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.
 
 

Another day of incredible weather on the reef. Our day starts out with swim at the Cod Hole. A popular stop for all the boats because of it’s trained abundant life. A bunch of resident Giant Cod, along with a menagerie of Red Bass, reef sharks, and Coral Trout. As soon as you hit the water, everything seems to swim up to greet you as the bubbles clear around your mask. Kinda spooky at first. Later on when the light chumming started, it was time get back in the boat. The natives were starting to get restless…

 
 
Couldn’t resist hand feeding a few of the big boys.
 
 
As we heeded outside the reef for the day, we made some passes along the outer edge. Since photography is my profession, it’s not often I feel that a picture doesn’t do a scene justice. But this is one of those places on earth that reminds me of the truth in that old saying. The beauty and extent of the reef can not be captured in any media.
 
 
Then the poppers hit the water and the Giant Trevalle’s pounced. This one found it’s way into the tail rope for a quick photo.
 
 
Back out in the deep for the afternoon troll. This Queenie rigged on twisted double wire makes for a fine offering. And it doesn’t hurt that it swims like an olympian.
 
 
Carl and Steve make the release part of catch, tag, and release look easy.
 
 

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.