Capt. Corky Decker

Capt. Mark S. “Corky” Decker is an IGFA-certified captain, freelance writer and a proven world-class billfish guide. He grew up commercial fishing on the East Coast, prior to quitting college and relocating to Alaska to cash in on the booming fisheries of the 1980s. After almost 20 years of incredible success, it all suddenly came crashing down with a looming federal lawsuit for illegal fishing practices that changed a whole way of life — not just for him but for commercial fishermen in general.   At age 40 Corky ran away to the South Pacific to start over, fishing for marlin and writing about the sport. Today, Corky's home port is Destin, Florida, where he lives with his New Zealand-born wife, Maggie. Corky recently completed his first novel To See A Green Flash and is currently working on a sequel to his personal memoir A Hardway to Make an Easy Living. In the Spring of 2012 Corky came full circle yet again and purchased a Maine harpoon boat to pursue the fish of his youth — giant bluefin tuna. He fishes out of Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine, during the summer — where his passion for fishing began. To find out more about Corky and order one of his books, visit corkydecker.com.

Articles: 28

Capt. Corky Decker Articles

Fishing How To Fish

Bluefin By Harpoon: It’s a Maine Thing

There are two places in the world where this fishery even exists and only a handful of fishermen alive are really professionals. There is only one place I know of where they have legendry harpooners; a small East coast harbor that has been the home …

gear fish

Fishing Fishing Gear

Tackle Junkie

Tackle Junkie – Fishing Tackle I just knew this was going to be a bit of a worry, little profit margin problems, when all the cool new stuff ends up on my boats. I look at a new lure where my cost is only 7 …

tuna fishing

Fishing Saltwater Fishing Travel

Fish of Gold – Bluefin Tuna

Gold Bluefin Tuna The North Atlantic giant bluefin migration, has changed over the past 20 years, the fish in years past were spending the summers in the Gulf of Maine to ‘The Rips’ off of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Today the main body stays offshore following the …

inshore fishing

inshore fishing

Fishing Fishing Lures Fishing Tackle How To Fish

In the poorest of conditions

Daily thunderstorms, heavy showers, huge tides, full moon, no bait, muddy water, hotter than a California wildfire and water temperatures you would find on the equator made for the worse flats fishing we have had since January. Perfect! Been waiting for this, nobody is catching …

freshwater bass

freshwater bass

Fishing Freshwater Fishing

Bass Life – BD Outdoors Bass Fishing Documentary

Bass Life – Florida Fishing Florida fishing, where else in the world can you leave a port pretty much anywhere in the State and go catch a blue marlin, cast a fly at a bonefish, legally gig a flounder, or turn inland and set bush …

redfish tips

Fishing Fishing Lures Fishing Tackle Saltwater Fishing

Match the Hatch – Mullet

We have all seen it, fish aggressively feeding, but on what? Throw every fly in the box at a rainbow, yell at both deckhands to change out every lure in the spread to get that blue to jump on, or watch your buddy catch fish …

Fishing Fishing Gear Fishing Reels Fishing Tackle

Testing the Penn Battle

When I skied 100 days a year in Alaska I thought it would be perfect to own a ski shop, not so much to make a living but to be able to test every new pair of boards that came out that year. My write …

Fishing Fishing Gear Fishing Lures Fishing Reels Fishing Tackle Saltwater Fishing

Match the Hatch

Fly Fishing Match Hatch Being a fly fisherman since birth, I have spent my life trying to imitate ‘live bait’ From tying the perfect red salmon egg, for Alaskan big bow’s, to an eel fly to trick a free swimming cobia in the Panhandle, the …

Franklin Park Conservatory Retired Plant

Franklin Park Conservatory Retired Plant

Retired to the Plant

Franklin Park Conservatory Retired Plant If you know where to look, you can find this anywhere in the world, a down east harbor masters office, a ski shack at the base of the Matterhorn, or at a power plant water discharge channel in New Port …

corky

Fishing Fishing Lures Saltwater Fishing

Ono Master

With the exception of the Indian ocean and the East coast of Africa I have at one time or another fished the worlds water, meeting some incredible fishermen and learning methods and techniques from so many masters that I have used to build my book …

