Innehållsförteckning för August/September 2024 från Marlin

He’s practically a household name in the sport-fishing industry, with a celebrity that is nicely accented by a well-traveled Southern twang, extraordinary storytelling and a devilish sense of humor. As the owner and operator of Tijereta—a busy charter operation based out of Costa Rica’s Los Sueños Resort and Marina—Capt. Bubba Carter still fishes an impressive 200-plus days per year. Winner of the IGFA’s prestigious Tommy Gifford Award in 2019, he’s released over 30,000 billfish in a career that has spanned half a century and included storied locations such as Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Costa Rica and the Carolinas, among many others. How did you get your start in fishing? My dad started running a charter boat out of our hometown in Hilton Head, South Carolina,…

Q: BEST GRILLS OR ACCESSORIES FOR COOKING ABOARD? CAPT. PHILLIP FENDER CLAYTIME CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA In addition to a grill that is small and easy to travel with, such as a propane Weber, my favorite thing to cook with on the boat is a sous vide. It makes cooking for a large group easy and efficient, especially when you have access to just a small grill. You can do all your prep work early and then have the sous vide running while you’re fishing. Once it’s done, all you have to do is finish the steak or chicken breast on the grill to sear the outside. It’s especially great for overnight trips in locations like Mag Bay. For cooking on the dock, I use a Traeger for Boston butts and…

This year’s running of the Costa Offshore World Championship in Quepos, Costa Rica, was a huge success by any measure, with 42 teams from 24 countries and six continents competing to be named the globe’s Offshore Champion. The field of 198 anglers released 699 billfish over four days, averaging 17 billfish releases per team. The winning team, Marlin Rio from Brazil, released 33 sailfish for 6,600 points, placing them on the event’s brand-new perpetual trophy. ¶ To win the OWC, competitors must best a field of anglers who are themselves champions, having qualified for attendance by winning or placing in a qualifying event within the prior year. ¶ “The OWC truly is unique in this world,” Marlin Group CEO David Ritchie said to the assembled anglers on the event’s opening…

Perhaps the most critical juncture in a vessel purchase is what is known as the accept/reject date, at which time a buyer must determine whether to move forward with a vessel under contract. This particular deadline comes after the parties have entered into an agreement and the buyer has performed their due diligence on the vessel, including personal inspections, sea trials, and hull and machinery surveys. The due diligence period typically uncovers some form of deficiencies on the vessel, and it then becomes a negotiation between the parties as to how those should be addressed prior to closing. BUYER’S OPTIONS A buyer must weigh the importance and value of survey deficiencies and determine whether to accept the vessel or terminate the contract. If choosing to move forward, the buyer can…

I have heard of quite a few accidents over the past few years, from boats running at night and hitting the jetties in South Florida to larger boats actually running over smaller ones. With the popularity of the internet and social media, these incidents are quickly and widely publicized online. And tragically, some of these accidents have resulted in fatalities. Why? I truly believe most of these operators have their heads buried in their electronics, following the little dotted line instead of having their eyes up and looking ahead. When you lose situational awareness, it’s easy to become confused, especially at night. With the boats hitting the jetties, they might not have seen them in time to slow down or turn away, or the radar could have been shooting over…

A GREAT AMBASSADOR It’s been a while since I have fished any of the big East Coast tournaments, but back in the mid-2000s I attended my fair share. My favorites were the Big Rock, Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament and the Ocean City White Marlin Open. Sure, the fishing was great, but when I look back on my memories from those days, the thing that really stands out isn’t the fish I caught. It’s the people I met on the docks. One of those people was Capt. Drew McDowell, who was the Viking factory skipper at that time. I was really happy to see him highlighted in Cameron Rhodes’ excellent article “Inside the Viking Demo Program” in your April/May issue. While Drew will probably not remember me and we never actually…

NAUTICAL DESIGN For those who want a bit more space for rigging baits or lures, this 46-inch rocket launcher from Nautical Design is a perfect match. It has six dedicated rod holders, four combination rod/cup holders and an oversize tackle drawer. It’s also constructed of genuine teak. nauticaldesigninc.com BLUEWATER CHAIRS Outfitting your vessel with BlueWater’s 11-rod rocket launcher gives you the opportunity to have all your outfits ready for action in one place. The double-laminated teak with no-screw stainless steel rod holders, recessed tray and tackle drawer offer plenty of options for both storage and fishing; packages are available in a wide range of sizes from four to 15 rods. bluewaterchairs.com NAUTICAL DESIGN Starting with highly polished 316-grade stainless steel construction, Nautical Design’s fighting chairs are designed so the backrest…

With nearly 10,000 votes cast during the six weeks of Marlin Madness 2024, one team marched relentlessly through each round, gaining support and attracting new fans with each passing week. It won the coveted Gulf Coast bracket and faced strong competition from the winners in the East Coast, International and Florida divisions, eventually emerging triumphant in the final championship round. That team is Aquaviva, led by Keith Johnson. What follows is Johnson’s story of how it qualified for this year’s championship. Last year, I asked my childhood friend Darrick Elmore if he would like to fish the Pensacola International Billfish Tournament with me. Darrick and I were close when we were kids and teens, but grew apart as we established families and careers. Although we live in the same town…

