ANGLER OF INTEREST
The
WORLD FISHERMAN
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BY CAMILLE S. YATES
When he’s not speaking at fundraising
events for nonprofits such as the
Coastal Conservation Association or
the Billfish Foundation, Capt. Peter B.
Wright is fishing, hunting quail or instructing shotgun
shooters in his beloved Martin County.
“I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and spent summers
in Pompano near Hillsboro Inlet,” says
Wright. “I choose to live in Stuart because it is like
Broward County was when I was a boy, not yet
over-developed and lots of fish, game, and open
land. I love not having high-rise buildings along the
beach and catching snook in my backyard!”
Wright began working on charter sport fishing
boats out of the Hillsboro Inlet while he was in elementary
school. At age 11, he fished in the Bahamas
with noted Pompano Beach Capt. John Whitmer.
That’s when he fell in love with big-game fishing.
Throughout high school and college, Wright traveled
to Bimini to fish in marlin tournaments.
While he was in graduate school at the University
of Miami, he visited the Antarctic, where he
collected cephalopods squid and octopus aboard
a research vessel with the U. S. Antarctic Research
Program. Shortly afterward, he traveled throughout
the South Pacific and, during a stay in New Zealand,
fished off the Great Barrier Reef.
Wright became passionate about catching marlin,
so much so that he spent more than 40 years living
and fishing in Cairns, Australia, where marlin are
prolific. He also fished and lived in Kona, Hawaii.
Wright has caught more marlin over 1,000 pounds
than any captain or angler in history, has won
dozens of tournaments and has guided his clients
to numerous records.
Now, he spends most of his time as editorat
large for Marlin Magazine, where he writes a
monthly column, “The Wright Way,” and hosts an
“Ask Peter Wright” section and an online bi-weekly
blog for the magazine. He is the head instructor for
Marlin University programs and conducts seminars
for clubs and a variety of organizations.
Just recently, Wright was contacted by artist
James Prosek, whose goal was to create a full-size
marlin painting.
“Rather than catch the fish, James just wanted
to see a blue marlin up close to get the fish’s color
while alive (the colors fade after they are landed)
and wanted to see a decent sized one, too,” says
Wright. “I mentioned the Cape Verde islands as one
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