Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Marlin

What misconceptions exist about boatbuilding? It’s not magic, there’s a lot of work involved in making a really wonderful boat. For me personally, the boat has to look good and perform really well. I learned a long time ago that there are some simple principles involved and if you don’t stray too far from those, you can produce a pretty good product; one that your customer will be proud of and love. And a happy customer is really where the magic happens. Where did you get your love for fishing and boats? My grandfather was a commercial fisherman and I grew up around the water. Our neighbor at the time was rebuilding a boat and when it was complete, I begged him to be a mate. When I saw the…

What a difference a year makes. The sailfish were either lock-jawed or absent for this year’s tournament in Palm Beach, Florida, where a fleet of 28 teams and 119 anglers took their skills to the next level, ready to compete for one of the most coveted prizes in competitive sport fishing: the Gold Cup. Unlike the previous two years —which netted 232 releases in 2018, and an incredible 448 in 2017 — 2019 proved that only the most elite fishermen would have to catch what they saw to survive the unreasonably slow fishing and have a chance to drink champagne from the golden chalice. With both dead- and live-bait divisions, the 47th annual Gold Cup produced only 58 sailfish releases in the four-day event — with sailfish released on live-bait…

Annual meetings of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission concluded in late 2018. Both of these regional fisheries bodies are charged with the international management of highly migratory species in their respective bodies of water and last year, marlin stocks were the item of discussion for both commissions. In the Pacific, the status of the western central North Pacific Ocean striped marlin stock was on the table at the 15th Regular Session of the WCPFC. According to the 2015 assessment, the WCNPO stock had experienced a long-term decline in population biomass and the stock is currently overfished and is also experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass is estimated at 1,094 metric tons, or just 39 percent of the biomass necessary…

Between intense recreational-fishing pressure, big-money tournaments and commercial-longline bycatch, the East Coast white marlin fishery was near collapse in 2000. There was talk of adding white marlin to the endangered species list because less than 20 percent of the spawning biomass was available to sustain the species. Instead of doing that, Atlantic federal marine fisheries councils issued a ruling in 2008 that required the use of circle hooks in tournaments for live or dead natural baits or bait/lure combinations. There still is no rule requiring circle hooks be used outside of Atlantic billfish tournaments — or on the West Coast — but the sentiment for such measures is positive. THE BEGINNING In 1998, circle hooks exploded on the American sport-fishing scene with Capt. Ron Hamlin’s declaration that he would use…

“We have upwards of 50 volunteers, most of them local,” says Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament volunteer coordinator Ed Szilagyi. “We recruit by word of mouth, mostly. But we also hold them hostage with the promise of free food and booze,” he adds with a laugh. Before the kick-off of the 2018 event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Szilagyi and several volunteers are busy hauling ladders and pushing a scaffold around the massive tournament tent hanging sponsor banners. “I’ve never counted all the banners, but it’s a bunch,” he says. “They go all around the perimeter of the tent and we also have two wires suspended from the ceiling with more. They all have to be put up and then taken down when it’s all over.” While the banner brigade is in…

After growing up on Florida’s Merritt Island, offshore fishing is second nature to Barry Schiedel. His enthusiasm and skill led to a successful offshore charter-fishing business. His wife Beth, daughter Brandie, and sons Ryan, Kyle and Cory joined in and, with the Gulf Stream waters east of Cape Canaveral teeming with yellowfin tuna for much of the year, the Schiedel family was always on the hunt for their next boat. Having owned various production models, it was obvious to Barry that what they needed to best serve their customers was a custom boat finely tuned to their specific needs. It could be a 100-mile run to the east side of the Gulf Stream and beyond; and day trips are rigorous jaunts. The boat needed to offer fish capacity, plenty of…

WHERE MARCH means continued good fishing for marlin and sails along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with popular tournaments in Los Sueños and Quepos this month. The Dominican Republic also lights up, with marlin biting off Casa de Campo. Closer to home, the sailfish season will be winding down in Florida, but enough fish remain to make things interesting for anglers in the Sunshine State. BITE TRACKER Stay current with the best bites from the top billfish destinations around the globe at marlinmag.com/travel.…

There couldn’t have been a prettier morning to start the first annual Fish for Holly Sailfish Tournament in Islamorada, Florida. More than 200 anglers and crew members — most of whom personally knew the event’s namesake, Holly Given — assembled to help memorialize the legacy of the young woman from the Florida Keys who lost her life to domestic violence at just 26 years old. The tournament, organized by Given’s mother Lucy, is making a difference after this tragedy by helping others who also suffer from the effects of similar circumstances. The Holly Given Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that dedicates all tournament proceeds and donations to providing scholarships and training to community members who need assistance with education, business and professional training. Nine minutes after lines in, Capt.…

As a manufacturer, no one else is quite as intimate with a product you design and craft yourself. Lure makers are able to suggest, like no other, which rigging style works best with their designs. We asked three to each build us one of their own, the way they felt it should be done. Here are the results. BRETT CRANE CRANE LURES Double trouble or double your luck? I have chosen to go with a double-hook stiff rig, which seems to produce the most efficient hook-up ratio for my lures. Our fishery on the West Coast — from Southern California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — tends to see smaller marlin on a normal fishing day, but of course there is always “the One.” Although a single-hook stiff rig has…

