Speakers
Captain Damon Sacco is the founder of Castafari Inc., a Cape Cod based
sportfishing entity which was founded in 1997. After earning a
bachelor degree at Hobart College in 1991, Damon continued his fishing
aspirations, working as a mate on three different Cape Cod based
commercial tuna fishing vessels. His propensity for the sea eventually
developed into a full time career on the water. In the Spring of 1997,
Damon established his own private sportfishing charter operation,
Castafari Inc. Over the passed 12 years, Damon has garnered continued
success with tournament fishing results, including 11 top three
tournament wins. Two Massachusetts big game state records have been
set on the Castafari. In 2007, the Castafari won money in every
tournament it fished, and earned a first place win in 2009. Damon and
the Castafari crew's fishing exploits have been featured on ESPN,
Spike, National Geographic, and Versus. Damon was also featured on
CNN, ABC, CBS, The Scarborough Show, and even interviewed on the Today
show by Katie Curic.
Damon's latest focus is persuing an interest in t.v. videography and production. Captain Damon is an active sportfishing writing and photography enthusiast, and has had several of his fishing related photos and stories published in just about all of the major fishing publications. In 2009, Damon launched his "FISH LICK'n FILMS" Instructional DVD series. Volume 1 and 2 are for sale now on the Castafari web site and in a variety of industry catalogs and stores. Some of Damon's latest article and photo contributions were in Marlin Magazine, The Big Game Journal, and On The Water Magazine. Damon is also a speaker at the annual Saltwater Sportsman Seminar series hosted by George Poveromo, and has spoken publicly at a variety of other fishing related events. In 2009 Damon successfully launched the CASTAFARI IPTV Show, THE MONSTER CLUB, which has over 1500 active members. Damon is also working hard in the development/distribution of some new Castafari exclusive tackle products also available on the Castafari web site.
Damon is now an active member of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, Coastal Conservation Association, International Gamefish Association, and Billfish Foundation which all act to preserve North Atlantic fish stocks and, more importantly, the future of our recreational angling industry. Damon is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain, and has logged over five thousand offshore hours at sea in waters from Maine to Florida. Damon has also logged well over a hundred trips to the offshore canyons of the Northeast. Damon has fished at many world wide destinations, including Panama, Bora Bora, Costa Rica, The British Virgin Islands, Cabo San Lucas, Belize, The Bahamas, Venezuala, and right here in America.
Captain Eric Stewart has been fishing the waters around Cape Cod since he was a child. Starting as a first mate at age 13 and then earning his captain's license at nineteen he has been involved in charter fishing since 1978. He is a certified IGFA captain and co-owner, with Cliff Hampton, of The Hook-Up! LLC. Capt. Eric has fished three oceans from Midway Island in the Pacific to the eastern seaboard of the Atlantic and to the Indian Ocean off of Mozambique, Africa, he brings a world of fishing knowledge and experiences to his Cape Cod based operation. Since he turned his attention to Bluefin Tuna his record has been remarkable. Captain Stewart is a serious fisherman who has honed his skills on years of being on the water. He has owned and operated the “Tammy Rose” charter boat since 1988 and started “The Hook-Up!” Bait & Tackle in 2001. Capt. Eric has written numerous articles for “On The Water” magazine and he has been featured twice in their television show as well as the Canadian television show “Fins and Skins”. He has fished in many of the local offshore tournaments where he has placed in several. He takes great pride in his family and business. You will find his mark on every aspect of The Hook-Up!, from the quality of the charter experience to the products and professional staff . With his 27 years as a licensed captain he knows what works, and he is very willing to share the key points that make him one of the most successful charter boat captains on the water today. Capt. Eric is married to his wife Tammy and they have three children, Corey who is 20 and the twins, Kimberly and Shylee, who are 15. They reside in Eastham.
Originally from Holbrook MA, Terry Nugent has been fishing the lakes, ponds and coastal waters from New England to Florida for over 30 years. In 1998 that experience was put to good use and Riptide Charters was born. As a professional guide, Terry is also the captain of the Navionics Tournament Team. With major Striped Bass tournament top 10 finishes to his name and several top 3 finishes in ASA and FLW events. Capt. Terry has proven successful with inshore species and offshore pelagics from the islands to the canyons. He has guided his sports to a Massachusetts Governors’ Cup and back to back 2006/2007 IGFA World Records for Thresher and Blue Shark.
In addition to the accolades, Terry is best known for helping to mainstream a booming New England School Bluefin casting fishery. An uncanny ability to put novices and experts alike within reach of trophy school Bluefin has made him the face of inshore Cape Cod tuna casting. A neo-fishery that is evolving at an exponential rate, Terry continues to foster innovation by serving on the design and field testing teams for Navionics, Salty’s Lures, Ocean Saltwater Lures, Offshore Innovations, and Hogy Lures as well as his own line of inshore Tuna spinning rods (Riptide Big Gun). An IGFA certified Captain, Terry is also on the Pro Staff for Berkley Pure Fishing, Costa Del Mar, St. Croix Fishing Rods, and Penn Reels.
