Topwater Tuna Madness
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This January we sent six YouTube personalities out on one 39-foot Contender, 130 miles into the gulf to fish an oil rig. Fishing with Captain Kurt Tillman, they hit the jackpot, filming the best topwater tuna bite any of them had ever seen. The crew we used on this trip included Big John McLean, Jack Moran, and Phil Hollandsworth
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Deep Drop Deep Water
We sent three YouTube creators, Viktor Hluben, Brook Crist, and Ryan Morie out fishing with SWS creator team lead Phil Hollandsworth on Captain Kurt Tillman’s boat for another shot at the offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and this time they brought their jigging gear.
Tagging Sharks from the Beach
We’re building out a team of these creators, a group of men and women who love our brand and whom we can send out on assignments to cover hot bites. This trip was the first of these, a quick-and-dirty prototype that documents a 24-hour shark fishing expedition from the beach.
Tropic Star, Two Ways
We brought 6 YouTubers, a writer, and a videographer to the jungle of the remote Darien Gap to tell the story of Tropic Star Lodge, a 60-year-old fishing resort well known as one of the best places to catch big billfish (especially black marlin) on the planet.
EXPLORE OUR ADVENTURES
We’re starting to tell stories in new ways here at Salt Water Sportsman. These adventures are collaborative storytelling projects shot in partnership with YouTube creators. We’re building out a team of these creators, a group of men and women who love our brand and whom we can send out on assignments to cover hot bites.
The Descent
We fished out of Panama City Beach, Florida, running out to 200 feet to catch red grouper with Nick Haddad of Return ‘Em Right, a non-profit conservation organization that’s using BP oil spill money to promote the use of descending devices.
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Windy Spring Fishing
Big topwater stripers on plugs and bait in the New York Bight are a staple fishery for saltwater anglers up and down the mid-Atlantic coast. We sent two creators out fishing for two days with one of the northeast’s top topwater guides for both stripers and tuna.
Costa Rica Paradise
We just got back from a few days of fishing down off Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. There’s a pretty incredible playground for outdoorsy families there, especially for ones who love to fish. Want to catch your kid her first sailfish? His first rooster? This is the place to go.
Marco Island Deepwater
The Crimson Tide
SWS Adventures heads out of Marco Island, Florida deep into the Gulf of Mexico to target snapper and grouper with Nick Haddad of Return ‘Em Right, a non-profit conservation organization that’s using BP oil spill money to promote the use of descending devices.
We fished out of Dauphin Island, AL running over 50 miles to slow pitch jig for red snapper and deep drop for scamp grouper. Although Alabama only has 60 miles of coastline, it’s home to world class red snapper with its vast network of artificial reefs.
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Creator Team
This January we sent six YouTube personalities out on one 39-foot Contender, 130 miles into the gulf to fish an oil rig. Fishing with Captain Kurt Tillman, they hit the jackpot, filming the best topwater tuna bite any of them had ever seen. Each guy on the trip posted a YouTube video about it on his channel. I loved their enthusiasm and I love how this package tells their story from so many authentic perspectives. The crew we used on this trip included Big John McLean, Jack Moran, and Phil Hollandsworth, three guys who you can also watch on our first Salt Water Sportsman expedition. This one was our second, and features a couple of new faces that you may have seen around the internets: Bearded Brad, Ryan Morie, and Tony Faggioni.
John McLean
Phil Hollandsworth
Brad Warren
Tony Faggioni
Ryan Morie
Jack Moran
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What’s more fun than catching giant tuna on poppers? Catching huge snapper, grouper, and giant amberjack on slow pitch gear while you’re waiting for the topwater bite to heat up. We sent three YouTube creators, Viktor Hluben, Brook Crist, and Ryan Morie out fishing with SWS creator team lead Phil Hollandsworth on Captain Kurt Tillman’s boat for another shot at the offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and this time they brought their jigging gear. Slow pitch is a hot tactic, and watching their footage, it’s easy to see why. Light line, light rods, and small reels make working heavy jigs in 500 feet of water something you can do all day without getting tired. It’s an active way to fish. More fun than trolling. More fun than bait. Although maybe not more fun than catching big fish on top.
Viktor Hluben
Brook Crist
We’re starting to tell stories in new ways here at Salt Water Sportsman. Case in point, our first Salt Water Sportsman Expedition, a collaborative storytelling project shot in partnership with four YouTube creators. We’re building out a team of these creators, a group of men and women who love our brand and whom we can send out on assignments to cover hot bites. This trip was the first of these, a quick-and-dirty prototype that documents a 24-hour shark fishing expedition from the beach. Each creator shot three videos, one for YouTube and two for Instagram and Facebook.
