Gil Keech Heavy-Tackle Award – Captain Andy Moyes

Andy Moyes is a well-known angler and captain touring the world in search of the ocean's largest predators, yet his foremost impact on big game angling is as a lure maker. Regardless of where anglers are targeting marlin in the world, many top boats are pulling Moyes’ lures and teasers. In 1983, Andy Moyes began making lures as a teenager in his garage, long before he saw his first blue marlin. Since then, Moyes Big Game Lures has become one of the most established and well-respected lure companies in the industry. Moyes’ lures have scored handfuls of marlin over the coveted 1,000-pound mark, including the IGFA Women’s 60-kg (130-lb) Line Class World Record, a 1,305-pound fish caught by Jada Holt. In addition to the number of “grander” marlin Moyes’ lures have produced, numerous prominent tournaments have been won using Moyes Big Game Lures. A prominent captain and angler in his own right, Moyes has traveled the world in pursuit of the ocean’s top game fishes building an impressive track record of catches, including bluefin tuna and blue marlin weighing more than 1,000 pounds. Andy Moyes has not only developed an impressive resume as a big game angler but has made an indelible impact on the big game trolling world through the production of his renowned custom trolling lures and teasers.