By Jake Worthington
One of the lines in the song “Time” by the Alan Parsons Project band says, “Goodbye my friend.” I will never hear that song again and not think about the memories of a friend and mentor I lost last April. Captain Brant Wise took me on the first offshore trip of my life on Memorial Day 2009 aboard his charter boat the Swordfish. This trip only made me appreciate fishing even more and stoked the fires of my passion for fishing. This trip on his boat was also a family affair and my Dad came along also. Both Brant and Dad watched me as I reeled in my first Dolphin in which would be the first of many that day. I would later learn that day that Swordfish was also the same boat my Dad went on for his first offshore trip that his Dad took him on after he had graduated from college. I learned that the Swordfish was once the Marlin Fever when Dad fished on her in 1989. Talk about a small world.
My memories of Brant and the Swordfish include many firsts. I caught my first Blue Marlin while fishing in my first Big Rock Marlin Tournament. When we returned to Teaches Lair that day, I learned what it felt like to be “creeked” when the boat was backed into the slip. For those of you who are not aware of this fishing custom, this is what happens when you catch your first billfish. When you return to the dock, the same people that a few hours ago were giving you high fives are now wrangling you and throwing you into the boat basin when you arrive at the dock. Although I didn’t like it at the time, I now look at it as a rite of passage. I also caught my first White Marlin on that boat with Brant. We shared many an adventure on that boat. It was a dark day in my life when he sold that boat last year. It was even darker last April when my Dad told me that Brant had passed away at the young age of fifty.
When I look back now, I have so many fond memories of fishing with Captain Brant Wise. One of my favorite trips was when we went Bluefin Tuna fishing in March of 2013. I have never seen so many Bluefins, schooling and skying out of the water after bait. We caught them trolling and jigging. It was a great day to fish and just sit back and watch a once in a lifetime show put on by these majestic creatures of the sea. If you were fishing with Brant and the fish were not biting, well that is when it got entertaining. Brant was a practical joker, as well as a comedian, so we got free entertainment during the slow action periods. I will miss him, but he will always live in my memories.