Hatteras Yacht’s newest ad has hit the street.  This piece is for their GT series of sportfishing boats, and encourages readers to visit them at the FLL boat show and see their new GT70.  The photo they chose for this campaign is from a series of high energy shots I took from a chase boat in San Juan harbor.  It was all I could do to hang on to my camera while 40 sportfishing boats powered up and out the inlet during a Bimini start.  This Hatteras GT caught some boat wakes just right and was almost launched while passing in front of El Morro castle.  She landed gently and flew past.

The July moon is ramping up and so is the fishing.  With 10-15 boats fishing the North Drop each day, the number of marlin bites has been increasing each day for the fleet.  One or two bites per boat turned into 2 releases per boat yesterday.  A mild tropical wave is rolling thru today ahead of the start of 50th annual July Open Billfish Tournament this weekend.  Stay tuned for a fishing report.

I might have a little spray on the lens after this catch.

A calm jumper on the leader.

The bite.  What can I say, the bite on the pitch bait is what it’s all about.

Here we are on the North Drop, in the waters off the British Virgin Islands.  This 90″ clip is the final moments of a catch and release.  It’s performed by a team who have caught plenty of fish, and do it as well as anyone on the drop.

If you are unable to view this video by clicking on the photo below, try this link to Vimeo.

It’s that time of year already.  Summer time in the caribbean and The Virgin Islands Game Fish Club is gearing up for their annual event – The 49th annual July Open Billfish Tournament.  This world class event is always a blast and the fishing on the North Drop on the July moon can be fantastic.  I’m flying down early to do some pre fishing and then will be covering the event start to finish.  Hope to see you there.

UPDATE:  I’m back from another great event!  Nine boats signed up to fish and the weather was calm.  The bite could have been better, but a good time was had by all.  In the end, Black Gold won with five blue marlin releases and one white marlin.  To see all of the photos from this event, click on the tournament logo below.

These are the types of blog entries I dread. The Sportfishing community has lost a legend. Capt. Mike Benitez passed away last night. For over sixty years Mike has been involved in our industry. I only knew Mike for the last 15 years as a regular fixture at Club Nautico Marina in San Juan. Every year when I would pass thru, he was kind, helpful, and always had a story to share. A few years ago I had the opportunity to photograph him while he caught a Blue Marlin in the SJIBT. He is one hell of an angler. He will surely be missed. RIP Mike.

The F/V Revenge does it again. Captain Mike, Dean, and Ryan along with Sam and Jon angling have once again shown the fleet that they rule the drop with an eleven fish boat win in the Boy Scout Tournament.  Sam released six fish and Jon had five.  This gave Sam enough points for second place angler behind Chach angler Damon Chouest.  They had some very good competition this time with the Gulf Rascal finishing second with ten, and the Chach in third with ten also based on time.  Reports are that it was a real close finishing day with several lead swaps in the final few hours.  Congrats boys!

The July Moon is rising and I’m headed down island. I’ve been hired to shoot the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club’s 48th annual July Open Billfish Tournament. This should be a blast. The July Open is always a great event with plenty of Blue Marlin bites for all the boats. The July moon in St. Thomas can produce some spectacular fishing and if it’s anything like last year, some very big fish. If you can’t make it down there in person, I’ll be posting updates here for all to see.