A private client had me up in the air over Ft. Lauderdale last week. Great to see the home town from that angle at sunrise. Above is a stretch of Lauderdale beach condo density over the R44 console. Below is Hillsboro inlet on a perfect day to go boating.
Doesn’t have nearly the same ring as Blue Water, but it’s fishing just the same. This trip found me peddling a Hobie Kayak thru the Mangrove estuary of Estero Bay on the SW Florida coast. Tackle as light as you dare, since the fish are all pretty small. We stuck with casting artificials and had some pretty good action on top. You can’t beat the variety either – Snook, Ladyfish, SeaTrout, and Red Drum. All that and I didn’t have to deal with any salt spray. You might get to see this stuff more often…
It’s amazing how easy it is to cancel weekend plans when the phone rings for work. Particularly when it’s Hatteras Yachts and they need a few shots of a unique vessel. This photo shoot was a few quick shots of a Cabo 44 that was transiting thru South Fla on it’s way to the Gulf. I only had a brief time as this delivery crew was anxious to keep moving and beat a cold front that was bearing down on their destination. Luckily they found an overnight slip near Port Everglades and gave me the next morning to work. A few quick shots and they were on their way. What a cool express boat configuration. I can’t wait to take one fishing…
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.
Now it all makes sense…yum!
Just back from a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The goal was to shoot a stable of boats from the custom boat builder F & S Boatworks. By pure chance, three of these boats are tied up in Club Nautico’s marina this month. The perfect time to catch them together and make them shine. While F & S might not be a familiar name in all boating circles yet, it will be soon. This company builds some of the finest looking sportfishing boats on the water. And they are way more than just a pretty face. The craftsmanship and finish work are world class. And good luck trying to catch up with one out on the water. Thanks to the ace pilots from Vertical Solutions based out of the Isla Grande Airport, this two day shoot was like shooting fish in a barrel. It sure helped to luck into a window of spectacular weather. I’ve added a few of these shots to the “Sport fishing Boats/Marine Hardware” gallery of my web site. For a quick glimpse of the trip, check out the mini movie below.
I couldn’t help but get my camera out when I found this little guy in the back yard. It might work for cats, but if a lizard’s head fits in a hole there is no guarantee that his arse will. Don’t worry, happy ending. I got out the acetylene torch and cut him out. I should have really pranked him and painted his toe nails while I had the chance.
My time on the reef has finally ended. What an amazing place it is. We had some good action, saw lots of cool things, and I made some great new friends on the other side. Over the course of our 13 days on the reef we saw about 30 fish. Of those, 19 made and attempt to bite a bait, and we released 9 of those. The monster Black Marlin remained elusive. Looks like we will have to go back and try again next year. The Tradition was an excellent platform for this live aboard adventure. Capt. Tim, Steve, and Carl could not have worked any harder or made our trip any more comfortable. Thank you for everything. Below are a few last highlight images from the few days. I’ll be adding all of these and hundreds more to my web site soon.
UPDATE – I just posted 200+ photos from my Great Barrier Reef trip on my main photo web site AquaPaparazzi.com
The Tradition at anchor in the lee of Lizard Island.
The well landscaped uber exclusive lodge overlooking the bay.
This is what we were looking for…a 1200lb’er from yesteryear.
Breakfast is served to some curious locals.
We did get to see the neighbors catch some nice one’s. Here the game boat Top Shot gets the leader on a fish they called 700lb’s.
On the reef, there is always something going on. The food chain never stops turning. Snapper for dinner!
After some bait catching this morning, Tim put us on some select spots of the reef where the conditions look good for casting. Prime Giant Trevally spots are places where no boater would ever intentionally maneuver their boat. Lucky for us, Tim has mad boat handling skills. And the Tradition handles like a sports car.
One of the bigger GT’s we’ve seen yet. But still a baby as far as GT’s go.
Our one bite today really had us all going. Late in the day the big skip bait disappeared and this fish stayed deep and pulled really hard for 30 minutes. It had all the right moves. The crew snapped on the gaffs just in case. About 100′ from the boat the hook pulled. Never did see how big she was.
Ended our day anchoring down in the tranquil bay of the famous Lizard Island with a few other gameboats. Very cool place. So much fishing history here.
Times are a changing. The postcard weather that we have been enjoying up to now is officially over. The trades have filled in with a vengeance. Fishing for us remains very frustrating. We aren’t getting many bites, and those few are all small fish. There is still some time however.
We have been fishing some great areas well to the North, offshore of Lizard Island. One benefit is getting to watch the neighbors catch a nice one.
So far the rumor has proven it self to be true – all Black Marlin jump at or near the boat.
Healthy, colorful, but oh so small.
The edge of patch reef is easy to see in these conditions.
More bites for the neighbors as they disappear in the trough.
Another small jumper puts on quite a show near the boat.