During one of my initial forays into northern Costa Rica many years ago, the single-engine Sansa charter aircraft swung low on its final approach over a grass strip outside Flamingo after a short hop over from San José, the nation’s capital. As we lined up to land, the captain abruptly banked the plane nearly on its wing tip and aborted the attempt at what felt like an uncomfortably low altitude. “Cows on the runway,” he calmly noted over the intercom. Apparently accustomed to the aerial commotion, he watched as a few white Brahmas moseyed off the strip and back into the low scrub brush through a gap in the barbed wire fence. Fortunately, today’s anglers, captains and crews heading to the land of the Ticos face no such bovine travel…

As the lights of the Azorean capital of Ponta Delgada faded into the colors of the sunset, a thousand miles of open ocean lay between our bow and the next piece of dry land. While it was a beautiful sight that inspired tremendous excitement about the adventure ahead, it’s also one that can fill your head with a million concerns. You know that nagging feeling when you can’t remember if you locked the door before you left town? Imagine that amped by a factor of a thousand. Nonetheless, we proceeded with confidence, our preparation regimen already tested between the islands of the Azores, where we had to replace a Vulkan coupler. Even after we made multiple crossings on Sea Weez and triple-checked our gear, systems and provisions, the unknowns of…

The newest custom project coming out of F&S Boatworks is Showtime!, a 68-footer with an anticipated delivery date in the summer of 2025. She was designed with extensive input from an experienced captain and longtime sport-fisher owners, with the objective of maximizing offshore fishability, guest comfort and extended-stay liveaboard amenities while having redundant systems throughout. Key features include a full tuna tower, a pair of Onan 29 kW generators, a SeaKeeper 18 gyroscope, a fully custom wake-adapted drivetrain, Release Marine helm and fighting chairs, a SpotZero watermaker and dockside treatment system, high-capacity refrigeration and freezer units, Furuno Omni sonar and a pressurized baitwell system. Her four-stateroom and three-head layout offers a full-beam midship owner’s stateroom, a spacious VIP stateroom forward and two crew/guest rooms. On the upper deck is an…

BLACKED OUT There is no shortage of outstanding images coming out of Panama these days, thanks in large part to the efforts of Hannes Ribbner and Matilda Leijon, two of the sport’s top photographers who spend considerable time at Tropic Star Lodge. Ribbner captured this airborne black for angler Kelly Brashear in perfect afternoon light with the unmistakable scenery and Miss Panama as the backdrop. LOCATION The team was slow-trolling live bonito on the Zane Grey Reef. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Canon EOS 7D LENS: Canon EF 100-400mm ISO: 400 APERTURE: f/5.6 SPEED: 1/3200 sec…

A fleet of 59 custom boats gathered in the Abaco Islands from May 15-18 for the 22nd annual Custom Shootout, releasing 197 billfish, including 93 blue marlin, 55 white marlin and 49 sailfish. The tournament began under challenging conditions, with heavy rain and rough seas. While conditions weren’t ideal for the fishing fleet, the rain provided much-needed relief onshore, where numerous fires had kept the local volunteer fire department busy over the previous three weeks. Incognito took an early lead on Day One by releasing three blue marlin. Kickin Tires followed closely, catching two blue marlin and a white marlin to secure second place and the daily prize. Day Two brought calmer seas, with Reel Steel winning the daily by releasing three blue marlin and one white marlin. Bar South…

The ability to adapt is without a doubt the key to success in almost every facet of life, and this holds true in fishing as well. There is no question that in nearly every location in the world, our fisheries are seasonal and changing—no one year is exactly like the next. This seems to be even truer over the past five to 10 years, especially from what I have personally seen with the numerous areas I fish along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. KNOW THE RULES First and foremost, know and understand the regulations throughout each season in your region. It seems the laws change every year, and it is our responsibility to know what they are and what the changes are. You don’t want to get caught…

Some places are shrouded in mystique, as if dreamt up by Tolkien himself. Much as the characters of Middle-earth set out on adventures, sport-fishing boats once marched their own course south to Venezuela’s Caribbean coastline. Atop some of the world’s most hallowed billfish grounds, crews experienced fishing days spun from fantasy, with blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish charging into the spread, often all at once. Those who had the opportunity to fish in Venezuela refer to the place with reverence and nostalgia, later met by a deep melancholy. They speak of it in the way you’d expect a leathered cowboy to share stories from long-range cattle drives under a Western sky. Tales from Venezuela are often hard to believe, but there’s ample proof of days with 30 white marlin…

I’m fortunate to have written several boat reviews for Marlin, and thanks to that experience I usually have an idea of what to expect when I pull into a boatyard or marina. I am always excited when I get tapped to visit Michael Rybovich & Sons, though—its history and level of craftsmanship are second to none. I know to expect top-notch joinery and just an all-around “old-school cool” finished yacht. That’s the story with its latest, Hull No. 7, an 82-footer named Persistence. I had been by a number of times while this build progressed, but today was the first day I was to see it finished—wow, was I impressed. Approaching the boat from the road, you could instantly tell that she was big. Although Persistence is substantial, she maintains…

Early summer is my favorite time of year. School is out, and I see children fishing with their fathers or grandfathers, catching their first marlin. It’s gathering time on the docks where many of us grew up. Most of all, I like this time of year because it’s the start of big payday fishing tournaments. As I write this, we just left the Abacos and, like many, will soon be fishing the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, North Carolina. Last year the tournament paid out $5,835,705 in total purse with $2,769,438 going to the top boat. We will fish several club or charity tournaments throughout the summer, and then in early August, we’ll head to Ocean City, Maryland, for the White Marlin Open. In 2023, the tournament…