Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2025 i Marlin

+ SEVERAL PROS SHARE THEIR MUST-HAVES FOR ON THE WATER. BROWN GADDY FREELANCE MATE NAGS HEAD, NORTH CAROLINA Ever since I started fishing, Hot Pockets have always been one of my favorite snacks on the water. They are super easy to make, can be stored in the freezer right next to your bait, and of course are very tasty! Compared with some other options, Hot Pockets don’t take very long at all to make—just under three minutes. This makes cooking them super efficient and keeps you from missing anything going on in the spread. They also don’t require a plate, a bowl or even silverware, just a paper towel or two—not to mention that everything tastes better on a boat! BRAD NEZAT MISS REMY NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA I do all…

I was lucky to have been born in a home so close to the Gulf of Mexico—or is it the Gulf of America? As someone fortunate enough to be raised in one of the five states it borders, I’ve always just called it the Gulf and was introduced to her waters by my father at a young age. Although hard to see for the uninitiated, there are perks to having to run 100 to 200 miles offshore before you deploy a bait, such as being on an overnighter in calm weather and watching the sun set, an orange ball of fire sinking into the horizon in a sky painted colors that even Sherwin-Williams can’t name. When the stars come out, there’s nothing like it! The sky is black velvet, sprinkled…

For as long as I’ve worked in the fishing industry, I’ve heard about the Offshore World Championship—the camaraderie, the competition, the passion. To many, it’s the crown jewel of international sport fishing, representing a vintage, time-honored approach to tournament fishing in a time that’s dominated by high-dollar events. Until this past April, I had never attended the event in person. And now, having witnessed it firsthand, I understand why this tournament commands such reverence from the global angling community. Held April 6 to 10 at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica, the 2025 Costa OWC wasn’t just a tournament for the participating teams—it was a pilgrimage. The tournament had thirty-four teams, 158 anglers, and 19 nations—Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, Oman, the US and many more—each sending their qualifying…

In his book Fishing the Atlantic, Kip Farrington Jr. credits Capt. Harry Driscoll from Beach Haven, New Jersey, with taking his charter boat on its own bottom to Bermuda in 1935. No doubt, Driscoll had plenty of extra petrol for his journey in metal drums on the long transit. From that time onward, into the 1990s, the 55-gallon drum remained the easiest solution, especially with the advent of the lighter plastic drum, which was significantly less harmful to the boat. However, from the 1960s through the ’80s, some captains had custom aluminum tanks made to fit their cockpit. I recall some 43-foot Merritts and various Rybovich builds arriving in Isla Mujeres with these long tanks on either side of the fishing chair. They provided enough fuel for the boats to…

When Luke and Jenn Williams left the Florida Keys for life on the mainland, they also decided it was time to switch gears on their boat. After years running a variety of center-consoles—both V-hulls and cats—they wanted something better suited for extended trips, chasing marlin in the Bahamas and fishing offshore in comfort. After they consulted with several builders, both custom and production, a meeting with Scott Jastrzembski at Release Boatworks sealed the deal. The 46 Express was exactly what they needed. SPECS LOA: 46' BEAM: 15' DRAFT: 3'10" DISPL.: 35,000 LB. FUEL: 600 GAL. WATER: 158.5 GAL. POWER: TWIN MAN I6 850 HP COCKPIT AND BRIDGE Stepping aboard newly christened Riff Raff, docked behind the Williams' home in Vero Beach, you immediately notice the spacious cockpit and the well-appointed…

Some people chase success. Others seem destined to find it. Daniel Miers has experienced a bit of both. Born in New Orleans and raised on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Miers has forged a life rooted in resilience, resourcefulness and a relentless work ethic. From operating fishing charters to running oil-field logistics companies, Miers’ journey to success has been linked directly to his hustle. But in 2022, destiny intervened. I recently sat down with Miers, now the owner of the iconic King Sailfish Mounts, to talk about fishing, families, the “blue skies” he sees in the taxidermy business, and why he’s betting big on his Cajun roots. M What was your introduction to fishing? My earliest memories are of my dad waking me up before daylight to go…

A few years ago, my husband, Brooks Smith, and I made the decision to venture across the Atlantic in search of giant blue marlin, with a new goal of pursuing world records. Brooks suggested I set my sights on the women’s 50-pound-test record, which stood at 802 pounds and was captured back in 1986 in the Canary Islands. Of course, we were also prepared for the rare opportunity for an All-Tackle record, but Brooks felt we had a real shot at achieving a record on 50-pound test. To start the journey, we shipped our 77-foot Willis, Uno Mas, to the Canary Islands. From there, she would head to Cape Verde, Madeira, and finally to the Azores to finish the season. Our first trips to the Azores in August and early…

THE GEOGRAPHIC ISOLATION of New Zealand didn’t really hit me until about seven hours after wheels up from LAX. I’d already watched two in-flight movies back-to-back and figured I’d check the flight tracker to see where we were, even though we were only halfway through the flight. Big mistake. The screen lit up with nothing but ocean and one lonely plane icon drifting across the Pacific like a single ant on a blue dinner plate. That was enough of that. On a flight like this, sleep isn’t an option for me. It would be easy to blame the tiny seats or snoring passengers, but the reality is I was just too damn excited. New Zealand had been at the very top of my bucket list for as long as I could…

