My last trip here was aboard the Revenge when we fished one of the Barcardi Billfish Tournaments about 16 years ago. What a treat it was to return and see what has changed. This trip was sponsored by Hatteras Yachts and I was hired to shoot three of their latest products – 54′ GT, 60′ GT, and a 63′ GT. These new boats are some of the nicest looking production boats to roll off the line so they made great subjects. Hatteras didn’t hold back on design or performance either with all of these hulls breaking the 40 knots barrier.
 


 
 

The weather was perfect and the only change on the island that I noticed was the Bimini Big Game Club was completely redone and better than ever. The club is now branded as a Guy Harvey Outpost and management has gone to great lengths to bring the facility up to modern resort standards. I’m happy to say that the Kalik’s are served icy cold and the cracked Conch is just about perfect when served at the upper deck restaurant overlooking the marina. They have brought in lots of talented charter fisherman to cater to their guests too. For the shallow water crowd, they have the veteran guide Ansil Saunders. Just last week Ansil celebrated the 40 year anniversary of his still standing world record Bimini Bonefish. To help him celebrate, the legendary Stu Apt was on island to try his luck. And no doubt hoping to best that amazing catch.
 

 
 
For the offshore angler, you can charter another legendary guide named Billy Black. The same Billy Black who spent 30 years running charters out of Walkers Cay. Billy now has an incredibly restored and beautiful 1966 Rybovich named “El Viejo” and is ready for business.
 

 
 
While I was there shooting, we even got to see a little bit of the behind the scenes action of Southern Boating’s annual swimsuit photo shoot. Those snapshots however, can’t be posted here. You’ll have to wait for the Southern Boating issue to hit the news stands.
 
And on my final day I was shooting from the beach, and being a spectator. From the sky came Forrest Johnson in a chopper for the arial angle. The light was great and the water color was off the charts. I’m looking forward to seeing the next advertising campaign from Hatteras Yachts to see his work in print.
 

This is one of those rare moments when I find myself on the other side of the view finder. While shooting Giant Bluefin in the cool waters of the North Atlantic recently, I was offered the chance to jump in the chair and dust off my angling skills. Let me tell you, all these years of chasing billfish and thinking that 30lbs of drag was heavy … well that gets put in a new perspective in this fishery. Thanks to Brad Simonds for picking up my camera and catching this on film.

Here is the Happy Hooker trolling off Sáo Vicente’s bank from an earlier season.

1097 POUND MARLIN TAKES WORLD CUP
Published on July 09, 2010 on the web site Blue Marlin World Cup

For the third time in the 26 year history of the World Cup Blue Marlin Championship (World Cup), a grander marlin won the event. In the unique World Cup, only 1 team wins the prize. There is no second place in the 1 day world wide tournament which takes place on the fourth of July annually.
The winning team fishing aboard the Happy Hooker in the Cape Verde Islands consisted of Captain Berno Niebuhr from Germany and angler Chris Brand from Portugal. It is the first time in the history of the World Cup that a team has scored a repeat victory. Niebuhr and Brand also won the event in 2006 with an 850 lb blue marlin.
Also aboard for the epic catch were gaff man Amilton Gomez Barros, wire man Antonio Da Cruz Gomez and Vincent Cox who video taped the catch.
There were 149 teams fishing in 17 locations around the globe. Each team fishes from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM in their time zone. Fishing starts on the far side of the dateline in Vanuatu and New Guinea and concludes in Hawaii and French Polynesia.
Since the heaviest blue marlin over 500 lb wins, as soon as a fish is weighed in, the information is spread to the rest of the teams so they will know what they have to beat and smaller fish can be released.
The number of teams set a World Cup record for participation and generated prize money of well over $350,000. there was a separate pool called the Big Blue Challenge with 34 teams entered. None of those teams caught a 500 lb marlin, so an additional $130,000 plus will be returned in accordance with World Cup rules.
Three other marlin were landed prior to the Happy Hooker calling in the weight of their fish. A team fishing on La Onda Emma with captain Wolfgang Maier, also fishing in the Cape Verde Islands, landed a 511 lb blue. In the Canary Islands, Hedonist, with captain Manuel Ramirez boated a 600 lb marlin, and in Madeira, off the coast of Portugal, the team aboard Audaz brought a 546 lb marlin to the scales. Unfortunately none of these teams were entered in the Big Blue Challenge.
Fishing hot spots Bermuda and Kona, Hawaii were uncharacteristically slow on July 4. Each location had produced 6 World Cup winners over past years. This year, 49 World Cup teams in Bermuda failed to catch a fish over 500 lbs although a few smaller marlin were released. In Kona, not a single blue marlin was caught by the 44 boat fleet. Madeira, with 14 teams entered also reported slower than usual fishing. Three World Cup winners have come from Madeira in the past.
The only other 2 World Cup winners over 1000 lb came from Bermuda. They were an 1189 lb blue caught by Martin Estis aboard Tripleplay in 2004 and Don Hunt’s 1195 lb winner on Challenger in 1993.
For the first time, World Cup hookup by hookup action was posted on Facebook and Twitter which produced a large following around the world. The real time leading catch, sponsored by Black Bart Lures, was also posted on the World Cup web site, www.bluemarlinworldcup.com.
Mike Leech, Tournament Director said he was pleased with the record participation considering the weak world economy. He also noted that communications ran very smoothly with the help of constant updates posted on the social networks.

