Marlin November/December 2018

How do I become a better angler?” I get asked that question quite a bit, and the short answer is that you have to go where the fish are. Is it simplistic? Absolutely. But it’s also an unfortunate truth, especially for those of us who don’t have front-door access to a world-class fishery. A professional captain friend of mine uses the analogy of hitting golf balls down at the driving range. If you want to be a good golfer, you need practice — lots of it — but if you only have the opportunity to hit six balls a year at the range, even if you smack the last one perfectly straight and long, it’s going to be another 12 long months before you can hit six more. On the…

editor@marlinmag.com MULTIGENERATIONAL FISHING There is one item I may have failed to mention when we last spoke about winning the Big Rock this year. Rob Warren’s dad, Bob, is the man who started the Honey Hush adventure for Rob and myself a long time ago. Bob introduced his young son Rob to offshore fishing back in the mid-1970s; I joined the Honey Hush team in summer 1980. Medical issues sidelined Bob for the past several years, and we really missed him being on the boat for this year’s Big Rock victory. After securing the Big Rock win late on Saturday, June 17, we were able to speak with Bob by phone and share our elation with him. Rob posted a very fitting and moving tribute to his father on the…

“LEFT TEASER!” A sharp shout from the bridge results in a mad scramble in the cockpit below: Clear the daisy chain and get a pitch bait in the water — fast. The fish is still there; it’s switching to the ballyhoo you’ve free-spooled back just past the boat’s second wave. Eyes locked on the bait, ready for the bite that’s coming at any second. And just when everything is executed perfectly, what you might have thought was a lit-up striped marlin turns into a mahimahi. Fooled you. LOCATION Pepper Ailor captured the action during a day on Reel Screamer, fishing in Costa Rica. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Nikon D7100 LENS: Nikon 55-300mm ISO: 200 APERTURE: f/4.5 SPEED: 1/1250 sec…

You became a grandfather for the first time. Congratulations. Thanks! My oldest daughter just had a baby girl, and everyone is doing fine. It’s funny, my granddaughter was born in the same hospital in High Point, North Carolina, that I was. Caterpillar has always been a popular engine choice for the Carolina boatbuilders. Why is there such a close relationship? Back in the 1990s, the engine technology was changing, and the weight started to become reasonable for the boats. At around the same time, the builders were maturing and the historically core group really started to gain momentum. Back then, we had Buddy Davis building quite a few boats. Hatteras, Rampage and Tiara were here, plus all of the custom builders in the Outer Banks. When we transitioned from the…

Our editors’ picks for unique gift-giving this season MODERN ARTISANS MONEY CLIP Hand-forged in Maryland, this handsome bronze money clip is embellished with a marlin in layers of hand-cut, textured German silver to create a three-dimensional likeness. The distressed dark patina provides surface highlights while also giving it an antique, timeworn character. The sturdy clip is constructed of solid 18-gauge bronze. modernartisans.com BAJA CAFE CUSTOM - AGED TEQUILA Starting with your preferred agave silver tequila, Baja Cafe will store and age it in your own American oak 5-liter barrel. A true reposado occurs in six months or more, and an añejo in one year or more. The barrel-aging process imparts color and flavor — smoothing the taste — and the barrel can be used as many times as you like.…

Capt. Jerry Owens has only been to Bermuda twice, as a mate on different boats. Bringing the 61-foot Viking Playmaker to Bermuda for the first time this season, the team managed to stay just steps ahead of the 41 other teams to win the 2018 Bermuda Triple Crown Series by releasing 10 blue marlin and one white marlin — all caught by owner Phil DePaulis’ 24-year-old son, Andrew. LEG ONE: BERMUDA BILLFISH BLAST Playmaker was fishing Challenger Bank alone. The team ended up going one for two on blues the first day, and was looking forward to Day Two. “First day of the tournament season, we were on the board and feeling good, and then I hit something,” says Owens. “The haul-out and wheel change cost us most of Day…