Over the past decade Terry has been sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge gained from a life spent on the water with the fishing public through a variety of media. Terry has appeared in several TV shows from the local “On the Water” on NESN to international TV with Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing on Versus and The Spanish Fly on ESPN2 (Jan 2010). Terry has also been featured in several books and publications including “Tuna on the Fly” (Gilmore, 2006), Saltwater Sportsman, Center Console Angler, Northeast Boating, On the Water, Field and Stream, Fishing Boats Registry, and The Fisherman Magazine. During the off-season Terry occupies his time tinkering with tackle, at the local fishing shows and speaking at Clubs and Seminars large and small. Capt. Nugent has been a guest speaker for the Buzzards Bay Anglers Club, Osterville Anglers Club, CCA, “BFT” seminar (’08 & ’09), Tuna Mania (’07 & ’08), the Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar Series, and now the 2010 Big Game Bash.
Scott graduated the University of Rhode Island where he studied Marine and Coastal Management. After college, Scott went to work for the Fishermen's Outfitter Tackle company for 10 years, eventually becoming a shop manager at the Yarmouth store on Cape Cod. His tackle building/rigging experience is substantial, as he has a vast knowledge to offer anyone willing to listen. Over the last 15 years, he has had the opportunity to mate on many luxury sport fishing boats from Maine to Florida. For the past 9 years, Scotty has been a mate in the Castafari lineup. In 2007, Scott earned his position as first mate on the Castafari, and continues to work on the boat full time during the fishing season. The Castafari has won almost 200,000 dollars with Scott working in the cockpit.
Scott is a licensed USCG captain. He is a highly sought after speaker in demand on the lecture circuit offering presentations on coastal habitat, legislation, tag & release programs, migration patterns of pelagic species and the future of our oceans. Scott has spoken at many fishing seminars like the Big Game Bash on trolling techniques for bluefin tuna.
Born and raised on Nantucket Island, fishing has never been a hobby for Roland Beamish-—it’s a way of life. Roland started fishing as a young teenager and by age 18 he had won his first major competition, the Nantucket Billfish Tournament. Since then he’s fished the east coast, and into the Caribbean. Since his first win in 1997, Roland has won awards in ten major tournaments including the Hyannis Bluewater Tournament (2004-2006), the Bahamas Billfish Championship (2008) and the Tri-State Championship (2006).
Somewhere along the way he began making his own lures, some of which helped him win the above awards. After experiencing so much success with his homemade lures, Roland decided that he wanted to share his tackle with the rest of the fishing world. Beamish Custom Tackle was launched in 2006 and has been growing ever since. Several winning catches in the BBC curcuit have been caught on Beamish lures, and the crew of the Castafari swears by them.
John has over 10 years of offshore fishing experience. He has been working as a mate on a variety of different sportfishing charter boats, and eventually joined the Castafari line-up in 2007. John earned a bachelor degree at Salve Regina University in 2005. During the summers he worked at the Falmouth based tackle shop, Eastmans, and earned 3 years as the tackle shop manager. His tackle experience is extremely well rounded. John has since worked on several different reputable sportfishing vessels. His mating experience has brought him to waters from Cape Cod to South America. John has garnered continued success as a member of tournament winning crews, including that of the Castafari. He has 2 first place victories behind his belt, and has placed in the top 3 at 6 other events. John is currently employed as a full time mate on the Castafari.
Captain Corey Stewart had a fishing rod in his hand before he could walk. His knowledge and experience has brought him to a level of fishing competence that few will ever obtain. He grew up fishing on his father’s charter boat and started as 1st mate at age 12. He became a licensed captain in 2008 and co-captains the "Tammy Rose" and “Tuna Fever” charters with his father Captain Eric Stewart. His fishing wisdom is betrayed by his youth. Few adults have caught the fish in their lifetime that Corey has, both in size and numbers. Capt. Corey is also a very accomplished freshwater angler and when he is not offshore you will find him in one of the many ponds on the Cape casting for trout, salmon or large mouth bass. Capt. Corey is in his second year at Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he is studying Marine Engineering. He is always ready to share his knowledge and love of fishing.
