Finally, some fishermen!
Years and years ago I quit my job as a stockbroker after many years in the grind and fished for a living for 6 years. Got some great press out of it including an offer to be on Oprah.
My favorite tournament is the BBC or Bahamas Billfish Championship. We fish 5 tournaments over 10 weeks, mainly in the Abacos. These are where the true ballers play. I fish against Huyzenga, Bacardi, etc. and the format is simple. Biggest fish of the week takes the cash. Cold hard cash. Figure 80 boats at $14,000 for the calcutta, and you get one lucky guy walking away with a garbage bag with a million dollars in hundreds. Literally.
Biggest I ever won was a shade over 650K several years back in Marsh Harbour for a 600lb plus fish. Great times, really cool to see genuine big shots laid back and doing Jager shots with locals!
I have scaled back on the boats. Used to have a 55-65 foot Carolina boat built every couple years, fish it for a season and sell it the next year in FL. Get them built locally in the outer banks and you can usually fish for free for a year and pocket a hundrek K or so.
After my 8th ortho surgery I realized my back is shot and I just couldn't do it anymore...I now have a 31' Jupiter and a 20' striper jet boat. Dan, I have fished Murray, Hartwell, etc many times. The jet boat is perfect for giant stripers in the summer when they get way up in the rivers looking for the cool water. I have a Merc 240hp sportjet, which is a 250hp promax racing motor top end bolted to a Merc jet pump. With a 100 gallon livewell, 3 pumps and oxygen infusion, I can spend all day all by myself way way up in the rivers!
Here's the link to the BBC if anyone is interested. I don't know which tournaments I am fishing this year but if anyone is going to be down there shoot me a pm and we'll hook up down there!
http://www.bahamasbillfish.com/
Tom.