Truly a living legend in big game fishing and one who will live on forever as a legend in our memories. Capt. Ron Hamlin died on August 12, 2018.

Hamlin was recognized not only for his expertise at placing anglers from all over the world on billfish, but also for his contributions to billfish conservation.  His expertise at the helm won him awards year after year, including the Billfish Foundation’s Top Captain Award, for which he stopped competing. After landing billfish for years during the early part of his career, he later recognized that continuation of his profession depended upon the availability of healthy stocks of fish in the water for clients to catch. He turned to catch and release fishing and became a voice for billfish conservation being one of the first to recognize conservation benefits of using non-offset circle hooks when fishing with natural baits. Hamlin supported adoption of the hooks and worked extensively to teach other captains how to rig and use the baited hooks successfully. He was a member of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and The Billfish Foundation.

Hamlin was presented TBF’s most prestigious award, John Rybovich Lifetime Conservation Award, in recognition of the contributions made over decades to advance billfish and marine conservation.