Offshore charters indulge a deeper love of fishing

Growing up in Michigan’s lower peninsula, “offshore” meant outboarding past the blue line of Lake Michigan. For its endless horizon, legitimate white caps, and deepwater creatures, it was as good as a saltless sea to a kid like me. But I wasn’t the one driving the boat, or doing the fishing.

There was a reason my dad loved casting a line over inland lakes, but was positively giddy about every trip to the Keys. Whether it was the catch, the latitude, or the changing tides, who knows – and who cares? It was the ocean, plain and simple, with all her maritime mystique and briny bounty.

Charter boat captains here in the Lowcountry get it. It’s what drew them to the nautical vocation of avid anglers in the first place. And it’s what keeps their businesses not just afloat, but abundantly busy.

Beresford Hall resident Gasper Marino launched his charter fishing outfit ten years ago. He was just 12 years old when he landed his first job on a boat, and by the age of 16, Marino was working private sport fishing boats and participating in tournaments. When he started up Wadmacallit Sport Fishing, it was to fulfill both a lifelong dream and the need for the kind of career flexibility more conducive to starting a family.

Captain Gasper’s custom built vessel, the 58-foot Wadmacallit, takes up to six anglers offshore year-round. From April to June, he is booked every single day. July through October slows to four days per week, and November through March is spottier as weather permits. Following a brief onboard orientation, Marino and his two licensed mates cruise their clients 25 to 70 miles from shore in style: the Wadmacallit offers a full bathroom with shower, private stateroom, television and speakers, and cockpit mezzanine seating.

But perhaps more important to his fishing groups is the captain’s ability to get on top of the fish. “We are fishing certain breaks and edges in the Gulf Stream,” Marino explains. To get to that sweet spot – and stay safe along the way – Wadmacallit Sport Fishing is a member of four different paid weather services and three separate maritime condition services. Every few years, his company makes an investment in updated technology, and the vessel has its own SAT phones and email.

This ability to communicate from miles offshore is also vital to Steve Smith, founder of Charleston Sport Fishing Charters.

Captain Steve is also co-owner (with wife Debbie) of Charleston Metro Homes Real Estate, and needs to remain accessible to clients while at sea. He explains that depths don’t dip to 130 feet until 35 to 40 miles off the coast of Charleston, and they fall to 150 feet at about 50 miles out. “Because of the currents and temperatures of the Gulf Stream, and the structure from the ledge, that’s where the bait is, and the fish follow the bate!” Smith relates. “We generally drop lines at 140 feet to troll for wahoo and tuna early in the mornings and then troll deeper for mahi and billfish.” Captain Steve has been fishing all his life, initially from streams and lakes in Pennsylvania. He had the opportunity to do some deep sea fishing off the coast of Los Angeles and was, as they say, hooked. He bought his first sport fishing boat in 2007, became a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain, then traded up for his current 56-foot ocean yacht, the Reel Interest, in 2009. Charleston Sport Fishing Charters’ pride and joy boasts a spacious and well-appointed cabin, powerful bottom finders and radar, Sirius XM weather and sea condition services, and top of the line angler gear. His passengers get a briefing on everything when they board, but he admits, “The most important topic for the 5 a.m. two-hour ride to the ledge is how to use the satellite remote for the big screen TV.”

At the end of these comfortable cruises and hours of fishing, is there such a thing as a typical haul? Marino states that, in the present El Niño, “everything is off,” though, his clients can be confident of bringing home 15-25 tuna or 20-40 dolphin (mahi-mahi). Still, he concedes that you never can tell, and has a story (doesn’t every fisherman?) to prove it. In mid-April, Marino took a group out on a day that did not look promising. The water was exceptionally calm, which is not ideal for fishing tuna, and crowded with vessels, even for a Saturday. “I remember saying to my buddy, ‘let’s just go and make the best of it,’” Captain Gasper recalls. A short time later, they were reeling in tuna from every line, all sides of the boat. The action was so non-stop that the Wadmacallit had to head to shore early because it couldn’t accommodate one more fish. “We’ll all remember that day for the rest of our lives,” he states with certainty.

There is no minimum age to board either the Wadmacallit or the Reel Interest; both vessels have taken infants on harbor cruises. For fishing charters, it is not uncommon for kids as young as ten years old to join their parents. “Many of my clients start out by booking a business trip,” says Marino, “then book again and come back with their families.” In fact, he estimates that 95% of his current charter schedule is repeat customers, many booking up to 12 months in advance. Smith says his business follows this same trend.

Captain Steve further reveals that, to date, all mahi over 50 pounds pulled into the Reel Interest have been caught by female anglers, and that the youngest angler he’s had onboard, Cobin Roban, was seven years old. “The crew paid such extra attention to him,” mom Martha Roban recounts of their trip. For his part, Captain Gasper shares that about a third of the anglers aboard the Wadmacallit are kids, and another ten percent are women, both demographics that have slowly grown over his decade in business.

It seems the sea is still casting a lure of its own.

Wadmacallit Sport Fishing offers a full 12-hour day charter, as well as a nine-hour charter and three daily options for a five-hour excursion. Overnight trips are available, too. Charleston Sport Fishing Charters books full-day and 3/4-day offshore outings, as well as three-hour minimum harbor cruises.

 

             Capt. Gasper Marino

             Wadmacallit Sportfishing

            Cell: (843) 514-4117 Sat phone: (863) 200-3937

             wadmacallit.com

 

            Capt. Steve Smith 

            Charleston Sport Fishing Charters

            Phone: (843) 278-1861

            charlestonsportfishingcharters.com

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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