We have a love-hate relationship with teak. It looks amazing, provides excellent grip, hides footprints, and reduces glare, but the maintenance can be a struggle for just about anyone. When walking the docks during a tournament, it is clear that these teams might be hard on their equipment, but they also maintain their boats to arguably the highest standards in the industry. Sometimes, the products and techniques that work for a more conventional boater or even for a motoryacht simply are not right for them. In the outfitting business, we are asked every day: What is the latest and greatest in teak maintenance? Like many products, there are trends and what is popular today might not be popular tomorrow. I have also realized that it is not which product is…

Boats are oftentimes owned in various types of entities for purposes of liability protection. Whether the protection is actually provided has been discussed in previous columns. Regardless of the protections afforded, buyers sometimes purchase an entity itself rather than the assets within it for purposes of tax avoidance. As with anything else, this option is not applicable in every situation, but it can be beneficial in certain scenarios. WHAT IS THE INCENTIVE? The purchase of a vessel is normally subject to sales or use tax, with rates dependent on the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. However, the purchase of an entity, such as a limited liability company or a corporation, is typically not subject to sales or use tax. Such taxes are not assessed on the purchase and sale of…

THROWBACK In 2008, photographer Harry Hindmarsh headed to Venezuela with Capts. Fin Gaddy and Paul Mann. “This was our calmest day at a solid 5 feet,” he reports, “and most days the seas were 8 to 10 feet — but the fish were there. The political situation has since become difficult for American anglers, but we do have some terrific memories from our time there.” LOCATION Hindmarsh was fishing out of Caraballeda, Venezuela, with Capt. Butch Cox aboard the 57-foot Paul Mann, Prime Time. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Canon EOS-1DmIII LENS: 70-200mm f/2.8 ISO: 160 APERTURE: f/3.5 SPEED: 1/2000 sec…

At the end of November 2018, social-media feeds around the world were jammed with rumors of a 1,400-pound-plus black marlin caught by Rob Crane and Capt. Russell Gage aboard Crane’s 56-foot Viking, Too Easy II. This is Gage’s firsthand account of that amazing encounter. On Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, we were fishing 20 nautical miles east of Lady Musgrave Island on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Crane and I have been fishing together for 22 years, and it was just another day on the south end of the reef, putting our time in like we had done for the past three years. We’d caught a good number of fish here, most of them blue marlin, with a couple in the 600-pound-class range. But I had a suspicion that…

I hadn’t seen my friend Capt. Anthony Mendillo in what seemed like forever. We met at the Viking Service Center many years ago, and when he invited me to spend a week with him and his wife, Kin, in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, I agreed I would — someday. The years passed, but when he extended another invitation, I jumped at the chance. I had never been to Isla before, though I had always wanted to go. Visions of 30-fish days, amazing guacamole and the ancient Mayan culture were on my brain; after all, who doesn’t love tacos? So this time, without a single hesitation, I booked a ticket: nonstop, Miami to Cancun. ON ISLAND TIME Stepping off the Ultra Mar ferry onto the island’s main drag — Avenida Rueda Medina…

Not every day is going to be bluebird calm with light and variable winds. There will always be times when the wind is honking, the seas are running heavy and you question whether the reward is worth the price you know you are going to pay. And in tournaments, that question becomes moot: With money and prestige on the line, weather be damned. For some, fishing in rough water is a choice to head offshore or stay at the dock. For others, it is a way of life. There are locations where big marlin roam in unforgiving sea conditions, such as Cape Verde, Ghana, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Madeira and Brazil. And there are hot spots where vast numbers of billfish can be found, but you’re forced deal with winds…

Jarrett Bay Boatworks’ Hull No. 66, Sea Wish, will have an overall length of 67 feet, 6 inches and a beam of 19 feet, 6 inches. Twin Caterpillar 1,925 hp C32A engines, a fuel capacity of 2,000 gallons, and multiple lightweight carbon-fiber components keep the power-to-weight ratio high — offering a cruising range of more than 700 nautical miles. To keep the boat steady in all sea conditions, two Seakeeper 9s will be installed in the pump room, spaced symmetrically off centerline. This allows for a clean, open passageway from the engine room all the way aft to the lazarette. For remote-power generation, Sea Wish will rely on two Caterpillar C2.2T gensets, rated at 27 kW each, for continuous duty. Belowdecks, Hull No. 66 will have a four-stateroom, three-head layout…

Who would have thought that I would ever be on a tournament committee, much less be the director or even the president of a series of events? I was always the mate or captain in the back of the room, making too much noise during the rules meetings. Now I run the Custom Shootout with more than 50 boats and a long waiting list, plus several other events. Looking back at so many old tournaments, billfish were always brought back to the dock because nobody would ever believe you actually released a marlin or sailfish. Back then, many tournaments were held during the slow times of year to help out the charter boats and keep the crews busy. For example, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had only two big events each year…