YOU SIT ON THE MEZZANINE, looking into the wash behind the boat. The shadows that emerge, knifing through the water highlighted by streaks of neon, seem drawn to you. Maybe it’s the sonar; maybe it’s the 70-foot marvel you’re fishing aboard—a vessel that somehow combines all the luxury of a waterfront condo with the ability to cruise at 40-plus knots. Many things about the modern sport-fishing experience are amazing. We often take such things for granted. It is not just the boat that raises the 27 billfish you’ll release on your trip. It likely has something to do with the 100 split-tailed mullet on the dredges, or the fresh Spanish mackerel that punctuate the flittering squid chains. For the whites and sails, you’re prepared—the dink rods are rigged, and three…

Fishing Skip Smith’s The Shootout: Production vs. Custom has become an annual tradition for me. Each year, I look forward to hopping aboard Sonny Boy with a crew of longtime friends, all of us bonded by good stories, a few decent fish, and a shared belief that you don’t always need to be the most polished team on the dock to make a little magic happen offshore. Back in 2021, that philosophy paid off for us and produced the biggest blue of the tournament. So we’ve stuck with it—pull big lures for a big fish and hope it pays off. It doesn’t always make for the most exciting days on the water, but at a tournament like this when you’re competing against truly professional teams, you’ve got to pick your…

I caught my first sailfish when I was 8 years old off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, in a little boat my dad built. Back then, catching any billfish off Savannah was a rare event, and it sparked something in me that never faded. For the past 30-plus years, my professional life has been wrapped up in Release Marine. When I started the company, my mission wasn’t to make money—it was to build the best fighting chair in the world. Period. I spent 15 years tearing chairs apart, redesigning hardware, reshaping seats and rethinking every detail, all in pursuit of something better. That mindset—obsess over quality, focus on the why and how—guided everything I did. And it eventually led me to my next challenge. After decades of traveling to tournaments…

In the world of billfish conservation, innovation is born from collaboration. Few examples showcase this better than The Skillie Project, a community-based initiative transforming the way conservation work is approached. At its heart, The Skillie Project was inspired by the momentum of The Marlin Fly Project, which united a dynamic team of anglers, scientists and locals in Magdalena Bay, Mexico, to satellite-tag striped marlin via fly-fishing. In total, 15 striped marlin were successfully satellite-tagged and released on the fly, providing critical data on migration, behavior and habitat use. However, it was the collaboration among those involved that made this research unforgettable. Local knowledge elevated the science, helping our team locate the fish. In turn, science elevated the local community, helping to develop trust and build a platform where The Billfish…

Many of the emails and messages I receive politely call me sir. The questionable calls to wed a foreign princess or routine ads for Viagra have always been a source of amusement. While my name combined with my choice of profession may initially cause others to assume otherwise, I am indeed a woman. I’ve been working as a photographer and writer specializing in sport-fishing content for just shy of a decade now. I’ve been fortunate to cover the many characters, destinations and tournaments that form the bedrock of this wild sport and industry. However, I didn’t grow up around bluewater fishing. My dad is an avid angler, but he never took much interest in offshore fishing, save the occasional wahoo or mahi trip when on vacation. So when I first…

Among the rewards after a long, toasty day offshore is the ability to relax inside a cool, refreshing salon or grab some much-needed rest on a chilled mezzanine. Historically those comfort levels have been provided by chilled-water air-conditioning systems. But a new player in the sport-fishing market is offering an alternative that has many ancillary benefits. Termodinamica—Italian for “thermodynamics”—has a long-standing reputation in the European mega-yacht industry, and now its systems are being installed or retrofitted into US-based sport-fishers as well. Using variable-refrigerant-volume directexpansion technology, the system controls individual air handlers to deliver efficient, on-demand cooling with minimal power consumption. “Our direct expansion system has been in the market since 2012. We’ve taken the VRV technology, tweaked it and tailored it for the marine environment,” says Hunter Parker, sales director…

Blackwell Boatworks, a staple of custom builders on the East Coast for more than 30 years, enters a new era as Craig Blackwell passes the torch to his son Jeff and son-in-law, Bow. The first build under this leadership is Oh Well, a 50XL sport-fisher commissioned by a returning owner and designed for versatility across fishing styles. Compact yet capable, she blends classic Carolina lines with modern features such as a reverse chine for a smoother ride. The result is a forward-looking, high-performance platform that honors Blackwell’s custom heritage while embracing innovation. SPECS LOA: 50'11" BEAM: 16'11" DRAFT: 4'6" DISPL.: 53,485 LB. FUEL: 800 GAL. POWER: 900 HP (2) GEARS/RATIO: ZF400A/2.192 PROPELLERS: VEEM 31X48 4-BLADE PAINT: AWLGRIP CRYSTAL SILVER CLIMATE CONTROL: MABRU COCKPIT AND BRIDGE The cockpit of Oh Well…