July 17 – Red Hook is really starting to fill up for this moon. It’s a little early in the cycle for everyone to be fishing today, only a dozen or so boats going. The trade winds are blowing today at a brisk 20 knots in the morning and even stronger by mid day. I rode along with Bob on the new Paul Spencer boat Southpaw today and he went one for one. This bite started on a short rigger teaser and within moments this fish has taken a look or a bite of most everything in the spread. No jumps and a quick battle had me hoping for some excitement near the boat. Careful for what you wish for. I did get a few shots of a nice clean fish in the air filling the frame at the end of the leader.
 
 
 
And then things changed quickly as I felt the need to dive for the deck to avoid the inbound missile. Luckily the roll of the boat had the fish impacting the hull side just inches below the covering board and bouncing off into the water. A check of my camera had this image below as the last frame captured before I bailed…

 
 
 
July 18 – Riding aboard the 72′ Merritt boat Tyson’s Pride today. More heavy rain and strong trade winds today. Our first bite comes on a short rigger teaser and comes strong and fast to the boat. The pitch goes out but never even gets a sniff. Our second morning bite also starts on a teaser and this fish eats the pitch just right. Ten minutes into the battle the line goes slack. Turns out to be a fluke accident with the circle hook breaking just below the barb. A long afternoon with no more sightings. Rain and lightning all evening long.

 
 
 
July 19 – From the eye of the storm … dawns first light arrives in the form of an amazing electrical storm over the East End of St. Thomas. While sitting on the boat having some coffee, I could see several power line transformers arcing while the power surged and flickered in the residential hills surrounding Red Hook Bay. Not good. The National Hurricane Center reports a 30% chance of the overhead patch of weather forming into something tropical. By late afternoon, this prediction would be increased to 60%. I decide to take a lay day today and stay on island. While visiting Neptune Tackle, I end up running into an old friend Tyler. He is now Captain of one of the Double Header skiffs that specialize in this areas inshore fishing and also are masters of targeting the Yellowfin bite out off the edge. It doesn’t take long before he puts together a plan to dash out between squalls and show me some Kingfish. Like the Blue Marlin a few miles offshore, the kings remain elusive even in an area where they were biting just yesterday. I wasn’t for a lack of talent or effort however. They did catch a few fish and even broke a new high tech jigging rod while applying some heat on heavy braided line.

 

 
 
 
July 20 – Aboard the Paul Mann boat Prime Time today. This is day one of Fin Gaddy’s charter, owner of the newest Paul Mann boat named Qualifier. Big improvement in the weather today, some sunlight and just a little rain. First encounter is a teaser bite that doesn’t play along. Next is a long rigger lure bite, down and tight. Bent butt outfit in the chair for this one. Fin is a tackle enthusiast and this outfit is a favorite for 80lb line. A longer than average blank, cut to stay firm with an old school cork grip mounted with a light weight composite reel. A perfect tool for this job.

 
 
 
This fish pulls off on the leader without showing herself much. The next teaser bite eats the pitch and the 50lb bait. This short lever rod is also equipped with a mini bent butt for stand up leverage. This fish does a few hops on the leader for the camera. A third teaser bite again eats the 50lb pitch and it’s first series of jumps is across the spread with an interesting background. The Hatteras boat Amirita is coming up the drop right behind us and gets a nice show of the action. Within one minute on the line the circle hook pulls and we are done for the day. End up 2 of 3 bites, and see two others.
 
 

I’m just back from St. Thomas with a Virgin Island fishing report. I arrived on island within minutes of the leading edge of a tropical wave. So it was no surprise that there would be some rain and wind. Little did I know…
 
 
 
Day 1 – Fishing aboard the 58′ Paul Mann boat Prime Time today. Pouring rain and squalls all morning. A mid day arrival of charter party has us hitting the South Drop for a few hours. We end up with one billfish bite in just a few hours of trying.

