Innehållsförteckning för April - May 2016 från Marlin

A friend once yelled from the bridge on the last day of a tournament — and no, it wasn’t the fat lady — “It’s not over till it’s over!” We’ve all had those incredibly slow days when time doesn’t seem to tick away fast enough. Yet, it’s often in those final minutes where tournaments are won or lost, so you need to make them count. Several years ago during the Presidential Challenge in Guatemala, the final minute made all the difference for our team to stay in the running when everything looked like it was against us. Fishing aboard the 37-foot Intensity with Capt. Mike Sheeder, we hopped out to an early lead during the first day of the tournament. If I remember correctly, we released 11 sails and a…

When he’s not spending time with family or running his heavy highway construction business, Jr. Davis can probably be found in the cockpit of Wave Paver, his 61-foot Garlington, somewhere in the Caribbean. In 2015, the team fished a total of 11 events from South Florida to the Bahamas and St. Thomas, with a similar schedule planned this season. Rather than get burned out from the grind of competition, Davis thrives on it and looks forward to each event as a welcome challenge. And more often than not, his team has proven their ability to not just fish hard but emerge victorious as well. Favorite destinations? It’s hard to beat the U.S. and British Virgin Islands for blue marlin. They’re both really pretty places; from June through September when the…

JANUARY 20 - 23, LOS SUEÑOS, COSTA RICA Further cementing its reputation as one of the hottest tournament teams in the Pacific, Tranquilo won the first leg of the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown in Costa Rica. The team, led by owners Ken and Amanda Cofer, stayed in the hunt with consistent fishing each day. By the end of the tournament, they topped the leaderboard with 66 sailfish and three marlin releases for 8,100 points. “We had great teamwork, knowing what the other anglers are going to do without saying a whole lot, and also good karma for this tournament,” says Tranquilo owner Ken Cofer. “We have a great captain too. Victor Julio doesn’t get down on us when we miss a fish, and that helps.” Agitator took second place…

In January, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries certified a new state record for white marlin. Neil Manning of Ashburn, Virginia, landed the 138-pound fish on November 16, 2015, while fishing off Hatteras, North Carolina, aboard Fin Again with Capt. Kenny Koci. They were targeting blackfin tuna and amberjack over a wreck with live menhaden when the big white struck. After a 30-minute battle, the crew had the fish boat-side Koci then noticed rounded fins, indicative of a white marlin — not a small blue — so the crew made the decision to take the fish as a possible state record. On deck, it measured 85 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail, with a girth of 37 inches. Manning’s white marlin…

The Billfish Foundation expanded its Tag & Release Competition in 2015 by establishing another regional competition, the SoFlo Sailfish Circuit. This regional competition follows on the heels of TBF’s first regional competition in the Gulf of Mexico, which debuted in 2014. The SoFlo Sailfish Circuit not only provides crews in the region a chance to compete with other locations in the Atlantic, it allows TBF to engage with some of the best local crews right in their backyard of South Florida. The lady anglers gave a strong performance during the 2015 competition: Dawn Samuels won Top Tagging Lady Angler, and CeCe Imbrie took top honors for Top Release Pro Lady Angler. Some familiar names showed up in the competition, including Capt. Bouncer Smith, who won for Top Pro Captain; the…

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING inherently special about a tournament in which the participants fail to catch any fish two years in a row, yet everyone still has a great time and can’t wait to get back the next year. Such is the case with the Cat Cay Tuna Tournament. The team from Costa Sunglasses revived this extraordinary event several years ago after a 23-year hiatus, and those who remember the heyday of bluefin tuna fishing in this quiet corner of the Bahamas couldn’t wait to give it another try. This was the 50th Cat Cay Tuna Tournament, the second one held since its rebirth. The original fishery was the stuff of legends. The inaugural tournament debuted in 1939 and quickly became one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.…

BITE TRACKER Stay current with the best bites from the top billfish destinations around the globe at marlinmag.com/travel. WHERE APRIL/MAY Spring brings warmer temperatures and excellent billfish action across the globe. The Bahamas, Dominican Republic and the western coast of Africa begin to heat up for blue marlin, while Hawaii offers perhaps the best shot at a spearfish. Marlin Magic’s Capt. Bryan Toney says there will also be some big Kona blues around as well, so be prepared for a fish of a lifetime if you head to this hot spot.…

LEAH BAUMWELL, CONSERVATION COORDINATOR, IGFA On July 10, 2015, the second day of the Bermuda Big Game Classic, Shon Craig tagged an estimated 150-pound blue marlin with the third satellite tag of the 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda, IGFA Great Marlin Race. The tag, sponsored by Galati Yacht Sales, was deployed after angler Sharyn Craig caught the fish aboard Amarula Sun with Capt. Danny Veid. After 131 days, the satellite tag popped up and revealed that the blue marlin swam a remarkable 2,293 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde, taking a direct migratory path east after spending some time west of Bermuda. As of this writing, this blue marlin is not only leading the 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR, it is in first place for the entire 2015-2016 IGMR race…

© SCOTT KERRIGAN / WWW.AQUAPAPARAZZI.COM I am a very lucky guy, but even so, sometimes Lady Luck delivers another great opportunity that makes me feel unworthy. Such was the case this January when I fished aboard the 64-foot Southern Pride in the first leg of the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown Series. Known as a hard-charging team that always places near the top, Southern Pride’s reputation was a little intimidating to me at first. I didn’t want to jump on and screw up a good boat’s program (See Off The Deep End, page 130). But I knew fishing with them in Costa Rica would give me the chance to talk to some old friends and new young captains who could share some of their tips on preparing their teams for…

