Aaron Hoover

 Bradley  "Hacksaw"  Leopold

Captain Gray Long

Captain 
Josh Howard

Most of us begin fishing simply for the fun of it.  But for those of us that stick with it day after day, with only a few hours of sleep, fighting summer thunderstorms and bitter winter conditions its more than that.  Its a passion!  We fish some days with nothing to show for it.  We fish some days when nothing goes right.  But we do it because we love it!    It’s the days when everything goes right, the seas are calm and the fish box is full!  The days that you see things that you couldn’t even imagine were possible, things that you can’t wait to talk about or show off at the dock!  This is what makes it all worth it!

My love affair with fishing started when I was about ten years old! I would walk down to the lake to try my hand, spend hours to catch a few small perch. On days when I was lucky enough, my uncle would take me fishing in his boat. This is a big deal for a ten year old. I can still remember those days. Not a worry in the world.

 As the years passed, I found that Louisiana had some of the best saltwater fishing to be found    .  I fished the bays and marshes around Leeville, Louisiana and had a blast.  What could be better than catching huge red fish and speckled trout all day?  Well, I will tell you!  Watching blue marlin tail walk across the water, seeing a 100 pound yellowfin tuna crash a top water popper or experience a mahi mahi as it leaps widley out of the water while attached to your line.  That is better for me!!  My first time to ever see blue water was the day I knew I belonged out there and there was no turning back!  I have owned several offshore boats over the years and have spent many days fishing blue water. I would not take anything in the world for this experience.

I am now a full time offshore charter captain out of Venice, Louisiana which is regarded as one of the best offshore fishing destinations in the world.  And fortunately, the fish that I enjoy pursuing the most; Blue Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, and Wahoo come in large sizes in my home waters.  The wahoo get over a hundred pounds, the yellowfin tuna top over two hundred and the blue marlin get to be over 1000 pounds!!  This is the closest thing to heaven on earth for me.

In my time that I have fished Venice, I have caught two state record fish. We landed a Greater Amberjack that weighed 127.8 pounds, this fish is Louisiana’s #2 state record amberjack and we also put a #1 state record Bearded Brotula in the boat. This fish weighed 18 pounds. The biggest yellowfin tuna that I have ever caught weighed almost 200 pounds and a bull dolphin that was 58 pounds!  I hope someday soon to break the 200 mark on the yellowfin, this is my main goal over the next few years!