Author: BD STAFF

MDR Halibut Tournament – Marina Del Rey Anglers Marina Del Rey Anglers proudly presents the 40th Annual Marina Del Rey Halibut Derby taking place on April 18th & 19th, 2015 at Burton Chace Park in Marina Del Rey. The event is going back to a two-day format and first place will be a prized trip to fish Alaska. The Marina Del Rey Halibut Derby is LA’s largest and most historic fishing tournament. Individual anglers and teams will compete in a multi-species fishing tournament with prizes going to the top three places. Proceeds from the event help fund the Marina Del Rey…

Artist Spotlight Michelle Nicole Lowe BD introduces artist spotlight Michelle Nicole Lowe, from the Florida Keys. Her watercolors capture the tropical essence of paradise. Q:Where do you live? A:Islamorada in the Florida Keys. Q:What is your favorite medium? A:I work in watercolors as it has always been my favorite. Q:What are your other hobbies, and are they related to your artwork? A:I love scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing in the deep sea and fly fishing in the backcountry of Everglades near Islamorada. I have caught tarpon and redfish on fly in the Everglades with Captain Camp Walker of Catalyst Charters, and recently…

Italian angler, Dino Ferrari, has caught and released a 280-pound wels catfish from the Po river in Italy. He is considered an expert at catching these giant freshwater cats, but this exceeded anything he had caught before. It was reported to take forty minutes on a spinning rod after the wels cat took a topwater plug. (Imagine that bite) Prepared for the task of weighing these giants, they put the catfish in a sling and weigh them before they are released back to the river. Congrats for an amazing and truly colossal catch. Photo Credit: GrindTV

It was because of the fog, the captain of this boat is reported to have said, and I’m sure it was the fog; and the fact that he was still running fast enough to drive a good distance up the beach and impale a restaurant. Luckily no one was seriously hurt in either the boat or this beach bar in Ruskin, Florida. Good thing for them that their Seavee boat is built like a tank. It looks like the building took the worst of the damage. It never ceases to amaze me how rare common sense has become. Photo Credit:…

Check out these pictures from Jason Moyce of a mako shark that was commercially caught and had the bill from a marlin impaled all the way through it. I wonder if the marlin faired as well? I have caught billfish with little or no bill, but normally it looks like a deformity and not a duel with a shark. The marlin’s bill passes through the entire mako. Photo Credit: Pelagic Research Network

Many inshore anglers have to deal with the over abundance of goliath grouper that live on shallow water structures. These huge grouper can be a real pain because they eat your fish after you hook them. But some have stepped up to the challenge and drop down a giant bait like this stingray on heavy tackle for a tug of war. Watch as a pack of giants rise up to take a shot. Hold tight!

Mercury Marine Unveils 400R The 2015 Miami Boat Show was the chosen spot for Mercury Marine to show off their largest, most hi-tech outboard yet, the 400-horsepower 400R engine. With the success of Mecruy’s Verado four-stroke outboards that ranged up to 300-horsepower, the only place left to go was up. And that is just what they did with the recent introduction of the 350 Verado and the 400R at the 2015 Miami Boat show that took place last week in Florida. The highly anticipated unveiling took place with much smoke and lights, but these motors are no parlor trick. The…

Fishing the fertile waters off of Kona, Hawaii, Capt. McGrew Rice, a second-generation charter captain, helped Kai, the grandson of author Jim Rizzuto, to land a 1058-pound blue marlin in about 30-minutes. That is a feat in itself. This makes the third Grander for the crew of the IHU NUI out of Kona. Congrats to everyone. Photo Credit: IHU NUI Sportfishing FaceBook page

Incredible underwater video by Al McGlashan of marlin lit up and feeding as he jumps in to video them. The colors are amazing and he is up so close. Al McGlashan is no stranger to big game fishing. He is one of Australia’s favorite TV fishing personalities who travels the globe capturing the essence of big game fishing. Al has been able to experience what most of us only dream of. Check out this video of a giant mako shark attacking a marlin while Al is in the water. Photo Credit: Video capture from Al McGlashan on Youtube

Vintage Video – Vintage Fishing Reels Stuart Campbell was a legend in sport fishing. Many of you have seen this scary video of him being jerked overboard by a greyhounding marlin, but the bite from the same grander marlin is almost as epic in this vintage video from the IGFA. The footage is only about four minutes long, and though not in HD as we are used to, it is no less heart stopping.

When your bait is a six-pound fish, you better hold on tight. These guys are going hand lining for one of Florida’s giants, the goliath grouper.They battle this beast on from the seawall and land it on the boat ramp for a quick, clean release. Goliath grouper have been totally protected now for many years and there is brewing discussion of anglers wanting to open them back up to some type of management strategy as they have fully recovered and are overrunning many shallow structures, making it darn near impossible to fish for other fish. The goliath comes up and…

This video had me on the edge of my seat. Spearing big wahoo out of a school of hundreds of sharks. A really cool shot of a wahoo getting stoned dead is included. The others take off with the bouy and diver in tow. This video was posted by Kyle Dodder and he and his buddies were all free-diving for wahoo.