Sean Lawless
We brought 6 YouTubers, a writer, and a videographer to the jungle of the remote Darien Gap to tell the story of Tropic Star Lodge, a 60-year-old fishing resort well known as one of the best places to catch big billfish (especially black marlin) on the planet. But you can’t tell the story of a lodge like this without telling the story of the place it’s located within, and of the people that make it possible. We started out by camping in the jungle. Why? We were looking for adventure, and wanted to experience this place in a way that very few others have done before. Casting more than trolling. Learning than catching. And while we love big fish, we like fast action on light tackle even better.
Elias Vaisberg
Presented by Bonafide Fishing
Our plans are big but our strategy is simple: We will do everything we can to produce the highest quality, most thoughtfully designed, and most carefully engineered fishing kayaks possible. The team at Bonafide Kayaks is among the most talented and experienced in the industry, and we can't wait to see what we accomplish together. Commitments to manufacturing in the USA, creating jobs, and unparalleled customer service are among our primary objectives.
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THE DESCENT
We fished out of Panama City Beach, Florida, running out to 200 feet to catch red grouper with Nick Haddad of Return ‘Em Right, a non-profit conservation organization that’s using BP oil spill money to promote the use of descending devices. These tools let you release out of season fish (in this case, red snapper and gag grouper) without intrusive methods like venting, reducing mortality to help ensure we all get the best chance to catch the most fish for the longest seasons. We brought two new guys along on this adventure. If you’ve watched any of our past adventures you likely know Ryan Morie, but we also fished with Rich Janitschek, who goes by FishAholic on YouTube, and Brent Schirmer, who goes by See Ya Dude. The crew had a great day on the water with Captain Scott Nguyen, of Tailhunter Charters, boating some impressive grouper, a big African pompano, and one of the biggest triggerfish we’ve ever seen.
Brent Schirmer
Richard Janitschek
Presented by Return 'Em Right
Return ‘Em Right aims to increase survival of reef fish that are caught and released in the Gulf of Mexico. With a mission to improve reef fish survival by equipping anglers with the knowledge and gear to confidently and successfully release reef fish, and a vision to foster a lasting community of engaged anglers that supports the future health of Gulf of Mexico fisheries.
WINDY SPRING FISHING
Big topwater stripers on plugs and bait in the New York Bight are a staple fishery for saltwater anglers up and down the mid-Atlantic coast. June is the month for big fish as resident Hudson and migrating Chesapeake fish stack up on massive schools of menhaden that school in inshore waters. June is also the month that tuna show up in offshore waters. Could we get both in one shoot? To capture this exciting fishery on camera we sent two creators (Ryan Morie and Rich Janitschek) out fishing for two days with SWS contributor John McMurray, one of the northeast’s top topwater guides for both stripers and tuna. They were hoping to hit a combo in one shoot. The weather, though, had other ideas.
Rich Janitschek
We just got back from a few days of fishing down off Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. There’s a pretty incredible playground for outdoorsy families there, especially for ones who love to fish. Want to catch your kid her first sailfish? His first rooster? This is the place to go. The resort we stayed at caters to families who love the idea of sleeping in the rainforest. Costa Ricans understand the value of their wildlife. One morning on the way to breakfast I saw a Jesus lizard run across the infinity pool, which looks out into a jungle instead of over the water. We saw grass frogs, sloths, and coatis, flocks of parrots, forest falcons, and jungle fowls the size of wild turkeys.
We fished out of Dauphin Island, AL running over 50 miles to slow pitch jig for red snapper and deep drop for scamp grouper. Although Alabama only has 60 miles of coastline, it’s home to world class red snapper with its vast network of artificial reefs. Joining SWS Video Producer, Phil Hollandsworth, on this trip were Jack Moran (Yakin with Jack), Sean Lawless (The Lawless Tide), and John McLean (Big John Shark Fishing) who are all Florida panhandle content creators. The crew had a great day on the water with Captain Kurt Tillman boating some huge red snapper, several scamp grouper, and even some exotic species like bearded brotula and scorpion fish.
SWS Adventures heads out of Marco Island, Florida deep into the Gulf of Mexico to target snapper and grouper with Nick Haddad of Return ‘Em Right, a non-profit conservation organization that’s using BP oil spill money to promote the use of descending devices. These tools let you release deepwater fish without using intrusive methods like venting, reducing mortality to help ensure we all get the best chance to catch the most fish for the longest seasons. Joining us on this adventure were Viktor Hluben (Landshark Outdoors) and his fiancé, Brook Crist (Brook Crist Outdoors). The team had an excellent day on the water with Captain Tanner Ison, of Reel Deal Fishing Charters, boating red snapper, big yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper, and various grouper species, while demonstrating how easy and effective it is to use descending devices to release the out-of-season fish.