 
 
 
 
Day 2 – Prime Time again today with a full day and an early start. Continuing steady rain with plenty of wind. Photo conditions were terrible but the fishing was ok. We ended up releasing 1 of 3 bites. A second fish that might have been a catch was cut off by accident. While we were hooked up, Bubba Carter on the Tijereta made a close pass in the hope of getting a bite. Sure enough he did. Happens all the time and it’s the right thing to do. The random part is the initial run by his fish was directly toward the one we had close to the boat. And since the moving line is the cutting line, we lost ours with 50′ to go. The good news is that it makes for some great photos of a neighboring boat (below) and Bubba did end up getting his fish. And I got to say hi to mate Terry and old friend Tony as they roared by. So a happy ending.

 
 
 
 
Day 3 – I’ve been wanting to ride with Ronnie Fields for a while now and today was my chance. The 60′ Sportsman boat Big Oh was hitting the North Drop for the first day of their summer season. Even the light tackle and very light leader they fish didn’t scare me away. I figured I might get some shots of jumps near the boat and some water splashing photos. Sadly, both of the fish they released today did not jump. But the team delivered on the splashing water opportunities. As the backing performance of the boat gets sluggish (below), Ronnie is forced to give back some line and have the crew open the tuna door and let the sea back out where it belongs.

 
 
 
 
Day 4 – The last few days have been spotty on the North Drop so today on the Prime Time Butch decides to give the South Drop a try. His clients also have a flight to catch so they have to be at the dock early. The rain is intermittent today with moments of actual sunshine. We spend most of the day near the FAD and start out with a rare 35lb Dorado. Ahh, another benefit of the South Drop. When the call for lines out comes, we have released two Blue Marlin. What a great way to wrap up a trip.

 
 
 
 
Day 5 – Today I have the good fortune of riding along with an old friend Terry aboard the 72′ Merritt boat Tyson’s Pride. I first met Terry in the Mona Passage when I was working on the Key Venture while we were rafting off Jim Edmonston’s mothership the El Zorro for a few weeks. Terry and the Tyson’s Pride stopped by for a few days of what turned out to be very slow fishing that season. Now 20 years later I get a chance to spend a day with him and his ace crew of Shaun and Newt. Turns out that he is going to try to get his seven year old son Charlie his first Blue Marlin today. A good day for the cameras, despite the return of the steady rain. Since the North Drop is still spotty, we again hit the South Drop and go right to the FAD. Charlie wastes no time and gets right to work on a small Blue Marlin. After watching Charlie catch his first Tarpon the day before, and now a billfish from his dad’s fighting chair … the name Charlie Robinson is one we will be seeing in the future associated with some notable catches. We have a strong day by releasing 3 of 4 marlin bites and seeing 2 other lookers. This turns out to be more action than anyone on the North Drop saw. It’s going to be crowed at the FAD tomorrow…

 
 
 
 
Day 6 – The newest boat in the fleet is the 57′ Paul Spencer boat Southpaw. This state of the art vessel looks like any other sleek, modern, sportfisherman from the outside (photos 1 and 2 below). But what you don’t see is the high tech components within. Most notably the propulsion system is Volvo Penta and their pod drives (photo 3 below). I can’t wait to see this hardware in action. Unfortunately, we trolled the North Drop all day today without a bite. The fishing overall is terrible today with very few bites. Looks like the action today is South with the Chach catching 5 of 9 bites. I will say that the ride is very smooth and there is little or no vibration at any speed. I’ll have to try my luck again next moon.
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I’m in Isla Mujeres this week and happen to be overlapping one of the annual fishing tournaments held here on the island. This event is the Gran Torneo de Pesca and is unlike any other tournament I have ever seen. For staters, the prizes for first thru tenth place are on display in a parking lot. And as far as tournament trophy’s go, they are very useful. First place is an SUV, second is a pickup truck, third is a compact car, fourth is Ponga skiff, and fifth thru tenth are various levels of mopeds and scooters. Lets just say that most of the participants aboard the 114 boats entered are a wee bit motivated to do well in this one. The target species (in order of highest points to lowest) are Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Wahoo, Dorado, Tuna, Kingfish, Barracuda, and other. One fish from each category can be weighed each day for each team. This other category lets you pick one more fish to bring in each day, such as a Bonita, AJ, snapper, grouper, etc. They have a minimum length for the billfish and a 10lb minimum for the meat fish. Note the missing Sailfish category. The Sailfish is obviously the most common and revered fish here and forces teams to use all their skills to place in this event.

