Bimini is back. Big Game Sportfishing returns to Bimini this May 18-21 with a world class event. Guy Harvey Outpost and Bimini Big Game Club are holding a billfish release tournament. I’ll be there to cover all the action and I hope to see you there. For more details visit the tournament web site.
They are taking it to the streets again. It’s time for another social media face off to help Salt Water Sportsman choose their next cover image. They have mocked up one of my photos and are asking for your opinion. My photo candidate is a monster Dolphin caught aboard the Carolina charter boat “Pelican” in Isla Mujeres Mexico. It was part of a typical double header Dolphin bite, with the other fish being a smaller cow. I tried to get a unique angle of this fish and ended up laying down on the deck and warping the fish up and away. I was using a 20mm lens with an aperture of f18. Please follow the link below to place your vote. The other guy doesn’t stand a chance!
SWS Cover Battle
UPDATE – I just heard from SWS and found out that they ended up choosing the Wahoo photo submitted by editor John Brownlee instead of my killer Dolphin shot. Maybe next time…
Here’s a little fun Movie Trailer project I put together using some footage from a Kiteboard Magazine shoot off Puerto Rico. Turn up the volume!
The April/May issue of Marlin Mag has hit the street. This issue features an Atlantic Sailfish flipping around in the wash behind the charter boat Pelican in the waters off Isla Mujeres. This cover photo is cropped pretty heavy to isolate just the fish and it’s flared dorsal fin. What you don’t see is mate Josh on the wire and Capt. Arch at the wheel on that breezy February day. The fish were on top that morning and Arch put his anglers in some great action until the bait disappeared and we switched back to trolling.
We’ve all seen the news, heard the reports, and felt the helplessness for the people of Japan. The people and culture of Japan are unique and are in need. They are experiencing a disaster so big that it’s hard for me to wrap my head around. Having traveled and photographed briefly in Japan, I feel a need to do something to help. I’m going to donate ALL profit from the sales of a few of my select photos to the American Red Cross disaster relief for Japan. These four select photos below are from my travels in Japan and will be printed on a gallery wrapped canvas and stretched over a wooden frame. They arrive on your doorstep ready to hang on the wall. You get some cool Japanese art, I get to process some files, and we all feel something knowing that we are donating to some beautiful people in dire need. Simply mail me a check made out to “Aqua Paparazzi, Inc.” to 2112 NE 62ND CT, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308 and I’ll get some art headed your way.
16″ X 10.5″ $224.99
20″ X 13.5″ $299.99
30″ X “19.5 $479.99
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.
The folks at SaltWater Sportsman magazine are asking for your help – And so am I! They have narrowed down their next cover choice to images from two photographers and are asking for your votes to pick the winner via FaceBook. Please follow the link below and cast your vote for my Bull Dolphin photo on the right. This Dolphin photo shows Brian Stapleton from Ireland holding his catch made during the Spice Island Billfish Tournament.
Link to SWS FaceBook Cover test – Go Dolphin!
UPDATE:
Thanks for you votes. The editorial staff at SWS ended up choosing my Dolphin shot after all. Look for it on a news stand soon.
I’m way behind in my updates. Plenty of things going on. I’m recently back from the San Juan International Billfish Tournament in Puerto Rico. Another great event. Fishing could have been better but the weather was nice and a good time was had by all. After that week I bounced over to St. Thomas for the last few days of the Boy Scout Tournament. I have posted all of my San Juan captures on my web site in the “clients/events” gallery. An added bonus, I got to shoot some locals kiteboarding on the lay day. What an amazing sport that is. They jump much higher than any billfish and have incredible hang time. Check out the “watersports” gallery to see that action.
Now I’m on my way to Halifax to meet up with old friends Anthony Mendillo and Brad Simonds. They invited me to join them for a week of Canadian Giant Bluefin “Tuna Camp”. Should be interesting. Check back next week to see what happens….
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.