About Captain Jack
I was born in Grenoble, France. My parents moved my family by boat to Canada when I was 6 months old. I’ve spent my whole life on the water.
My grandfather and my dad took me fishing for the very first time when I was 5 in the Northern Canadian fresh water lakes. It was love at first catch. I loved it so much that I begged my grandfather to take me fishing every weekend whether it was ice fishing in the winter or catching the snow melts in the spring where the lakes would be higher, and the fish would be hungry after a harsh, cold winter with very little food for them to feed on.
By the age of 15, my parents decided to move our family to Miami Beach, Florida near the Haulover Marina. I spent all my weekends, holidays and summers working as a deckhand on the Kelley Fishing Fleet drift boats. One summer day, as I was walking down the dock, an ‘Old-timer’ by the name of Captain Smitty Barnyard, owner of The Angler, a sport fishing charter boat at Haulover since the 30’s, waved me down and said, “Hey kid, I’m booked this afternoon, and I want you to be my mate”. I quickly jumped at the opportunity; it was from that moment my career as a mate on a sportfishing charter boat began. From there I got a job as a mate aboard the New Moon III ran by Captain Terry Guthrie. I quickly absorbed as much of the information and knowledge this ‘old-timer’ had to offer, as I knew not many Captains knew better than he. It didn’t take long before I worked my way up to a Captain myself, where I fished all across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
Fishing Tournaments
Along the way, I developed a love for participating in big game fishing tournaments for the elusive, pelagic Blue Marlin. I’ve fished over 100 tournaments, winning many, but the one that marked me the most was winning the first annual Turks and Caicos Blue Marlin Tournament on a LOBSTER BOAT. It was given to us to use by a local. I went to Capt Harry’s where I bought an easy install pair of el cheapo outriggers and four rod holders given to us by Lee’s Tackle. I have to say, we were, by far, the ugliest boat fishing the tournament. But that didn’t stop us; we came in first place with seven releases in four days of fishing. This win was more then double the runner up.
I eventually settled back down in Miami where I got married and raised three children, one of which is now a mate aboard New Moon Sportfishing.
I gotta say, I love what I do and look forward to taking you deep sea fishing aboard New Moon Sportfishing!