David Aimar: living out a passion for offshore fishing
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
By Ford Walpole
Before embarking on a career in the industry, David Aimar of James Island has always loved offshore fishing. Over the years, his father Charlie captained several sportfishing boats, and David was only six years old when he first went fishing in the ocean. He was with family and friends on Summer Girl, a 41-foot Post. “That was the first and only time I ever got seasick!” he says. “The mental game got to me that day, and I thought too much about getting sick. But I have been hooked on offshore fishing ever since.
“Growing up in Charleston, you were either fishing inshore or offshore, and once I got the bug, I was always in the ocean,” David notes. “I couldn’t tell you left from right about fishing in the creeks. My dad and uncles were always big offshore fishermen, so I guess you could say that it’s in the Aimar blood.”
When David was in middle school, he was helping his Uncle Buddy, as well as various other captains around the Charleston area. Soon afterward, he began regularly fishing on the Split Bill, a 45-foot Hatteras owned by his father, his Uncle Paul Aimar and Charlie Rivers. He recalls sharing the cockpit with his brother Charlie, Thomas Garmany, and Ford, West and Charlie Rivers. West and Thomas are now full-time mates on the Viking Yachts Demonstrator Program. “I learned a lot of what I know about fishing from all of those fellas!” David says. A few years later, Summer Girl fished the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. David hooked one of his first sailfish and won Youth Angler at the Edisto Invitational Tournament.
For nearly a decade, Aimar worked for a wine distribution company. During that entire time, he mated on a number of boats, both in a volunteer and paid capacity; this weekend experience in the Lowcountry fishing community led to his being recommended for his current role. For the past year, David has worked as a full-time mate on a 72-foot Merritt that splits the year between here and Palm Beach, Fla. “I spent as much time as I could on boats because offshore fishing is my passion. That passion turned into an opportunity where I could make a living on a boat, and here we are now!” he says.
From October until April, the boat is in Palm Beach on Singer Island. David and the captain live on the boat, preparing for the owner and his family to arrive to target sailfish through kite fishing with live bait. In Palm Beach, you can catch marlin from two to 10 miles off the beach. “Since a Merritt is a fully wooden and higher-class custom boat with a lot of teak, the boat requires a lot of upkeep,” Aimar explains. “This year, being full-time, I have learned as much or more as I have throughout the rest of my whole life — as far as maintenance and mechanical work.
“Because Charleston billfishing is a different fishery than in Florida, I previously knew nothing about kite fishing. I have been learning the difference between live and dead bait, and how to target the same species in a different manner, through different techniques. I have also realized that the weather and wind affect fish more in Florida than they do here. In Palm Beach, the fish bite more when the weather is rough than they do when it is calm. Here in Charleston, it’s all about the water and the eddies. You also see a lot more sharks when you are fishing in Florida,” he says.
Regardless of location, the offshore fishing world fosters a strong sense of community. “During slow times in Florida, through the normal camaraderie on the docks, I get to fish on some of the many boats in the area,” David says. “On these other boats, I can see little tricks and techniques and learn how other people do it. They always say that from boat to boat, 80 percent of what you do is the same, but it’s that other 20 percent that makes a big difference. This can be different rigging techniques on ballyhoo and different-sized weights. From the dredge setups to squid chains to mullet or Mudflaps, you get to learn how other programs fish.”
Aimar explains that the term program generally includes a captain, mate and the owner. Some programs travel the world and have a mothership as well as multiple boats. “Since there is now so much money in the industry, sportfish owners have realized that if they can afford another boat, they can keep boats at different fishing spots.” Aimar notes that offshore fishing “has changed from an owner-operated, weekend warrior activity to a professional, full-time industry.”
By the first of May through October, the boat returns home to Charleston. “We fish a lot more when we are home, since it is logistically easier on the owner and his family, who are local,” Aimar says. “In Charleston, we primarily target billfish: sailfish, blue marlin and the occasional white marlin, when they are here. Of course, you’ll have a couple of weeks when the dolphin are here, usually sometime in May or June; it varies from year to year. We also fish for the occasional wahoo, which are usually here when we are in Florida,” David says.
This year, the only tournament Aimar’s program participated in was the South Carolina Blue Marlin Invitational (SCBMI). This event spans more than a month, and the boat may choose to fish any three days during that time period. During the SCBMI, the program caught a blue marlin. “When that drag runs off the reel in a tournament, tensions are so much higher than when you are just fun fishing! It’s nice to see tournaments such as SCBMI and the Southern Sailfish Derby out of Toler’s Cove in October. These types of tournaments get people out of the woods and keep them out on the water when the fishing is still just as good,” Aimar says.
As a young angler, Aimar has witnessed recent changes in the industry. “For the past five years or so, omnidirectional sonars have been a game-changer in the industry. You went from trying to get lucky to actually hunting for the fish. This technology has proven and has tremendously elevated Charleston offshore fishing, specifically when billfishing. It helps you track and essentially run over a fish, instead of trolling an area where you think they are, so you can now narrow down your search a lot more,” he explains.
“For me personally, offshore fishing in Charleston used to be about targeting meat fish such as dolphin, tuna and wahoo to fill the freezer,” Aimar says of the shifting focus of the sport throughout the years. “Now, it is about targeting billfish, which are sportfish. Billfish are more difficult to catch, so it presents more of a challenge, and the money involved in tournaments adds to the excitement. It’s a lot more fun to catch a 300-plus-pound blue marlin than a 20-pound dolphin!” David says, adding that bycatch still provides table fare for the angler.
“On the water, the best part of my day is taking wraps on a blue marlin and being part of that excitement!” he says. “Billfishing is always a team effort; it’s not a one-man show. The captain has got to find them, the mate has got to hook them, and the angler has got to bring them in.”
Aimar is thankful to have accomplished his lifelong dream of securing a career in the offshore fishing world. “Deciding to work full-time on a boat has been the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Offshore fishing is my true passion, and living on the boat creates the full experience for me. Every day, I get to do what I was already doing on the weekends. The old saying really is true: ‘If you do what you love, you will never have to work a day in your life!’”
At some point, David plans to earn his captain’s license. “Eventually, I would love to run a boat and be part of a program that is fun and successful at the same time.” Besides Palm Beach and Charleston, he has fished in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Isla Mujeres, Mexico. His passion for angling is sure to take him to numerous other destinations in the future.
David Aimar reflects that fishing provides hope and serves as a metaphor for enduring the inevitable struggles that life presents us. “Missing a fish is not the end of the world; you must take it with a grain of salt and move on to the next one. There is always going to be another bite. Growing up and learning right off the rip, and then later becoming a professional, I remember never to think about the last fish. Just make sure you are prepared for the next one!”
