Big Move

The big news is, of course, the big move.

I came to the Philippines about 9 years ago with the aim of setting up a Sportfishing charter business. The result was Blue Sky – operating for the past 6 years from Cebu City. Good years they were, too, as Cebu is definitely a good place to hang one’s hat. But – big but – I came here to fish, and the truth is that the waters around Cebu are not as productive as they once were, between the local fishermen and commercial operators stocks have become depleted and results are iffy at best. More and more often of late I have found myself dissuading potential customers when I felt the timing was less than promising. Also happening more frequently in the past couple of years were my trips to Siargao to go after the big boys – marlin, swordfish and others – found in the Pacific. The idea for a fishing camp on Siargao Island took hold and I decided to move to the town of Pilar because of its deep water & ready-made infrastructure; it is also the home of Siargao fishing legend, Junior Gonzales & his wife Jean, who run a fishing lodge on the river estuary.