Fish Story
Imagine a place where you can haul in a recordsize snook in the morning, drop baits for a number of reef species after lunch and then raise a trophy sailfish in the late afternoon, all within a 15-mile boat ride. You might think this sounds like a piscatorial fantasyland cooked up inside some angler’s scale-riddled brain, but this place is real. Welcome to Florida, fishing lovers.
This 500-mile-long uber-peninsula has sprouted many storied fishboat builders over the decades, including Bertram Yachts, Merritt’s Boat & Engine Works and John Rybovich & Sons. These days, boatbuilders abound from coast to coast and it’s difficult to find one that doesn’t offer at least one fishing machine. Among the companies that make reputable boats today are the manufacturers featured here, each building on Florida’s storied angling past to create cutting-edge craft.
MAVERICK BOAT GROUP
Scott Deal, president of Maverick Boat Group in Fort Pierce, was born to fish. From the time he was a young lad casting around the sweetwater ponds surrounding Winter Park, Florida, through the years he fished and traveled South Florida as a Xerox salesperson, Deal has always had a keen focus on angling. Today he lends that experience to the boatbuilding outfit that includes Pathfinder, Hewes, Maverick and Cobia brands.