Dr. Molly Lutcavage is a Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts and the Director of the Large Pelagics Research Center located in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Along with her colleagues, Lutcavage helped develop popup satellite tagging methodologies for large marine animals. Much of her research has involved research partnerships with commercial and recreational fishermen. The UMASS bluefin tagging and ecological research program includes collaborations with US, Canadian, and Mediterranean researchers and fishermen, and supports many graduate student and postdoctoral projects. Since 1979, Dr. Lutcavage has headed numerous studies on sea turtle ecology, physiology, and conservation. She is a member of the SSC of CLIOTOP (Climate Change Impacts on Top Predators), the IUCN Sea Turtle Specialists group, and has served on the U.S. Scientific Advisory Committee for ICCAT since 1995. She started the “Tag-A-Tiny” program and has been tagging juvenile bluefin tuna with mini pop-up satellite tags for the past 5 seasons. She is internationally recognized as an authority in bluefin tuna.
Capt. Rich Antonino has been fishing his whole life. He grew up spending his summers in Buzzards Bay on Buttermilk Bay, fishing for stripers, blues, fluke, sea bass, flounder, and scup. It was in college when he started fishing on party boats for cod that really got him crazy about fishing in the open water. The smell of the ocean offshore even seems better now. Every time friends visited him from out of town, he would inevitably take them fishing. He started out exploring Boston Harbor, then the B-Buoy area, then the humps around Salem, then Stellwagen Basin, then Stellwagen Bank, then Wildcat Knoll. After getting his economics degree from Harvard in 1992 and working as a financial advisor for more than 10 years, his wife, Stacey encouraged him to quit his job and become a charter captain. She convinced him, along with his closest friends that he was made to be a fishing captain. So with his passion for fishing he started the Black Rose Sportfishing Co. There is an endless number of spots to fish and he is not afraid to try them all. For those who don’t know the story of how he met his wife, he met her at the Black Rose in Boston. So when he made the decision to start chartering, the Black Rose seemed like destiny. Capt. Rich’s approach to fishing with his clients is hands on. He is a very patient captain who prides himself on fishing for large fish on light tackle. He has been on the Pro-Staff of Okuma for many years and specializes in spin fishing for sharks and tuna. No stranger to ground fishing or stripers, Rich is out on Stellwagon Bank all season long from early spring trips to late fall tuna bites. He continues to learn new techniques and always stays on the cutting edge of the fishing industry. Capt. Rich is married to his wife, Stacey and they have two children, Alexandra and Ritchie.
Dan grew up being a part of the family business, LRSE. After graduating from St. Lawrence University, he joined LRSE full time. He has worked his way up through LRSE learning the business and now acts as the Service Manager overseeing the life raft, inflatable boat, and safety service departments. He is currently on the board of directors for the United States Marine Safety Association. Dan has been educating boaters about maritime safety and cold water survival for many years. He was certified in Alaska four years ago as a trainer and is approved by the USCG. Dan's focus is on hands on training for commercial fisherman, USCG, the US Navy, various sport fishing groups, cruisers, fire and police departments, as well as offshore sail boat racers. Dan enjoys sailing, skiing, fly-fishing, hikes, along with numerous other outdoor activities. He owns a J-22 with his wife, Teresa, which he races...when he's not working.
Zach Harvey began a professional fishing career in the mid-1990’s, working deck on the Point Judith, RI-based headboat, Seven B’s V, a job he has held in various capacities ever since. After graduating with a degree in Writing and Communications from UMass-Dartmouth in 2000, he promptly dove into the full-time deck-ape grind. In spring, 2002, in an attempt to get his Dad out of his hair so he could continue fishing in peace, Harvey responded to a help-wanted ad for a local fishing magazine, and a month later took over as Managing Editor of The Fisherman Magazine, NE Edition—-a post he held through mid-2007. After more than five years balancing part-time (40-plus hours a week) deck detail with editing, he left the magazine on a mission to learn some of the thousand things he didn’t know at that point—-none of which can be learned without a full-time commitment to time at sea.
For several years, Harvey juggled an array of freelance writing, editing, photography and illustration work with an array of deck gigs on inshore and offshore six-pack charterboats, gillnetters, draggers and—still—the Seven B’s V. For a short spell in 2008, he held the position of Managing Editor with now-defunct Center Console Angler Magazine. After a three-plus-year crash course in various fisheries and in fisheries management, he returned briefly to the helm of The Fisherman Magazine, and has recently resumed freelancing and fishing. He has written The Fisherman’s weekly Rhode Island and Offshore Reports since 2003.
Harvey plans to devote 2012—-the non-fishing hours-—to transitioning from pure print publishing onto the web, beginning with regular entries for friend, John Lee’s, website, www.thedentedbucket.com. He will also continue contributing to an array of fishing and marine publications, including The Fisherman, On The Water, and Saltwater Sportsman, among others.
Zach met and later married his now-wife, Sarah Pyne, on Block Island, RI. They live with their two-year-old daughter, Kaya Mae Harvey, their dog, Duke, and cat, Ivy, in Peace Dale, RI.