Captain Barry Gibson is one of those rare individuals who found his passion early in life and then was able to shape a successful career around it.

A self-described fishing fanatic, fish and fishing are the common threads through Gibson’s careers as a Boothbay Harbor charter boat captain, writer, magazine editor, and recreational fishing activist. In February, Gibson was honored with first and third place awards for the Best Boating Writing of 2014 by Boating Writers International.

The awards were a pleasant surprise to Gibson, who had not entered the contest. Anglers Journal editor Bill Sisson, who published the stories, entered them on Gibson’s behalf.

Sisson said the stories were not only amusing and insightful, they provided an inside look at a man who has been a key figure in the recreational fishing industry.

“Barry’s writing is so strong and it’s only getting better with age,” Sisson said. “These stories show his great perspective and also, that he’s willing to laugh at himself.” 

Gibson’s first place winning story, “Circling Back,” outlines the six stages of angling affliction, from “Stage One: It’s a Possession” through “The Numbers Game,” “Catching Bigger Fish,” “Tackling Challenges” and Protecting Fisheries.”

The circle closes when the fishing fanatic finds himself at “Stage Six: Back to the Beginning.”

“ ... and it starts when fishermen who are perhaps a bit older than most harken back to the good old days when they could catch a mess of winter flounder, croakers, tommycod or whatever to eat, just as they did when they were kids ... Fly rods and big-game tackle gather dust on the garage rafters. It’s back to sinkers and bait, smiles and tartar sauce.” Excerpt from “Circling Back.”

“I have never read such a deliciously crafted, accurate, and humorous story describing the life cycle of someone with an angling affliction,” contest judge Gary Reich wrote in a statement. “I smiled through every single paragraph of this great fishing read.”

“It’s a story I have never seen written before,” Sisson said. “I’ve seen other attempts at that kind of piece, but nothing done so well.”

“Circling Back was a story I had in my head for years but it took awhile to figure out the different stages,” Gibson said at his home in East Boothbay. “It struck a chord with a lot of people who fish recreationally.”

Third place winner, “End of the Day,” which chronicles Gibson’s first summer as a Boothbay Harbor charter boat captain in 1971, strikes a decidedly local chord.

“Boothbay Harbor’s charter dock in those days was nirvana to Buzz and me. The biggest gorilla on the couch was Capt. Arno Rogers of the 34-foot fiberglass Gertrude R, a fit tanned, balding man who appeared to take life and charter fishing far too seriously and tended to speak out of the corner of his mouth with a scowl and little attempt at levity.” Excerpt from “End of the Day.”

At the end of the fishing dock line, Gibson and his 24-foot Sasanoa survived their first season on the outskirts of the local charter boat captains’ world. In “End of the Day,” Gibson recounts the other captains’ nightly ritual:

“At the end of each day, however, when the fish were filleted, the customers gone, the racks taken out and dumped in the harbor, and the boats scrubbed and hosed down, Arno, Bert, Parker and Bert’s mate Tommy Sewall would assemble on the padded benches on the sides of the Gertrude R’s carpeted engine box. Arno would retrieve a half-gallon jug of budget-minded Canadian whiskey from a locker below and the men would sit and sip from paper cups, talking among themselves.”

It was a gathering Gibson was never invited to join until his last day of the season.

“I looked up and saw Parker standing silently beside the boat, peering in at me. ‘You come ovah and have a dwink wit us,’ he said with his incandescent grin, then turned on his heels and headed back to the Gertrude R.”

With that first Dixie cup of whiskey, Gibson symbolically joined the fraternity of Boothbay Harbor charter boat captains.

Now about to embark on his 45th season of charter boat fishing, Gibson recalls fondly both those captains and a unparalleled fishing era.

“I really feel honored to have fished with those guys, those old charter boat skippers in Boothbay, who kind of took me under their wings. They didn’t have to, and I wasn’t from here, but they did,” Gibson said. “It was a real honor to fish alongside those guys.”

Gibson said anyone new to the area or too young to have experienced it would be amazed to have seen Boothbay Harbor in its fishing heyday.

“Boothbay Harbor was a big sportsfishing destination back in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. People came from all over the country and the fishing was fantastic. People came here simply to fish,” Gibson said. “In those days, you could still see land and catch thousands of pounds of fish. One of the greatest things I have ever done is fishing right here out of Boothbay Harbor.”

“End of the Day” seems like a great opening chapter to a book, and Gibson acknowledges there are many more stories to be told.

“So many people have been after me to do a book,” he said. “There certainly is a book there and it’s all in my head. But I’m not sure I have the self-discipline to get it all down.”

When not fishing or writing about fishing or fisheries management, Gibson spends a great deal of his time advocating for recreational fishermen.

Hopefully, he is also mulling over some more stories to share with the world.