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.
I recently had the opportunity to shoot the newest boat to leave the shed at Weaver Boatworks – 80′ Islamar. This boat was going to be stopping in Palm Beach for a few days during it’s delivery to Puerto Rico for it’s new owner. I caught up with it one day in the boat yard for some interior work. And then the next morning offshore while Jim Weaver and the new owners took her out for a Marlin Magazine boat review. What an amazing boat. Weaver has again raised the bar for state of the art custom boatbuilding with this hull. Here is a boat review piece I put together. Thanks to Andy at Ocean Helicopters for the ride.
To see more still images of this incredible sport fisherman on my AquaPaparazzi.com photo web site, type “Weaver” in the keyword search box.
It’s so good to be back on the rock. I made the short hop from MIA to CUN this afternoon, and made sure I was at the dock at sundown to greet the fleet. I managed to catch the Qualifier pulling in late after a day of decent fishing and 14 releases. Pretty good action the last few days by most of the fleet has me anxious to get out on the bank in the morning. I’ll try and keep the Isla Mujeres fishing reports fresh…
Day 1 – Maiden voyage for the newest Paul Mann boat “Alina” today. The wind was blowing and the sails were biting. Ran about 20 miles to the fleet and set out. Lots of birds in the area, but not the conditions to catch the fish on top. Ended up trolling around until 4:30 with 13 releases for the day. Plenty of other fish seen in the spread and biting. Great day for a shake down cruise.
Day 2 – Today I rode along with Capt. Fin aboard the Qualifier. Breezy conditions this morning. We start fishing about 20 miles out. Did I mention it was rough? Decent action in the morning, gradually slowing down all day. Ended up with 10 released sails.
Day 3 – Back on the Alina today. Fishing was slow for us today…just one of those days when you wish you could take a mulligan.
Day 4 – Back on the Qualifier today. Still windy and complete cloud cover all day. We ran up to the North this morning to try and find some action. There was some birds and bait on top early, then it scattered and was hard to find. Most of our bites today were on the troll. Ended up catching 18. It wasn’t much better for the rest of the fleet.
It helps the numbers add up quickly when you can catch them four at a time.
Day 5 – Riding aboard the Billy Holten boat Haphazard for today’s action with Capt. Will. Mate Joey’s dad and some friends are the anglers. Still blowing and heavy clouds with rain. Salt spray galore. We did see some action on top and lots of birds. Managed to tag most of the fish we released.
Day 6 – Aboard the Keen M with Capt. Arch. One of the smaller boats in the fleet, but with a single angler it makes for the perfect platform for me to ride along and get some shots. The winds seems to have let up some at dawn and it continues to drop off all day long. Heavy sky early with our first hour of fishing spent in the rain. Once that passed it still looked threatening but somehow cleared out and made for a pretty day. Not many multiple hookups today, as expected with only one angler, but the action was steady all day.
Almost all our fish were caught under the birds and not trolling between bunches. What a show. I could spend hours watching these animals feeding on Sardines. An amazing display of flight. We ran well to the North and had plenty of room to work. The bite today was pretty good for the whole fleet. We ended up releasing in the low 20’s.
And what could be cooler than having a dock party dinner with Sir Richard Branson. Here he took a moment to pose with Anthony’s daughters and friends.
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.
Here’s to being in the right spot at the right time. Thank you Capt. Mike.
I finally had another opportunity to ride along with my friends on the Mojito, and I even brought some luck this time. The mini movie below shows a glimpse of the North Drop action that Pico, Tito, and Aileen showed me. Thanks for the ride!
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!
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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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 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.