News

Welcome to Grander Marlin Sport Fishing, previously Samoa Sport Fishing. We were originally based out of the Samoan islands and spent many great seasons, broke records, won tournaments and even beat out the fleet in our last tournament with only my wife as the angler, I have times I will never ever forget (please feel free to scroll thru the archives of our news sections to see how far we have come). It has been a dream to spend those years fishing those prolific waters that to me were somewhat of a baptism in my sportfishing career. There were great times and some bad times and we thank you all that supported us thru both, but like the pelagic species we chase we too have migrated to find a better bait supply and to move on to fertile grounds in search of the fantastic billfish that haunt those south pacific waters.

My wife Shannon and I made a decision a year back that we would pack up the Southern Destiny and head out on a journey of nearly 1400 miles to end up in the legendary sacred fishing grounds of Vanuatu. We are signed on to spend at least one full year in Vanuatu and the Santo Islands, then like those billed beast we specialize in hunting, we too may move again to another bait school in another tropical sportfishing destination. Although deep down inside I feel Vanuatu may capture the destiny of both my wife and I, which was the exact reason the Southern Destiny was built- to search the southern seas for Blue and Black marlin in massive sizes. Of course we target any species of fish for you that swims in the bountiful pacific blue, but professionalism in hunting and catching Marlin has been the building block and the real motivation for our Southern Destiny.

I think the first thing you will notice when you step aboard my vessel is the collection of new shimano reels that are tediously marked with drag scales to ensure that the angler will always know exactly how much pressure is being put on the fish. I think the next thing you will notice is the beautiful Teak Release Fighting chair that was specifically built for our boat and reinforced stronger with extra deck plates to ensure no problem when and if the 2000lb blue lady decides to be our grumpy grandma. You will have no problem putting excess of 80 lbs of drag on that fish for as long as the angler can endure with out worry of tackle or chair failure. The next thing you would notice would be the esoteric collections of lights and navigation systems as well as digital recording rigger cameras for your personalized video. You will notice our top end Raymarine plotter and 3 furuno radar,sonar and a new thermal night vision cameras as well as a back up Garmin plotter. I think once you have a look at all the Southern Destiny has to offer you will be as impressed as I’m with this well maintained fishing machine. Inside the boat you will be dually impressed with the 2 flat screen TV’s and DVD players with ultimate surround sound. You will also find for your comfort, 2 working bathrooms and supreme Air conditioning in the cabin and salon.

One thing that I think you will find that makes Grander Marlin Sport Fishing adventures different from the rest is that we offer true professionalism, no hook goes in the water unless its as sharp as can be, no leaders hit the water unless they are fresh and no bait will be swimming out the back unless its fresh enough for human consumption. I think clients will also be impressed in the way that I run every charter as a high stakes tournament, nothing is ever done ½ ass on our boat. My crew strive on quickness and the lure and bait spread are often set in lighting speed, we will have lures out running and smoking again before we can even congratulate you on the beautiful blue marlin swimming away with the tag in her back. People are often surprised how often we are hooked up yet again with in seconds of catching that first fish. Because of that we designate one mate to try and keep baits in the water as long as possible during hook up to try for a double. No reason you cant hook up on another one off the bow while we are backing down on your fish.

Another thing I think I should tell you about Grander Marlin Sport Fishing is our crew. This too me has always been very important because any captain knows without a good crew you have nothing. In Vanuatu we will have 2 mates and I can guarantee you that whoever is working the pit on my boat will be of extreme skill and professionalism. Another added advantage to our crew now is my wife’s Shannon who will be in charge of keeping you well fed and drinks full as well as offer a service of action photos along the way, to document your trip of a lifetime. So no need to worry about fumbling around for you camera instead of jumping into the fighting chair because Shannon will have already gotten the photo for you, please check out the photo link above for more information and to see some of her impressive action shots.

Well I look forward to hearing from you and hope to have you in the pit soon listening to the screaming reel as that Grander streaks across the horizon with hell bent ambition to free itself.

Kind regards and tight lines
Captain Chris Donato