No matter if it’s baseball, football or any other sport, participants constantly change and improve different aspects of the game. Competitive offshore fishing is no exception — one could sit and write a novel of the reasons how and why the level of competition has risen to where it is today. The continuous evolution of tackle and tactics is prevalent in every big-game fishery around the world, but in recent years, one fishing technique in particular has become very trendy in the Gulf of Mexico: live-baiting. So, how is one of the oldest and most effective tricks in the book changing the way people fish? Simple: It wins tournaments. A DIFFERENT SCENEWhat you would have seen a few years ago aboard any given tournament boat in the Gulf is completely…

Hot off a win at the Pelican Yacht Club Billfish Tournament in January, Grand Slam, the new 50-footer from Forbes Boat Works, is ready for the summer marlin tournament season in the Bahamas and up the East Coast. Grand Slam splashed in October, and she’s already placed in three of the four tournaments she’s fished — odds that her owner Wallis Higginbotham hopes will continue. “We built her to be the perfect East Coast sailfish boat, and she’s proven to be a darn good one already,” he says. THE BUILD Constructed by Irving Forbes in Wanchese, North Carolina, this is the first flybridge he’s worked on since departing from his position at Spencer Yachts in 2011. “We only have the ability to build up to a 57-footer in our shop,…

Hanging up the phone, I felt a flood of conflicting emotions sweep through my mind. I’m angling in the Los Sueños tournament! And then: I hope I don’t let them down! What if I miss every bite?! Holy crap! I could be the laughingstock of every dock from Cabo to Quepos! The phone calls from laughing Marlin U students could keep my phone buzzing for a month! Southern Pride’s team usually does very well in the Central American tournament circuit with their longtime captain of 13 years, Chris Garner, at the helm. They’ve won and placed in several legs of Joan Vernon’s Presidential Challenge, along with winning the first leg of the 2012 Los Sueños Series. Smith was top WBS Pacific Angler in 2007 and 2012. Garner has lived in…

BACKIN’ ON UP Scott Kerrigan froze the cockpit chaos from the bridge as angler Harry Sargeant and his crew on Black Gold fought a frisky blue marlin. The acrobatic blue required the captain to maneuver the boat into a tight spin and momentarily back into the wind and seas to keep up with the fish. LOCATION Fishing off St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, the crew of Black Gold was pulling a spread of lures when the blue marlin paddled in and piled onto one. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: EF16-34 mm f/2.8L USM ISO: 320 APERTURE: f/13.0 SPEED: 1/1000 sec…

COLUMBIA MEGAVENT DORADO PFG If you want to stand out in a crowd, you’ll love these Megavent Dorado PFGs from Columbia. They feature a breathable mesh upper treated with the company’s Blood ’n’ Guts water and stain treatment, plus the Omni-Grip nonmarking outsole with razor siping. columbia.com OLUKAI NOHEA LACE MESH Hawaiian for handsome, the Noheas have a dual-density polyurethane gel insert that’s removable and washable. The uppers have breathable mesh with a tightly woven mesh quarter panel and microfiber lining throughout. The drop-heel design means you can slide them on too. olukai.com SPERRY SHOCK LIGHT BOAT Weighing just 6.7 ounces, Sperry’s Shock Light Boat shoe has ASV Technology built into the heel, absorbing vibration and reducing shock up to 30 percent. There’s also a 360-degree lacing system for extra…

TWO ANGLERS FISH SIDE BY SIDE. EACH CHALLENGES THE OTHER TO CATCH THE MOST FISH, OR THE LARGEST. PERHAPS THEY PLACE A SMALL WAGER ON THE OUTCOME. SPECTATORS GATHER TO WATCH THE ACTION — AND JUST LIKE THAT, A FISHING TOURNAMENT IS BORN. AND WHILE IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LIST EVERY EVENT, HERE ARE JUST A FEW THAT DESERVE A SECOND LOOK. THERE’S A TOURNAMENT FOR NEARLY EVERYONE, SO GET OUT THERE AND FISH IN 2016. MONEY BEST ODDS OUTSIDE THE TOURNAMENT MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST BILLFISH CLASSIC Biloxi, Mississippi Hosted at the luxurious Golden Nugget Casino Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic is a gambler’s paradise. Hit the tables and then hit the water for a shot at some oversize blue marlin and yellowfin tuna in the fish-rich…

Some people have a lot of confusion about the use of EPIRBs and PLBs and the mechanisms by which they work. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM Emergency beacons transmitting an SOS signal along with GPS coordinates became available in 1998. Initially, these emergency beacons transmitted on two frequencies: the more powerful 406 MHz signal, detectable anywhere in the world, and at a less powerful 121.5 MHz. The 121.5 MHz signal still offers some usefulness because rescue aircraft are often equipped with 121.5 MHz receivers, allowing them to home in on this signal once near the rescue location. Some devices today continue to use both frequencies, but a 121.5 MHz signal alone won’t be acted on by search and rescue unless it’s corroborated by two independent nonsatellite sources. Devices transmitted on…

I’ve spent a lot of time around Merritt’s Boat and Engine Works during my 14 years working on a Merritt, and I can remember when they first started laying up hull No. 100 in September 2012. Roy Merritt Sr., aka “The Godfather,” still does business the old-fashioned way: with just a handshake. When owner Kevin Jaffe shook hands with Roy to build the 86-foot hull No. 100, Jaffe knew it was more than just a boat — it was a milestone for the Merritt family. ENGINE AND PUMP ROOM Jaffe had four distinct requirements for his new 86-foot Merritt. He wanted Flyer to have 4,000 gallons of fuel; a 150-gallon gray-water holding tank; the capacity to hold both 100 gallons of clean motor oil and 100 gallons of waste oil;…