The Back Story of Mag Bay Yachts In 1969, Mike Howarth began his career building fiberglass tooling and plugs for wood boat construction in Southern California. He was a pattern maker for boats and it was the beginning of a long career in boat building. Later he moved on to Pacific Trawler and Islander Yachts. It was during his time at Pacific Trawler that Mr. Howarth became acquainted with Henry Mohrschladt who shared his passion for boat building and design. Before long, they co-founded their own company, Pacific Seacraft, where they enjoyed many successful years building sailboats. Mohrschladt specialized in…

PEI Tuna Charters – PEI Bluefin Tuna Season There are just as many different types of fishing to do, as there are different places to do it. In Prince Edward Island, Canada, the two aspects come together to create an epic “fishing of a lifetime” in a comfortable, “easy to get to” environment. The crew of Tide and Time Charters makes it that much easier and catching a giant bluefin tuna is a pinnacle on many angler’s wish list. Prince Edward Island, or PEI as it is often referred to has become one of the leading destinations in the world…

The crew of the Miss Behavin is tapping some of Costa Rica’s crazy marlin fishing that has been discovered out of Los Suenos. This awesome footage from Brooks Kelm and the crew of the Miss Behavin, captained by Capt. Jose Reyes will start your week off right; wishing you were not a work. Fast paced marlin action from a totally new perspective. Miss Behavin Marlin Madness-Rough Edit from BHK Media on Vimeo. Photo Credit: Vimeo video capture

BD: Where do you live? Chasten Whitfield: Bradenton, Florida BD: What is you occupation? Chasten Whitfield: I am a high school student BD: What are your other hobbies? Chasten Whitfield: I am a high school cheerleader, a member of Reinaunce, and Key Club. I also travel around teaching kid’s fishing seminars. BD: Who or what got you into fishing? Chasten Whitfield: I started fishing with my family as a little kid. We would always fish just for fun. A few years ago some kids in school were making fun of me for being the only girl in our school who…

Costas Newest Style Manta – Costa Manta 400g Costa’s are not just a fishing tool or necessary eye protection from the harmful rays of the sun. Though they are all that and excel at both, Costa sunglasses are built for an active outdoor lifestyle. The latest Manta design is combination of function and style in a medium build for ladies. The incredibly durable molded nylon frames with built-in hinges offer a performance friendly wrap-fit and hypoallergenic nose pads and liner to keep these glasses in place without feeling like they are even on your face. The Manta frame comes in…

So often the ocean keeps her secrets, but now and again, a reminder of her mysteries washes up on a far away shore. A rare megamouth shark is a recent example. With very few specimens ever found, the megamouth shark is a prime example that many creatures live in the depths of the ocean that we know very little about. The megamouth shark is a plankton feeding hold out from prehistoric times and though this specimen was about 13-feet long, they are believed to be the smallest of their lineage. Fishermen in the Phillipines found this shark washed ashore and…

“Electronically Aided Collisions”, EAC’s, sounds like a joke, but they’re an actual new designation of Coast Guard accident descriptors. USCG says so many accidents are occurring as a result of the electronics many of us now have aboard–ostensibly to help us avoid accidents–that it made sense to set up a category for it, and of course this being the Coast Guard, they gave it an acronym. The issue is basically the same as for those ashore who are unable to restrain themselves from texting while driving a vehicle Distracted attention has unfortunate results when you are responsible for piloting several…

SoCal Fisherman – Socal Badfish Every location has its own local flavor and lingo. Here are a few ways to tell that you call SoCal your home fishing grounds. #1 You throw top water jigs at everything. #2 You wear dark colored rubber deck boots, even when it’s 90F outside. #3 You wear flat brimmed hats thinking it looks good. #4 You don’t know how to make your own bait. #5 The word deadhead and pinhead is in your vocabulary. #6 You know how to tie a San Diego knot. #7 You’ve had yellowtail fever. #8…

The Pristine waters and shallow flats of South Florida’s Biscayne Bay are the focus of the video series, Surface Tension, from Jason Arnold and AFTCO Pro Captain Alonzo Sotillo of Tidesright Charters. This video captures the unique scene of incredible nature lapping the shores of massive development. The scenic area and the stalk of elusive, giant bonefish and permit are highlighted in the shadow of the Miami skyline. Stay tuned for more as this is part 1 of a continuing series presented by AFTCO. Check it out and enjoy the ride.

OXE Diesel Outboard At some point in the spectrum of time, one might say the future is here. One might also say that about the OXE, soon to be the world’s first production diesel powered outboard engine, is that future. Swedish makers will begin selling their 200-horsepower diesel outboards as soon as next year and the dream is already a reality. The OXE is logging hours on the back of test boats as we speak. This unique motor combines the ready made efficiency of a marinized automotive diesel engine and transfers that power to a lower unit via a proprietary…

Mrs. Shirley Blackman June 18, 1930 – January 15, 2015 After an extremely restless night, Shirley awakened Sunday morning, January 11, with severe stomach pain and was immediately rushed to the hospital. After a lengthy surgery from which she didn’t quite recover, she died quietly this morning, January 15 at 9:00 am, with family members by her side. Our entire family is saddened by the loss of the matriarch of the Blackman family but we are delighted that she didn’t have to suffer an extended illness. Shirley was healthy and contented during these past years of her life, but…

Shimano has announced the upcoming release of their modified Torium reel series, the Torium HG. Shimano prides itself in its ability to tweak and improve upon previous models of their most popular reels. They keep the good features, tweak any unforeseen issues and take to heart the input from their pro staff and customers alike. They also include the latest technology in the quickly evolving tackle industry. The new Torium HG series includes improvements in the frame by combining the palm-side and the frame into one piece. They also reduced the overall size of the reel, without reducing the spool…