Day 1 of 2 – It’s blowing today. They say it’s been blowing for the last two weeks now. This sure is unusual weather for late May. I catch a ride with Tammy and Dave aboard the 59′ Spencer boat Double Trouble. They decide to go long odds and run 30 miles South to the edge down below Punta Morales. A 33 knot cruise and a Carolina ride make this seem easy even with 20+ knots of wind. Little or no crowd down there but the fishing was slow. They did manage to catch a small undersized White, an undersized Wahoo, a keeper Dorado, and an undersized Kingfish. Then the current changed and the weed moved in and things shut down. The evening weigh in is a sight to see with a line for your moment at the scale snaking well down the dock. One Blue and many whites were brought in today along with plenty of grande meat fish.

Day 2 – The same or even more wind today. Again riding aboard the Double Trouble. Today Dave runs out front of Isla with the bulk of the fleet and we start in deep water. Out here the current runs strong and I mean to tell you it was rough on the deep side of the edge. Several keeper Dorado and a fat 18lb Bonita go in the box early. A White teases in half way then peels off without eating. Then a long lull before another White appears on the bridge teaser and eats a flat line. While pulling drag this keeper size White pops up behind a long rigger and goes ahead and eats that before pulling off both rods seconds later. Terrible luck.

Day 3 – Riding with Anthony aboard the Keen M today. Wind conditions have improved slightly from yesterday as it appears the weather is going to do what the forecasters say it will do – improve. Only a few boats out today. We pick away all day and end up with 20 billfish bites total (3 white Marlin and 17 sailfish) and a Blue Marlin sighting. Also plenty of Dorados, from peanut to 30lbs. Spent about 30 minutes live baiting a Bonita on some wire as it’s not too late to see a Mako up on the bank. We saw one Whale Shark on the ride in.

Day 4 – The weather is getting nicer everyday. We went deep early and had three white marlin bites along with some nice Dorados. Ended up running inshore for the late afternoon sail bite. Ended up with 21 billfish bites today. We saw several large turtles while trolling. Good solid fishing for late May.

Day 5 – Calm and sunny today with a nice gaffer Dorado right out of the gate. Then a deepwater Sailfish shows up and finds a hook. Not long after a welcomed White Marlin makes a showing. Lots of jumps and photos. A few more sails in the afternoon complete the day.

Day 6 – Flat calm today. Deep early with not much action. A few sail bites and a gaffer Dorado. No signs of the White Marlin. We spend about an hour bouncing a bait on the bottom in 1100 feet of water looking for a daytime Swordfish. No bites. Only a cookie cutter shark on the bait when we wound up (above). A move to the inshore zone in the afternoon was quiet also. A few sail bites to be had. Our final push was to try to catch dinner and the Mangrove Snapper and Gag Grouper were very excited to see our baits. The action was fast and furious for the short time we spent at it. Even caught two snapper on one live bait – a double hooked Cigar Minnow (below).

The Art of Pitch Baiting. No method of big game fishing demands more performance or provides more excitement. And no other group of professionals do it better than the crew of the 80′ Merritt boat “Reel Tight”. This video (above) shows the boys, and girl, in typical smooth perfection as they raise a blue marlin, tease him to the boat, and switch him over to the hook bait. In this case, an artificial lure lovingly referred to as the “Ting um”.

The shot above is of Mindelo harbor from inside an abandon building up on the hill.

Spring is here and it’s time for the fish to start biting in Cape Verde. The early reports are starting to trickle in from Zak Conde and Marty Bates over at Marlin Cape Verde and it sounds like a good start to their season. Plenty of bites and the average size fish is nice and big, just like they expect from those waters. However, a recent report has one of their two boats with engine troubles so my trip is on hold for now. A mechanic from Boston is rumored to be on the way to get things back to normal.

The reports are coming in from Mexico and the Qualifier has reached a milestone. The newest 56′ Paul Mann custom boat went to Isla Mujeres for it’s maiden voyage and boy did they do it in style. This boat was tuned in right out of the box and never stopped raising fish. They just finished up their winter push and stopped fishing with 1000 Sail fish released over 49 days. Not bad for a first trip. Just wait until they get everything dialed in. Congrats Fin, Chris, and Sinapo for an incredible season opener. Now keep that roll going for some of those tournaments back home.

Another wonderful visit with old friends and new ones is coming to an end as I pack my bags and head for the ferry dock. The fishing backed off a little yesterday as the wind came around to the East and it sprinkled rain during the day. Some bait balls were found in the early part of the day, then it was mostly trolling bites for the fleet. Everyone still ended up in double digits. I wish I’d seen the sun a little more this week but I’m leaving with some great sailfish shots and no complaints. I should have these captures posted on AquaPaparazzi.com next week.
Chris Cousteau swimming with a GIANT Manta Ray. We found an area where we saw a dozen of these swimming on the surface along with schools of smaller rays. And each one of the big rays had it’s own school of Sardines in tow.
Carnival on Isla and dancing in the streets.
Andrea relaxing on the dock in-between Carnival performances.