R.I.P. Capt. Peter B. Wright

Capt. Peter B. Wright, one of the world’s greatest big game skippers, has passed away. I have no details at present, but will add them as they become available. Surprisingly, Pete was born on Jan. 8,1944 in Paterson, N.J. — far from the tropical waters where he was to primarily build his reputation. However, he grew up in Fort Lauderdale and was fishing out of Hillsboro Inlet as a teenager before going on to study marine biology at the University of Miami.

Peter ended up fishing around the world and becoming a member of the IGFA Hall of Fame and winning the Tommy Gifford Award. He became most famous as a pioneer in the Cairns, Australia giant black marlin fishery where he put more anglers into 1000-pounders than any other captain. Despite his fame, Peter was a friendly guy always ready to share his knowledge.

The list of laces Peter fished (as listed in his bio) follows:

Australia • New Zealand • New Guinea • Indonesia • Thailand • Mauritius • Kenya • Mozambique • South Africa • The Ivory Coast •  Bom Bom Island • Cape Verde Islands • Canary Islands • Madeira • Puerto Rico • Dominican Republic • Virgin Islands • Bahamas • US Gulf and East Coast • Canada’s Maritime Provinces • East and West Coasts of Mexico • Guatamala • Costa Rica • Panama • Ecuador • Chile • Peru • French Polynesia • Fiji • Nova Scotia • Newfoundland • Hawaii • the Galapagos

Shore Catch Charters reports Capt. Gene Quigley will be providing a seminar on fly fishing for tuna during the Fly Fishing Show in Edison at noon Saturday. At the same time Sunday, Quigley will discuss catching trophy stripers on the fly.

A small craft advisory is posted in NY/NJ Bight from Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon. Wednesday starts well with east winds at just 5-10 knots before increasing to southeast 20-25 with gusts to 30 in the afternoon. There is a chance of rain in both the morning and afternoon.