Pro Staff

David Brackmann

With over 30 years of fishing experience, David is a well-known writer, seminar speaker, and private boat skipper / expert on offshore fishing for marlin, tuna and sharks. He has worked as a professional marlin-fishing deckhand at Lizard Island - Australia, The Bay of Islands - New Zealand, Cabo San Lucas – Mexico and on multi-day sport boats out of San Diego. David has also fished as an angler in many of the top billfish spots in the world including Panama, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Bahamas, U.S.V.I., Azores, South Africa and Thailand.

He fishes aboard his 38-foot custom sport fisher CALIENTE out of Huntington Harbour, CA and his 33-foot Tiara CALIENTE out of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In Mexico he targets striped, blue, and black marlin and yellowfin tuna from Cabo to Magdalena Bay. Locally he fishes the offshore banks and islands from Santa Cruz Island to San Martin Island out to 150 miles offshore pursuing yellowtail, tuna, marlin and sharks.

He is an active billfish tagger with the The Billfish Foundation and does extensive tagging for Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research in tagging studies conducted on bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail, white sea bass and black sea bass. He also has contributed billfish DNA samples to the N.M.F.S. to help determine the genetic mix and distribution of East Pacific Billfish. In 2001 he was instrumental in forming The Billfish Foundation’s West Coast Advisory Panel of which he currently serves the role as Chairman. The advisory group was formed with the goal of consolidating sport fishermen’s efforts to remove gill nets from California waters as well as preventing the introduction of long line gear into California’s 200 mile EEZ. He is an IGFA Certified Observer and continues to be actively involved with this program and others promoting billfish and other pelagic fish conservation in the Pacific.

When not chasing saltwater species, he enjoys largemouth bass fishing and big game, upland and waterfowl hunting.

He is currently is a pro staff member for Black Bar Lures, Legend Lures and Inside Sportfishing.