Fishing How To Fish Saltwater Fishing

Dorado in the Bag

Whether you call them dorado, mahi mahi, or dolphin fish, this is one of the highest prized game fish found anywhere in the world. Providing an incredible fight on light tackle, launching to the heavens, screaming drags in long blistering runs and they dog it …

sight fishing

Fishing Fishing Reels Fishing Tackle How To Fish

The Manning Brothers of Cobia

Cobia fishing on the Panhandle is a unique fishery with extremely competitive season-long and weekend tournaments. It seems like every year the same boats and teams place in the top slots. “Full Pull” always catches the first fish of the year and is in the …

The Urban Hunter

A business opportunity found us making a move to the Tampa Bay area a few months ago, the timing came right before hunting season. Finding a place to hang a couple of tree stands was a puzzle at best, so I started to ask a …

Boat Maintenance Boating Tips

Used Boat Buyers Guide

One of my very best friends builds custom high end game boats, the boat building business in today’s economy is extremely hard, and new construction is at a standstill. There are also so many really incredible deals on used boats that you can get so …

Pig Time

There are hunters, and then there is Jeff. In a comparison, I consider my self to be in that one percent that catches ninety-nine percent of the fish; Jeff is that one percent that puts whatever he hunts in the truck. Jeff Chesser owns Harbor …

Long Island, Bahamas

They say Long Island in the Southern Bahamas group is the most scenic Island in all of the Bahamas; with its white sandy beaches on the southwest coast to world famous Deans blue hole (the worlds deepest at over 600 feet) 5 miles northwest of …

fishing remote

Tonga Travel

There are very few untapped marlin grounds remaining; the few remote places left to us require a mother ship and a game boat with some serious legs to fish for success. With this mode of exploration you are going in blind, learning the waters as …

offshore fishing

offshore fishing

Fishing Saltwater Fishing

Offshore Florida Panhandle! Monster Tuna

We all have our own favorite seasons and here in the beautiful, plentiful, Panhandle we have a lot to choose from! No matter if it is red drum in the bay or the first blue marlin showing up in the Gulf, each month seems to …

bay florida

Fishing Saltwater Fishing

Bountiful Bay

It’s ironic but sometimes it takes something bad to happen to open our eyes to a different path…In the spring of 2010 the disastrous Gulf oil spill shut down more and more water every day. We Panhandle fisherman needed to find alternate ways to use …

Hard Labor Creek Plantation

In 1988, just three years out of college, 28-year-old Ted Everett moved to Chipley, Florida to manage his family’s 5,000-acre property. His dad predicted it would be about three months before Ted would be back in Georgia. But, that never happened. Ted had a plan …

Woodies in the Pan

It is that time of year again, early wood duck season! Duck hunting in 80-degree weather, gators and bugs, makes for some weird, non-traditional hunting, but for that one week in September I’m in the woods. We are really lucky to have so many opportunities …

harpoon, maine, fishermen, lost, rescue, suspended

harpoon, maine, fishermen, lost, rescue, suspended

Fishing Fishing Events

Bluefin Tuna Legend Lost

Corky Decker: Friend lost Billy McIntyre was a living legend among New England bluefin tuna harpooners. We grew up together in the 1970’s and early 80’s, we were the Perkins Cove rats of Ogunquit, Maine, the wild ones, the generation that fished hard and stayed …

Fishing Saltwater Fishing Uncategorized

Modern Day Monsters

We all dream of breaking records, with billfish it seems everyone’s goal is a grander, well lets take this one step further; The “one off’s”. In the ‘Old Man and The Sea’, Hemingway’s 1954 classic; his fish in the story was a massive blue marlin. …

Fishing Fishing Line Fishing Lures Fishing Reels Fishing Rods How To Fish Saltwater Fishing

Wahoo on the Fly

A blistering first run that can challenge the drag system on even the largest marlin reels; some expert’s say it is the hardest, fastest first run of any game fish, period. A mouth full of razor blades that will cut though most leader materials and …

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