OUR STAFF -

Sam Baillie

Sam handles most of our customer service enquiries; as well as custom rigging, lure skirting and rod building. He has had feature articles on gamefishing published in several national magazines, including Bluewater, Fishing World & NAFA, and has been working professionally with fishing tackle for over 10 years. During this time, he has been fortunate enough to work with - and learn from - a number of leading professionals; some of whom are profiled below. Whilst he enjoys all forms of fishing; his true passion lies with big-game lure trolling. He pursues this passion at every opportunity, and can reguarly be found plying the bluewater currents off Australia's east coast; mainly between Sydney & Port Stephens in mid-NSW. Sam has been involved in the capture and/or tag & release of most major Australian gamefish, including Striped, Blue & Black Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Short-Billed Spearfish, Spanish Mackerel, Yellowtail Kingfish, Albacore, GT, Cobia and a number of shark species including Tiger, Mako, Hammerhead, Blue & various Whalers.

Ally Harris

Ally handles most of our accounts; however she also takes care of custom rigging & lure skirting. She is an accomplished big-game angler, and has racked up some quality captures including a 780lb Tiger Shark and a 260lb Black Marlin, both on 15kg tackle. She has also tagged & released a string of Striped & Black Marlin to 350lb, as well as numerous Yellowfin Tuna & Mahi Mahi. When she's not busy taking care of BFP customers, she helps out James & the crew at Black Pete Marine - Australia's premier wholesale supplier of quality gamefishing tackle. She is very keen on big-game fishing; regularly competing in gamefishing tournaments along the NSW coast, however she also loves other forms of fishing such as fly-fishing & reef fishing, and hopes to one day tangle with a Marlin on fly.

PRO TEAM -

Glen Booth

Glen, or Boothy as he is better known, was the editor & driving force behind Modern Fishing for over 16 years. Through his various roles within Australia's fishing media, he has been exposed to every major development in tackle & technique that has cropped up over the past two decades. Having relocated from Melbourne to Sydney in 1985, his involvement in gamefishing increased drastically; and he was fortunate enough to be a part of the big-game lure trolling revolution when it first gained serious momentum in Australia during the late 80's & early 90's. He is an extremely accomplished big-game angler & crewman, with a number of standout captures including the current Australian (once world) record Striped Marlin of 106kg on 8kg line. His real prize however, is a 227lb (103kg) Yellowfin Tuna taken off Montague Island back in the 'golden days' - one of only a handful of Yellowfin over the 200lb-mark caught in Australian waters by a rec-fisho. Another fisherman addicted to big-game lure trolling, his real passion is chasing big Blue Marlin with skirted lures, something which he says "you can never grow tired of!". His other passion; Snapper fishing, follows closely behind and if he's not towing a spread of big skirts around out wide, chances are you will find him floating a pilchard down a berley trail on the reefs off his home port of Coffs Harbour, in northern NSW. His is an informed & respected opinion, based on years of fishing with the some of the best in the business, and we feel priviledged to be able to list him among our BFP Pro-Team.

Capt. Steve 'Hoggy' Haygarth

Captain Hoggy is one of Australia's most respected big-game skippers. Based from Sydney's northern beaches, where he also works as a professional shipwright, Capt. Hoggy fishes Australia's east coast from Sydney, NSW to the hallowed waters off Cairns, QLD - Australia's Great Barrier Reef & home to the Grander Black Marlin. He has been fishing these waters since 1979, when he first joined the Broken Bay GFC as a junior. Over the past 30 years he has fished & worked with most of the biggest names in the business, and he too is now considered to be one of Australia's best. Whilst he is best known for his stint as the captain of one of Australia's finest custom gameboats; The Force, he has also fished as a captain & crewman in a number of the world's best big-game hotspots. During the mid-1990's he spent several seasons chasing the giant Blue Marlin of Madeira, Portugal, and has also fished off Mexico and the home of modern day lure trolling; Kona, Hawaii. His largest Black Marlin to date weighed in at 1177lb, and he has captured and/or tagged numerous other Blacks over the magic 1000lb mark. His largest Blue Marlin to date went a whopping 1170lb, with a further 9 'Grander' Blues over 1000lb tagged & released. Captain Hoggy was instrumental in the development of switchbaiting in local waters, and has won most of Australia's major big-game tournaments at some point along the way. He is an incredibly accomplished big-game captain & crewman, and we are very grateful to be able to tap into his vast experience to help better advise our customers.

Alistair McGlashan 

Best known for his world-class photography and the acclaimed Strikezone DVD series, Al McGlashan is one of Australia's most respected fishing journalists. He spends over 200 days a year on the water, most of it based from a 6m trailerboat, and has fished with many of this country's best anglers & captains. Having caught every major species of Australian gamefish, Al has a sound base of practical fishing experience and is only too happy to share it with however may ask. He has had feature articles & photographs published in every major Australian fishing publication, as well as a number of international titles including Bluewater, Marlin Magazine, Big Game Journal & Saltwater Sportsman. A true ambassedor for the sport of fishing, it is Al's intimate knowledge of trailerboat gamefishing that we have come to rely upon most. Having caught hundreds of Marlin, Tuna and other gamefish from his various trailer vessels, he is well positioned as our leading consultant for trailerboat gamefishing. You can read more about Alistair, and check out his amazing photography at www.almcglashan.com