guys taught him were more valuable than any fishing secret he could ever been given. And as for Cookie, the man who he has emulated for most of his life, Mark is just happy to be competing with him head-to-head these days.

With all the different professional philosophies floating around in the world of sportfishing, this fact remains: we are only as good as those who teach us. For Captain Mark, his philosophy is plain and simple: the safety of his passengers and condition of the boat comes first, the owner’s enjoyment follows a close second, because without them, there is no boat job, and “everything else is minor.”

Confident, trustworthy, endowed with good communication skills and an ability to adapt from commercial to private and back again, 34-year-old Captain Mark DeCabia will no doubt have some young gun naming him as an influence in the years to come. They say love what you do, and Mark is a believer… “I always want to be the first out of the inlet and the last to come home because when you love something, it’s not really work.”

This Article was in our latest April/May 2018 issue of InTheBite the Professionals’ Sportfishing Magazine. We’re adding a new feature addition to go along with the ‘Young Guns of Sportfishing’ in our next June issue that we think you’ll enjoy.. CLICK HERE & SUBSCRIBE NOW to get your copy!

The Young Guns of Sportfishing

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The Young Guns of Sportfishing

This article first appeared in our June 2017 Volume 16 Edition 5 of InTheBite The Professionals’ Sportfishing Magazine

Captain Chris Kaulen, Marlin Darlin – 62-foot Spencer Yacht

by Capt. Jen Copeland

Recent evolution in the sportfishing industry is creating opportunities for younger, level-headed, smart captains. These days, many of the owners are younger, many of the boats are faster with more range. For many operations, young captains provide the perfect fit between experience and confidence that allow today’s sportfishing programs to flourish. Just as advancement in technology allows young captains to gain experience faster, being over-confident – or just plain cocky – could easily turn bad: not smart. This series showcases some of the today’s young captains who are getting it right.

At just 29-years old, Captain Chris Kaulen found himself jumping from the cockpit to the bridge in the middle of the Bahamas tournament season. Owner Bobby Jacobsen’s confidence in young Chris was realized in May of 2015. Having worked for Jacobsen the previous three years, Chris knew the boat and hoped he was ready. The pressure was on, but Jacobsen’s decision proved true in June that same year when the Marlin Darlin won the Baker’s Bay Invitational, only to repeat the win in 2016.

To what does Chris credit the seeming ease of his transition to the bridge? “Staying positive and working hard,” says Kaulen. “No one treated me any differently once I became the captain,” he said, “I didn’t have to do anything special to prove myself, I just did the job and stayed humble.”

If you are lucky enough to know “Little Chris,” you know he is humble. Soft-spoken, supportive, and friendly, Chris knows how to make you love him – unknowingly of course. Respected for his warm personality and integrity, Captain Chris has been at this boating thing for a while.

Growing up on Pumpkin Cay, an isolated island in Biscayne Bay just a half-mile from the Ocean Reef Club, Chris found himself in a small boat at a very young age. In fact, Chris drove his boat to and from school each day. For as long as he can remember he had an interest in fishing. And at 13, young Chris was freelancing and working charters for the likes of Captains George Mitchell, Greg Graham, and Ron Crisp.

Landing his first private, traveling job on Captain Kevin Dunn’s Cajun Dancer at the age of 18 soon led Kaulen to more distant locales – mating for Ohana’s Captain Eddie Wheeler and Captain Bryce Garvey’s Bree. “I fished with as many people as I could,” says Chris, “I tried to adopt the best attributes from each captain so I could create my own style, my own philosophy.”

So, what exactly makes him Captain Chris?  “Attention to detail,” he insists, “you must stay ahead of things – the boat’s schedule, the boss’ schedule, the maintenance.” When you are suddenly propelled from a position of “neck-down,” it takes a little adjustment.  “Trying to grasp the fact that your responsibilities are now totally different…that’s the hardest part.”

Today’s young, aspiring captain must work hard and continue to learn from his mistakes, without putting the entire program out of business. Chris believes one of the biggest worries owners may face when considering a young gun would be lack of experience. Additionally, the mate who has his eye on the helm must go above and beyond the scope of his job without stepping on any toes. “When the time is right, it will happen,” says Kaulen, “no one knows that magic number (of years) when it comes to experience, but each year – each day – counts.” Obviously, nothing beats real-world experience on the water, and Kaulen believes you must be honest with yourself and know your limitations. “Mental maturity – way past your years – is extremely important in this business,” he says. On a boat there must always be the voice of reason – a leader – and that is the captain’s job.

With a new 66-foot Spencer boat on the horizon for 2018, and a Bahamas-Caribbean tour that could wear out even the hardiest of crews, Captain Chris tries to be sure anyone who steps foot on his Darlin, enjoys sportfishing as much as he does. He continues to learn – as we all should aspire to do – at the helm of the Marlin Darlin, perfecting his style and his team in the never-ceasing quest to be a competitive force in this industry. With no plans of moving on anytime soon, this skipper believes most in leading by example: “Be happy, work as a team, continue to compete, and try to win as much as possible.” After all, happy boats catch fish, don’t they?